[GTO]

The Kia Seltos is my car (and manufacturer) of the year. Reasons:

1. A well-engineered, premium all-rounder that punches above its weight (related thread). I have thoroughly enjoyed driving & reviewing this fantastic car ! The biggest downside to me is its firm suspension due to which bad roads are prominently felt inside the cabin (35 PSI recommended tyre pressure doesn’t help either).

2. Kia has demonstrated just how a new manufacturer should enter India. This is the stuff of IIM case studies. Brilliant researching, product planning, execution, roll-out, marketing & pricing by Kia . As an example, just look at the Seltos’ variants = Petrol MT, Diesel MT, Petrol AT, Diesel AT, base trim, middle trim, loaded trim, dual-tone etc. etc. – you have it all. In comparison, the Tata Harrier appears to have taken a knife to a gunfight - so unprepared!

[Eddy]

Easiest COTY decision in the recent past. Kia Seltos it is.

Would have liked if it was a couple of lakhs cheaper, but very hard to find a fault with the car.

Welcome to India, Kia.

[bansal.sushant]

I think this year's winner is going be a pretty unanimous one (greater vote share).

I have voted for the Kia Seltos! Landing a perfect product in the fastest growing segment! This segment has decent profits, a luxury feel, and an added advantage for the brand to demand some respect.

I would also like to give a special mention the Tata Harrier, not for the final product and response perse, but for how far the brand has come! I am really excited for Tata's future products.

[ashis89]

Voted for the Seltos. I own one BUT that's not why I voted for it.

I thought through all the nominations but nothing comes close to the disruption that the Seltos has brought to the market. As GTO mentioned, it's a commendable job by KIA to launch so many different variants, engine options, transmission options and also have good feature distribution across all the variants.

Such is the variety that the difference between the base and top end models would be a good million rupees. Sitting right in between, it has made people upgrade from a CSUV and also downgrade from an SUV.

It's not a perfect product for sure. But it's almost a perfect package for a lot of people!

PS: After Nexon, I hoped Harrier would be the next COTY but it fell short somewhere.

[MCR]

Voted Kia Seltos.

It did tempt me to consider selling my 2018 New Gen Verna for a while. However, I decided against selling my Car.
But it has definitely taken the mid-size SUV market by a storm. Heck, event its cousin (Hyundai Creta) is worried and Hyundai is offering a 85K discount!!


Now looking forward to Kia Carnival.

[bullock-Car]

This time truly amazing competition among Seltos,MG Hector,Harrier,Triber etc. I had zeroed down to Seltos and MG Hector for their stupendous success in the gloomy market. Personally I had least expectation from MG Hector due to Chinese ancestry, new manufacturer. But it set the tone before seltos, changed perceptions and slowly gaining reputation, so for the being the first among the trend setters I voted MG Hector.

[saisree]

Voted for Renault Triber. Defined a new territory and it brought in some much needed freshness. Really need to applaud Renault's commitment even after a couple of drubbings in the market.

Seltos was the immediate next, but missed my vote as it is just a new entrant in the already flourishing segment. IMO Creta is still the benchmark.

[narayans80]

This year its got to be Kia Seltos without competition.

A worthy mention on 2019 launches would be Hyundai Kona, which brought the first proper EV.

[naveen.raju]

Voted for Kia Seltos

Guess they will win by a record margin this time. What an entry!

S-Presso too gaining a lot of interest but I would give that a miss. But accepted by public which matters most .

[carenthusiast]

Voted for Kia Seltos

Kia has done an amazing job bringing a global car to India with the Seltos. Their strategy in marketing and sales were spot on. It has revolutionized the mid SUV market with a host of features, engine options, gearbox options etc. It has set a high benchmark in the the mid SUV segment, which makes cars of higher segments look costly for what they offer.

[WIMR]

My vote goes to Kia Seltos. When the automotive sector on the whole is facing a slow down Kia has come away as a clear winner in 2019. Credit to Kia for packaging Seltos to perfection in terms of engine/tranmission options, features and pricing!

[AtheK]

Kia seltos for entering an exam completely prepared, they did the homework, they prepared well, they executed well. They scored a stupendous score in sales, as a result.

All future players, and current players should take notice.

[bvasista]

I voted for Renault Triber since this was altogether a different type of product launched by Renault. Due to this, customers who would want to have 7 people in the car occasionally and who cannot afford Ertiga/Morazzo/Innova have an option to buy a decent car with customized seating options.

I would have voted for Kia Seltos too but there is only one vote !

[BoneCollector]

My vote goes to Kia Seltos. This car is a blockbuster and has gone against the industry trend of slowdown. If you look at its sales figure, it has more than doubled it's sale from launch month to last month, all in 4 months! Whatever I can say is after reading about it on forum and experiences shared by others. I'm yet to see a Seltos in flesh! It's a good all round package spread across a large price band.

Congratulations Kia on giving the Indian customers what they wanted.

[locusjag]

I voted for Triber.

Ratan Tata had wanted the Nano to move middle class Indians over to cars from 2 wheelers. But the 1 lakh tag proved to be its death-knell in a largely aspirational car market. But 10 lakhs+ for most cars today puts them right out of middle class India's reach. And many middle class families are still joint families, and hence, spending 7 lakhs for a hatchback isn't going to work for them. And buying used is a fearsome proposition to most people who know nothing about cars or who've never owned one.

But I personally know of one lower middle class person who's buying the Triber. At 6 lakhs or so, he's getting a 7 seater. It's the first ever car in his family circle. I respect Renault for elevating the profile of the mango man. The Triber got my vote for that alone.