ICOTY 2025: Mahindra Thar Roxx Named Indian Car of the Year; Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Swift Finish as Runners-up

ICOTY 2025: The 20th edition of the Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) awards, often referred to as the 'Oscar' of the Indian automotive industry, awarded Mahindra Thar Roxx with the title of Indian Car of the Year 2025. The Maruti Suzuki Dzire was the first runner-up while the Maruti Suzuki Swift was the second runner-up. At the same time, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class bagged the 2025 Premium Car of the Year award, while the MG Windsor was awarded the 2025 Green Car of the Year by ICOTY.

These outcomes were determined through a careful assessment of finalists, shortlisted by the highly experienced ICOTY jury. The panel consists of our Founder, Editor-in-Chief of autoX, and Chairman of ICOTY, Dhruv Behl, along with Managing Editor and Secretary of ICOTY, Ishan Raghava.

Also Read: Mahindra Thar Roxx Diesel MT Review: The 5-door SUV to Buy?

ICOTY 2025: Indian Car Of The Year

The 2025 Indian Car of the Year award has been won by the Mahindra Thar Roxx. For the 20th edition of ICOTY, a roster of 8 cars emerged as contenders, featuring the BYD eMAX 7, Citroen Basalt, Mahindra Thar Roxx, Maruti Suzuki Swift, MG Windsor, Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Tata Curvv/Curvv EV, Tata Punch EV. It is worth noting that the 2024 ICOTY winner was the Hyundai Exter.

The Mahindra Thar Roxx launched in India in August 2024, features LED headlights with C-shaped DRLs, a body-coloured grille, 19-inch dual-tone alloys, a tailgate-mounted spare tyre, fog lights, and LED taillights. It offers a choice of a 2.0-litre mStallion turbo petrol or a 2.2-litre mHawk diesel engine. The transmission options include a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic. The petrol version is rear-wheel drive, while the diesel offers 4x4 with a low-range transfer case for better off-road ability.

The new Maruti Suzuki Dzire features LED projector headlights, diamond-cut alloys, a 9-inch SmartPlay Pro+ touchscreen, and cruise control. The 2024 model is slightly larger, powered by a 1.2-litre 3-cylinder engine producing 80bhp and 112Nm of torque, with a choice of a five-speed manual or automatic transmission. Fuel efficiency stands at 25.75km/l (automatic) and 24.80km/l (manual), and it is also available in a CNG variant.

The new Maruti Suzuki Swift features LED projector headlights, diamond-cut alloys, a 9-inch SmartPlay Pro+ touchscreen, and cruise control. The 2024 model is slightly larger, powered by a 1.2-litre 3-cylinder engine producing 80bhp and 112Nm of torque, with a choice of a five-speed manual or automatic transmission. Fuel efficiency stands at 25.75km/l (automatic) and 24.80km/l (manual), and it is also available in a CNG variant.

ICOTY 2025: How Winner is Selected?

The ICOTY is India’s most prestigious automobile award, judged by a panel of highly experienced experts from the country’s leading automotive magazines. The ICOTY 2025 finalists were assessed on a wide range of criteria, including price, fuel efficiency, styling, comfort, safety, performance, practicality, technical innovation, ergonomics, value for money, and suitability for Indian riding conditions. The vehicles were tested at the Buddh International Circuit.

Also Read: ICOTY 2025: Mercedes-Benz E-Class Clinches Premium Car Title; BMW 5 Series, Kia Carnival Finish Close Behind

Since its inception, the ICOTY Awards has been sponsored by JK Tyre. To ensure complete transparency in the winner selection process, Deloitte has been appointed as the official knowledge partner.

ICOTY 2025: Jury Member

For 2025, the jury consisted of 21 members - ICOTY Chairman Dhruv Behl and Secretary Ishan Raghava (autoX), Yogendra Pratap (Auto Today), Dipayan Dutta (Auto Today), Aspi Bhathena (Car India), Joshua Varghese (Car India), Sirish Chandran (Evo India), Aatish Mishra (Evo India), Pablo Chaterji (Motoring World), Kartik Ware (Motoring World), Kranti Sambhav (Overdrive), Rohit Paradkar (Overdrive), Vikrant Singh (Carwale), Arpit Mahendra (TOI Auto), Ameya Dandekar (Cardekho/Zigwheels), Kushan Mitra, Abhay Verma (Turbocharged), Cyrus Dhabhar (Powerdrift), Bob Rupani, Ashish Masih (Times Drive), Sagar Bhanushali (Carwale).