ICOTY 2026: Volkswagen Golf GTI Wins Premium Car Title; Toyota Camry, BMW iX1 Finish Close Behind

Volkswagen Golf GTI wins Premium Car of the Year 2025 at ICOTY, followed by Toyota Camry as first runner-up and BMW iX1 in second place.

By Divyam Dubey

18 Dec, 2025

2 min read

The 21st edition of the Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) awards named the Volkswagen Golf GTI as Premium Car of the Year 2025. The Toyota Camry finished as first runner-up, while the BMW iX1 took second runner-up. Other models in the Premium Car category included the BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz G-Class, MG Cyberster, Skoda Kodiaq and Skoda Octavia RS. Also, the Indian Car of the Year title for 2026 was announced, with Maruti Suzuki Victoris winning the award, followed by Skoda Kylaq and Mahindra XEV 9e as runners-up.

Also Read: Mahindra XEV 9e Named ICOTY 2026 Green Car of the Year

The results were finalised after an evaluation by the ICOTY jury. The panel, which also included autoX Founder and Editor-in-Chief Dhruv Behl and Consulting Editor Ishan Raghava.

ICOTY 2026: Volkswagen Golf GTI Named Premium Car of the Year

Launched at Rs 53 lakh (ex-showroom) in India, the Volkswagen Golf GTI brings a familiar shape to the market. The design follows the Golf line with a hatchback body, flat roof and straight shoulder line. The front features a slim grille with the GTI stripe linked to the headlamps, while the rear uses a simple tail-lamp layout and twin exhaust outlets.

Power comes from a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine producing 261 bhp and 370 Nm. The engine is paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. The Golf GTI accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds.

ICOTY 2026: Selection of the Winner

ICOTY follows a defined voting system to select its winner. Each jury member receives 25 points to distribute across the nominated cars, with a maximum of 10 points allowed for any single model.

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The process also requires every juror to assign points to at least five competing vehicles. This rule ensures that the evaluation covers a wider range of models in contention.