The year 2014 saw a lot of cars getting launched in the Indian market. Right from cheap hatchbacks to costly luxo-barges, we have seen it all. Some vehicles also turned out to be game changers in the market, while some of them failed to take off despite being highly capable. So let us have a look at the top 5 car launches of 2014.
1) Tata Zest – The Zest is without doubt the best car last year has seen. Tata Motors made a really strong comeback with this compact sedan and improved on lots of fronts like quality, design, equipment and refinement. The Zest is also the cheapest automatic diesel car available on sale in India. With the Zest and Bolt, Tata Motors is showing its commitment to climb the ladder fast.
2) Hyundai Elite i20 – The i20 premium hatchback has been on sale ever since 2008 but Hyundai kept on giving the hatch minor yet important updates every couple of years. The i20 was replaced by the next-gen i20 (facelift) in 2012 which was then replaced by the Elite i20 in 2014. The Elite i20 sees the vehicle getting a significant improvement in exterior and interior design as well as a host of equipment which is missing in competitors, a la Maruti Swift.
3) New Mahindra Scorpio – The desi SUV has been selling around for more than a decade now and there were many niggles with the Scorpio and yet it managed to sell in good numbers. Mahindra launched the new Scorpio this year but only after testing the vehicle thoroughly across the country to make sure that every issue is ironed out. The result as we can see is a hugely capable SUV with good styling, much better interiors and a good addition of features, not to forget improved dynamics.
4) Mercedes S-Class – The S-Class may not be a mass-market vehicle but we cannot miss putting it in this list. The luxo-barge is loaded with oodles of latest technology. Comfort and space too are amazing as usual, while the engines are also quite powerful. The S-Class also commands immense road presence and despite it being so expensive, it is still very desirable.
5) Fiat Avventura – We know we’ll get a lot of brickbats for mentioning the Avventura in this list but yet we selected it. While other manufacturers like Toyota and Volkswagen are launching pseudo-crossovers like the Etios Cross and Cross Polo, Fiat actually took efforts to develop a proper crossover by making a lot of (useful) changes on the Punto Evo. The Avventura drives pretty well too and just look at it.
