The Hardwire Car Of The Year Picks: The Best Cars Of 2024

2024 was full of some amazing car launches. From compact cars to full-size SUVs, many amazing products arrived on the market. Now that the year has ended, we sit down, choose one car from the most popular segments and honour them. Join us for our first chapter of 'Hardwire's Car Of The Year' story.

Choosing our car of the year isn't easy, considering we have only driven a few of them. However, we did our homework based on all the information available online. Our choices are based on various factors such as the audience demand, value for money aspect, the impact of the car on the market and so on.

Other crucial factors such as the brand’s after-sales support, maintenance cost, reliability etc have also been evaluated before awarding the car.

We witnessed an overwhelming number of car launches this year, making it very difficult for us to choose only one car in many segments. Hence, we have also given honourable mention to a lot of worthy contenders who couldn't make it to our top step. 

Now let’s explore the list of some of the best vehicles launched in India in 2024.

Best cars of 2024 of their respective segments

The best SUV

In 2020, Mahindra unveiled the second-generation Thar and the vehicle quickly gained popularity. The car had an old-school charm, massive road presence and a completely distinct appearance from the majority of cars on the market. Even though the Thar became a cult for many, there were a lot of individuals who disliked the car and felt that the three-door design was too restricted for family use.

Hence, Mahindra returned in 2024 with a new Thar with the suffix "Roxx" added to its name. This car's design and amenities have all been improved, making it one of the most alluring vehicles under the INR 30 lakh price range. Naturally, the Mahindra Thar Roxx keeps the off-road DNA and design inspirations from its ancestors.

The Tata Curvv was also one of the most anticipated launches of the year. The car looks drastically different from most cars in its segment thanks to its SUV coupe design. Other than aesthetics, Tata is also one of the most versatile cars in the market currently because it is offered with EV and ICE powertrains. Tata's bold move to bring unique designs in mass-market cars makes it a worthy runner-up for the best SUV of the year.

The best luxury car

Many high-end luxury cars entered the Indian market in 2024. The car that stole our hearts is the Lamborghini Urus SE. The vehicle is equipped with modern features and an aggressive design. It is currently the perfect blend of luxury and sport on the market. It has a V8 engine along with a plug-in hybrid system. The car churns out 800 PS of peak power and 900 Nm of peak torque, which is one of the best performance figures in the market. Hence, we choose the 2024 Lamborghini Urus SE as the best luxury car of the year.

We believe the recently launched Mercedes EQS SUV is a well-deserving runner-up for the best luxury SUV of the year award. The car boasts an iconic minimal exterior Mercedes design language and gets a feature-rich cabin that is synonymous with luxury. 

The best compact car

These are some of our favourite types of cars. These cars move the masses, via cabs or as the first family car in most families of the nation. This year we saw many interesting launches in this segment but one specific product that amazed us the most was the new Maruti Suzuki Dzire. The Dzire is special because it now boasts an attractive front fascia along with upmarket interiors. The car has also proven itself on the safety front by achieving a five-star crashworthiness rating by GNCAP. All these factors come into play in making the Dzire the best compact car of the year.

The new 4th generation Maruti Suzuki Swift has also improved its design and feature list. Most importantly, Maruti Suzuki introduced the brand new Z-series 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine in this car. This new engine compromises a little on the performance front but promises to improve the efficiency significantly. Since most compact car buyers admire the efficiency so much, we award the new Swift as the runner-up for the best compact car of the year.

The best EV

The future is electric and the future is now because we have EVs from almost all the major brands in the nation. Tata Motors has the lead with the largest market share. However, the car that electrified us the most in 2024 is the new MG Windsor EV. The car offers ample space, good comfort, premium interiors, decent range and performance along with a feature-loaded cabin and this is not even the best part! Have you checked out it aggressive starting price of INR 9.99 lakhs? 

In the premium range, the BMW i5 M60 xDrive seems to be the ultimate luxury EV to come out this year. The car is loaded with all the bells and whistles along with the BMW driving DNA and an AWD electric powertrain which produces 601 bhp of peak power and 795 Nm of peak torque. 

The Punch EV is also one of the good EVs that arrived this year but we find the MG Windsor to be a better value-for-money product. However, its easy accessibility across the nation and proven crash-worthiness rating of five stars by BNCAP make the Punch EV a worthy runner-up for the best EV of the year.

The best facelift of the year

Many of the nation’s favourite cars received a much-needed facelift this year and we find the Mahindra XUV 3XO to be the most significant one. Its predecessor, the XUV 300 looked dated and kind of boring but Mahindra has changed the entire front fascia of this vehicle along with its name, which deserves some appreciation. Hence we select the XUV 3XO as the best facelift to arrive this year.

An honourable mention here would be the 2024 Hyundai Creta. This is the nation’s favourite compact SUV with the highest sales volume. Hyundai gave it a much-needed facelift at the start of 2024 and they also promised to improve the build quality, enhancing the Creta’s desirability.

The HCOTY (Hardwire Car Of The Year)

The Thar Roxx wins our coveted Hardwire Car Of The Year. 🎉🎉🎉

The Roxx was one of the most anticipated car launches of this year. Mahindra has played a masterstroke by rectifying most of the issues with the 3-door Thar. The SUV now offers a great road presence and the gut to match it all. The Mahindra Thar Roxx is also loaded with a bunch of nifty features and powerful petrol and diesel engine options. All these modern features at an aggressive starting price of INR 12.9 lakh make the Thar Roxx our Car Of The Year.