The Hyundai Exter has clinched the prestigious Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) Award 2024, with the Maruti Suzuki Jimny securing the first runner-up spot and the Honda Elevate and Toyota Innova Hycorss as the second runner-up. The lineup of contenders for the 19th season of ICOTY included the Honda Elevate, Hyundai Verna, Maruti Suzuki Jimny, Hyundai Exter, Mahindra XUV400, Citroen C3 Aircross, MG Comet, and Toyota Innova Hycross. Over the past four years, ICOTY winners have included the Kia Carens, Mahindra XUV700, Hyundai i20, and Hyundai Venue.
The ICOTY 2024 jury comprised industry experts such as Bob Rupani, Rohit Paradkar, Vikrant Singh, Sirish Chandran, Ishan Raghava, Abhay Verma, Arpit Mahendra, Kushan Mitra, Cyrus Dhabhar, Pablo Chaterji, Dhruv Behl, Ameya Dandekar, Kartik Ware, Aspi Bhathena, Joshua Varghese, Yogendra Pratap, Aatish Mishra, and Rahul Ghosh, representing leading automotive publications.
On the green front, contenders in the Green Car Award by ICOTY 2024 category included the BMW i7, BYD Atto 3, Citroen eC3, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Mahindra XUV400, Mercedes-Benz EQE, MG Comet, and Volvo C40 Recharge. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 won the 2024 Green Car Award, while the BMW i7 and MG Comet EV were declared the first and second runner-ups, respectively. Notably, the Kia EV6 won the 2023 Green Car Award, whereas the Audi e-tron bagged the 2022 Green Car Award.
The Hyundai Exter is available with a 1.2-litre four-pot engine, producing 83bhp and 113.8Nm of torque. It offers a choice between a 5-speed manual transmission or an automatic (AMT) gearbox. Additionally, Hyundai provides a CNG powertrain option for the Exter, with power reduced to 69bhp and 95.2Nm of torque. Noteworthy features include LED lighting, a sunroof, climate control, a dashboard camera, rear AC vents, and a wireless charger, among others.