Mahindra Thar ROXX Becomes Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) 2025
The Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) and Indian Motorcycle of the Year (ICOTY) are the most coveted automotive awards in India. Results of the 2025 edition of the awards are now out and we have a very interesting winner. The new Mahindra Thar ROXX has won the title of Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) 2025, and there’s a lot to talk about it.
The battle this year was pretty intense with the likes of Tata Curvv, Tata Punch EV, BYD eMAX7, Citroen Basalt, Maruti Swift and Dzire actively competing with the ROXX. The SUV, however, beat most of these hands down to emerge to the top spot. The final round of the fight was between the ROXX and the new DZire, and the Mahindra SUV finally bagged the title by a 2-point difference- the closest margin in the history of the awards.
Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO, auto division and Pratap Bose, Executive Vice President and Chief Design Officer received the award on behalf of Mahindra & Mahindra. The Thar ROXX was one of the manufacturer’s highly anticipated launches of 2024. It made its market entry on August 15, 2024. It offers the ruggedness of the Thar with the practicality and liveability of a modern five-door SUV. Over time, the ROXX has amassed immense acceptance and risen to fame in the country and abroad.
The Jury And Valuation Process
The jury panel for ICOTY and IMOTY consists of top journalists from reputed publications- both print and digital. The 2024 panel had had 21 journalists including Yogendra Pratap and Dipayan Dutta of Auto Today, Vikrant Singh and Sagar Bhanushali of Carwale, Dhruv Behl and Ishan Raghava of autoX, Aspi Bhathena and Joshua Varghese from Car India, Sirish Chandran and Aatish Mishra from Evo India, Pablo Chaterji and Kartik Ware from Motoring World, Rohit Paradkar and Kranti Sambhav from Overdrive, Arpit Mahendra from TOI Auto, Ashish Masih Times Drive, Ameya Dandekar from Cardekho.com, Abhay Verma from Turbocharged, Cyrus Dhabhar from Powerdrift, and Kushan Mitra from The Print.
Since its inception, JK Tyres has been actively involved in the ICOTY and IMOTY evaluation process. To ensure transparency in winner selection and associated processes, Deloitte served as the knowledge partner for the 2025 season.
The evaluation process consists of each juror individually evaluating each car and rewarding it with points. He/she would have 25 points to distribute, in total. No individual car can win more than 10 points from any given member of the jury panel. The 25 points will thus have to be divided among four contenders (car models) before finally arriving at a standout winner. This evaluation process ensures maximum transparency and minimizes the chance of any particular juror unduly influencing the results.
Mahindra Thar ROXX: Quick Look At It
The ROXX is essentially the 5-door iteration of the Thar. Unlike the 3-door version, it comes with single, full metal bodywork and offers great comfort and room on the inside. The top-spec gets all-LED lighting including DRLs, 19-inch wheels, bold wheel arches, and a controversial side profile.
The cabin is feature-packed and comes with a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, automatic AC/climate control, digital instrument cluster, panoramic sunroof, wireless charger, 360 camera, level 2 ADAS and more. A slew of safety tech/ equipment is also offered.
Mahindra Thar ROXX offers two powertrain choices- the 2.2L mHawk diesel engine and the 2.0L turbocharged petrol engine. The former delivers 150bhp and 330 Nm, while the latter puts out 160bhp and 330Nm. Both a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox are available.
Runner Ups And Other Awards
Coming back to the awards, Maruti Dzire became the runner-up and the new Swift the second runner-up. The Aprilia RS 457 became the Bike of the Year. In other categories, MG Windsor became the 2025 Green Car of the Year while Mercedes-Benz E-Class bagged the title of Premium Car of the Year.