2016 Evo OFF-Road Awards – winners
The Awards-
The 2016 Off Road Awards successfully concluded yesterday at the Kingdom of Dreams in Gurgaon. Presented by JK Tyre and powered by evo, we had brought together the finest off-road vehicles in the country.
We had compiled an exhaustive list of SUVs, bikes and anything and anyone else brave enough to take on the wild outdoors. Right from the luxury SUVs, performance SUVs, compact SUVs, crossovers and hardcore off roaders, we split the entire spectrum of off roaders into distinct segments and awarded the exceptional. Adventure bikes were obviously not left out. And to show solidarity with the growing motorsport culture in the country, we awarded the best competition vehicles and teams as our way of recognizing the sport.
The Evo Off-Road trophy is a representation of the hi-lift jack, which is in many ways symbolic of the off road community. It has raised jeeps on many occasions and we awarded it to people and vehicles that have raised the bar in Off-road and motorsports.
The Jury-
Lakhpa Tersing – The man behind Arunachal festival of speed and driven by a goal to bring motorsports to the North Eastern parts of India. Lakhpa is an enthusiast who has rallied with success having placed second in this year’s Raid de Himalaya and has also participated the Desert Storm.
Kabir Wariach- A veteran with the Gerrari Off-roaders club, Kabir is the first Indian to compete in the Malaysian Rainforest challenge and coming third in this year’s RFC India. He is a well-known figure in the off-road circuit and one of India’s finest off-road rallyist.
Hari Singh – He’s won five Indian National Rally Championships, four of them back-to-back. He’s also one of India’s best tyre testers and one of the safest pair of hands.
Sirish Chandran – Sirish brings with him fifteen years of experience in automotive journalism. He cut his teeth at Overdrive and went on to head the magazine and TV show before setting up evo India.
Siddharth Patankar – Siddharth is an award-winning journalist, who has been with NDTV since 1999. Siddharth serves as Director on the steering committee of the World Car Awards.
Tejas Kothari – Asia’s only off-roader certified by the International 4-Wheel Drive Trainers Association (i4wdta), Tejas runs offroadjunkie, a company dedicated to training newbies and popularising the sport.
Ouseph Chacko – Ouseph comes from ten years at Autocar India and is now assistant editor at evo India. Every moment he’s not in office, he’s out there trying to drive over something he’s not supposed to be driving over.
Jaskirat Singh Nagra – Owner of Sarbloh motors, Jaskirat is known to reimagine and build adventure and extreme off-road vehicles. He recently built an adventure vehicle based on a Scorpio Getaway for television personality Gul Panag.
Raj Kapoor – The man behind the Desert Storm, Raj owns Nothern Motorsport who has been constantly churning out competition winning rally vehicles and extreme off roaders. He has a keen eye for detail.
The evaluation round-
The Jury round was held in Badlapur in Gurgaon with a off road course built on the sandy terrain. The loose sand was another test bed as the vehicles had to find traction in the unlikeliest of places. The vast land gave the jurors enough space and varied challenges to test the vehicles to their hearts content.
The winners-
Off road initiative of the year – Renault gang of Dusters
Renault India’s initiative to bring together like-minded Renault Duster owners looking for an adventure but don’t know where to start. The initiative allows you to book expeditions across various parts of the country.
Team of the year (2-Wheeler category) – TVS Racing
Team TVS Racing has been a winning formula for TVS motors with a lot of wins in various races in both national and international arenas and a 90 per cent success rate so far. They have been a strong force behind keeping motocross alive in India.
Team of the year (4-Wheeler category) – Polaris racing India
With their recent success in the Raid de Himalaya, Team Polaris racing has become one of the fastest rising and domineering teams in the national circuit. With their turbocharged XP 1000’s this is one team to watch out for in the coming season.
Compact luxury SUV segment – Range Rover Evoque
The baby SUV from Land Rover might be quite a looker when prowling our streets but its beauty lies more than skin deep. It is surprisingly capable off-road much to the delight of the judges all of whom praised it for the ease in which it tackled the sandy terrain.
Premium SUV – Mercedes-Benz GLE
The replacement to the ML-Class is highly capable on the rough stuff owing to with the centre differential with a 50:50 torque split on its permanent four-wheel-drive and a clever dose of electronics. Merc’s new 9-speed automatic transmission gives a wider spread of ratios to play with leading to improved refinement, performance and efficiency while also being quicker to react than the earlier 7G-Tronic
Full size SUV – Volvo XC90
Conquering terrains is no problem in the XC90. Just raise the suspension, bury the loud pedal and the big Swede just squirms out of anything. The un-Germanic looks and interiors are another added draw making it our full-size SUV of the year.
Bike of the Year – Triumph Tiger 800 xCx
Since its launch the Tiger has been an off-road enthusiast favourite not just due to its off-road ca[ability bit its ease of riding that makes it accessible to a wide range of riders. Its versatility and tractable 800cc in-line 3cyl motor are another plus points.
Crossover of the year- Maruti Suzuki S Cross
The S Cross wins the crossover of the year awards because unlike others, it is a completely new car and mot just based on another model based in India. The punchy 1.6 litre engine, premium interiors and space quotient further cements its position as a winner.
Compact SUV of the year- Hyundai Creta
Despite being a front-wheel drive, the Creta massively impressed the judges not only on the road but off it as well. The raised clearance, compact dimensions and a punchy 1.6-Litre engine made it highly capable off road.
SUV of the year – Chevrolet Trailblazer
The Trailblazer has been a high selling product in the US markets and now comes to India with a suspension that makes mincemeat of India’s rough roads and can easily climb mountains if the situation demands for it. All this with the occupants cocooned in comfort.
Off-Road Club of the Year- Gerrari Offroaders
At the RFC Team Gerrari have constantly been giving the reigning champions reason to worry with their teamwork, dedication and highly capable extreme off-roaders. A well deserved win.
Performance SUV of the year – BMW X5M
The X5M wins this category on virtue of its performance and dynamics which can shame many a sports cars on the track while seating 5 people with their weekend luggage in utter comfort. duality of purpose at its best.
4X4 of the Year – Mahindra Thar
At the jury round, the jurors did not want to drive the Thar and that is only because all of them have practically lived with it and know al about it. This is reason enough to give India’s favourite off-roader the award.
Hall of Fame = Toyota Landcruiser 200
One of the Jurors emphatically said that if he had to live with one vehicle for the rest of his life, it would be the Landcruiser. The reliability and sheer depths of capability of this beast is the stuff of legends.
Competition 4X4 – Force Gurkha E.O.V. 4X4X4
The Force Gurkha E.O.V. wins this award for the second consecutive year as for this years Rainforest challenge India, It has grown bigger, badder and better. The E.O.V.;s have been dominating the sport since inception.
