As a standalone vehicle, the Mahindra Thar is very good. As a generational leap, it’s extraordinary — there’s literally a night and day difference between the older one and this machine. It’s designed and made in India, it’s extremely safe, it’s easy and fun to drive every day and it’ll eat trails for breakfast. This is a stellar achievement, and eminently worthy of our biggest award.

The future appears to be electric, and if that future is filled with cars like the Tata Nexon EV, we won’t be complaining. It has all the attributes that have made the Nexon so popular — safety, looks, comfort, value — with the added advantage of an eco-friendly motor. And any vehicles that spins its wheels during acceleration is fine by us.

The Defender looks impressive in photographs; when you’re standing next to it in the flesh, it’s downright gobsmacking. With the presence of a luxury villa, the legendary toughness of a… well, Land Rover and every creature comfort you can possibly want, this is an SUV that looks set to become an icon in its own right.

‘Performance’ and ‘SUV’ are normally not words that go well together, but the Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 proves that theory wrong. It’s one of the most entertaining machines we drove last year, across segments, and the best part is that it’s assembled right here in India.

Combining the thunderous performance of a true sportscar with the luxury you would associate with a limousine, the Mercedes-AMG GT63 4-Door Coupe provides the best of both worlds in a truly enthralling manner. Its exhaust note alone had us at idle; when we flung it around corners, we knew it was truly special.

As supremely sybaritic as it is lengthy, the Audi A8L is one of those cars that feels just right the moment you sink into its luxurious cabin. It has everything a buyer in this stratosphere could want — cutting edge technology, brilliant comfort, superb ride quality, sophisticated looks and much more. A shoo-in if there ever was one.

Just because it’s a small BMW doesn’t mean the 2 Series Gran Coupe isn’t a proper BMW. It looks like it means business, and the moment you drive it, you realise it is the business — fast, agile, well built and fun.

You would be hard pressed to find another vehicle that combines road presence, amazing levels of luxury and, well, amazing levels of luxury like the Mercedes-Benz GLS does. It’s a technology-loaded Presidential Suite, and one that we’d be happy to stay in.

When you’re aiming to take the legendary Yeti’s place, you’d better bring your A game — and the Skoda Karoq does so in emphatic fashion. It’s built like a tank, has a wonderful petrol engine, offers top notch comfort and handles more like a car than an SUV. What’s not to like, really?

We’ll have a glass or two of whatever the Hyundai Creta is having, because seldom do you come across a vehicle of any class that ticks so many boxes — comfort, build quality, features, practicality, frugality and many more. We’d go so far as to say that it’s one of the best cars Hyundai has ever made.

This is a brilliant example of using an existing platform and taking it to the next level. There’s a reason the Kia Sonet is flying off the shelves — it’s the sportiest all-round compact SUV that money can buy at the moment, and it’s feature-packed and comfortable to boot.

This is the closest you can get to having an apartment on wheels. The Kia Carnival is so refined, so luxurious and so utterly practical that it makes the competition look rather pedestrian. AT this price, nothing else comes close.

A well-loved car in all-new clothes — and the clothes are from Savile Row. The new Hyundai i20 is a slick looker, loaded with every feature you could possibly want and comes with great engines, including a barnstorming turbo petrol option which makes it a genuine hot hatch. Is it any wonder we think so highly of it?