Kia announced on the 20th that the Sportage has been selected as the ‘Family SUV of the Year’ at the prestigious 2023 What Car Awards in the UK.
The What Car Awards, which began in 1978 and celebrates its 46th year, is organized by the renowned British automotive magazine What Car? It is one of the most authoritative automotive awards in Europe, selecting the best models across various categories, including Car of the Year.
The Sportage was praised for its practical interior design, excellent driving performance, and reasonable pricing, successfully beating strong competitors such as the BMW X3, Nissan Ariya, Skoda Karoq, and Volvo XC60 to win the title of Family SUV of the Year.
The newly evaluated Sportage was launched in the UK in February last year, with 29,655 units sold over the year, making it the sixth best-selling new car in the UK in 2022.
Paul Philpott, President of Kia UK, stated, “We are proud that the Sportage has been recognized as the best family SUV by What Car? We will aggressively target the European market with the Sportage’s diverse lineup, including hybrid and plug-in hybrid models.”
Additionally, Kia’s flagship electric vehicle, the EV9, has been recognized as the ‘Most Anticipated Car’ by What Car readers, marking Kia’s second win at the What Car Awards.
The nomination for ‘Most Anticipated Car’ is particularly meaningful as it showcases the high expectations consumers have for the EV9 within the global automotive market.
The EV9, set to be released in the first half of this year, is a large electric SUV built on the E-GMP platform designed specifically for electric vehicles, featuring innovative technology and excellent marketability as Kia’s flagship electric vehicle.
With this award, Kia has achieved success for six consecutive years at the What Car Awards, following wins in 2018 with the Morning (locally known as Picanto, City Car of the Year), 2019 with the Niro Electric (Car of the Year), Morning (City Car of the Year), 2020 with the Morning (Value Car of the Year), 2021 with the Sorento (Large SUV of the Year), and 2022 with the EV6 (Car of the Year).
Meanwhile, the Sportage sold 452,068 units globally last year, securing its place as the top-selling single model for Kia and continuing to enjoy consistent popularity worldwide.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr