Kia EV6 electric car wins What Car? Car of the Year Award
The Kia EV6 electric car has been crowned What Car? Car of the Year 2022. Its victory was announced at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
It is the second time Kia has won the overall What Car? Car of the Year Award – and the second time it has won with a new electric car, having taken its maiden victory in 2019 with the Kia e-Niro. It is only the third non-European manufacturer to win the top prize at the What Car? Awards, which began in 1978.
According to What Car? the Kia EV6 stood out for setting new benchmarks for electric cars, offering an official range of 328 miles, and managing 224 miles on a charge when What Car?’s testers ran it in near worst-case low temperature conditions. It is also capable of super-fast, 800V charging, with its battery capable of going from 10-80% in as little as 18 minutes.
In addition, the EV6 earned praise from the judges for being hugely spacious, very refined even by electric car standards and for being sold with the reassurance of a standard-setting seven-year warranty.
Says What Car? editor Steve Huntingford:
“Once again, Kia has set a new benchmark for an electric vehicle. The EV6 is a terrific all-rounder that answers electric car buyers’ questions around range and charging times brilliantly, and which offers terrific space, refinement and value for money.
“Kia’s progress has long been impressive, but it is the way that it has seized the opportunity offered by the transition to electric cars that has made it a leader in the market. Coming hot on the heels of its victory with the e-Niro in 2019, this Car of the Year win cements its position alongside Tesla as one of the most exciting electric car makers on the planet.”
Adds Kia UK President and CEO Paul Philpott:
“It’s a great honour for Kia to win Car of the Year at this year’s What Car? Awards, particularly given the high regard with which they are held by customers across the UK. The EV6 is a truly exceptional car and it’s just the beginning of things to come from Kia on our rapid journey to electrification. This is tangible recognition that Kia is fast becoming a true leader in electric vehicles having also won this award with e-Niro in 2019.”
Other big winners on the night included BMW, which recorded an amazing five category victories. It won the prizes for the best Luxury SUV (with the BMW X5), Executive car (BMW 3 Series), Luxury car (BMW 5 Series), Coupé (BMW 4 Series) and Convertible (BMW 4 Series Convertible).
Ford was the next most successful manufacturer, with three category wins: Small SUV (Ford Puma), Sports SUV (Ford Puma ST) and Pick-up (Ford Ranger). Tesla was also a notable winner after recording a record-breaking year for sales, taking the Large Electric Car category with its Model 3.
What Car Car of the Year Awards 2022 in association with MotorEasy
OVERALL WINNER
Car of the Year: Kia EV6 RWD GT-Line
CATEGORY WINNERS
Small car: Honda Jazz SR
Family car: Seat Leon 1.5 TSI 130 Evo FR
Small SUV, sponsored by Solera cap hpi: Ford Puma 1.0 Ecoboost Hybrid (mHEV)
Family SUV, sponsored by MotorEasy: Volvo XC40 Recharge T4 Plus (Dark Theme)
Electric SUV: Kia EV6 RWD GT-Line
Large SUV, sponsored by Quotezone: Hyundai Santa Fe 4WD Premium
Luxury SUV: BMW X5 xDrive45e M Sport
Sports SUV: Ford Puma ST 1.5 Ecoboost 200 Performance Pack
Hybrid (plug-in): Lexus NX 450h+ F Sport Premium Plus Pack
Small electric car, sponsored by Ohme: Cupra Born 58kWh V2
Large electric car, sponsored by Ohme: Tesla Model 3 Long Range
Executive car: BMW 3 Series 330e M Sport (M Sport Pro Package)
Luxury car: BMW 5 Series 530e M Sport (M Sport Pro Package)
Estate: Skoda Superb Estate 2.0 TDI 150 SEL
MPV: Volkswagen Touran 1.5 TSI 150 SE
Pick-up: Ford Ranger 2.0L EcoBlue 213PS Wildtrack auto
Hot hatch: Mercedes-AMG A45 S Plus
Performance car: Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo 4S
Coupé: BMW 4 Series 420i M Sport (M Sport Pro Package)
Convertible: BMW 4 Series Convertible 420i (M Sport Pro Package)
Sports car: Porsche Cayman GTS
SPECIAL AWARDS
Reliability Award, in association with MotorEasy: Lexus
True MPG Award: Toyota Yaris Cross 1.5 petrol hybrid
Innovation Award, in association with Thatcham Research: Gridserve
Safety Award, in association with Thatcham Research: Nissan Qashqai
Tow Car Award, in association with the Camping and Caravanning Club: Kia Sorento 2.2 CRDi 3 DCT
Reader Award: Range Rover
