Kia scores hat-trick at 4x4 awards
Summary
Kia has experienced a hat-trick of successes at the Total Off Road magazine awards for 2011.
Beating off competition from a field of 18 rivals including the Volvo XC60 and the Ford Kuga, Kia’s Sportage compact SUV came out on top in the Junior SUV category.
The Sportage has been on sale since November with an engine line-up four deep and with both four-and two-wheel drive variants.
Pricing for the Sportage starts at £16,645 despite, says Kia, coming equipped with a level of equipment – like cruise control and automatic rain-sensing wipers – befitting of ‘more expensive vehicles’.
The Sorento SUV perhaps pulled off a more notable achievement in beating luxury contenders with Kia’s large SUV finishing in front of luxury brands like Range Rover and Lexus.
Alan Kidd, Editor at Total Off Road magazine said: "Kia's won a string of value for money awards from us in the past, but the new Sportage and Sorento are about much more than just that.
“If money were no object, they'd still be really strong contenders – even the Sorento, in a category where it's up against some absurdly expensive rivals."
The Sorento is priced from £22,495 and undercuts the majority of other large SUVs in its segment.
The final feather in Kia’s 4x4 cap came when Total Off Road announced the Korean manufacturer as its 4x4 Manufacturer of the Year – the most prestigious award at the ceremony.
Reflecting on its achievement, Managing Director at Kia Motors (UK), Michael Cole said: “We’ve always been confident about the abilities of Sportage and Sorento and are delighted that these have been recognised by one of the UK’s leading off-road magazines.
“Being chosen as Total Off Road’s manufacturer of the year is the icing on the cake."
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