Kia Sportage selected Family SUV of Year by UK auto journal

Kia Corp. said on Friday that its sport utility vehicle (SUV) Sportage has been named Family SUV of the Year by the British automotive magazine What Car?

What Car? is a leading car-dedicated media outlet in Europe, which started the What Car Awards in 1978 and has since published the best model for each vehicle class every year.

The Sportage was given high marks for its interior design, driving performance, and price, and was selected as the family SUV of the year, beating out competing models such as the BMW X3, Nissan Ariya, Skoda Karoq, and Volvo XC60.

The new Sportage, which was the subject of evaluation, was launched in the UK in February last year and sold 29,655 units a year, ranking 6th in new car sales in the UK.

"We will target the European market more aggressively with a diverse lineup of the Sportage including hybrids and plug-in hybrids," said Paul Philpott, president and CEO of Kia Motors UK and Ireland.

Kia's flagship electric vehicle EV9, which is scheduled to be launched in the first half of this year, was also picked as the "most anticipated car" by What Car readers' vote.

At the What Car Awards, Kia has won the award for six consecutive years, following the 2018 Morning, the 2019 Niro EV and Morning, the 2020 Morning, the 2021 Sorento, and the 2022 EV6. Last year, Sportage sold 452,068 units in the global market, ranking first among Kia's models.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com