The Kia EV6 has been crowned Car of the Year in the What Car? Awards, just the second time the prestigious title has been won by an electric car.
The Korean brand’s electric SUV won the overall prize for setting or setting new benchmarks for electric cars. It offers an official range of 328 miles, with What Car?’s testers achieving 224 miles on a charge despite running it in near worst-case low temperature conditions.
The judging panel also commended the EV6 for its superfast, 800V charging capabilities, with its battery allowing for a 10-80% charge in as little as 18 minutes.
The EV6 also impressed the judges for being hugely spacious, refined even by electric car standards and for being sold with the reassurance of Kia’s standard-setting seven-year warranty.
The only previous electric car to win the overall What Car? Car of the Year title was also a Kia, with the e-Niro triumphing in 2019.
“Once again, Kia has set a new benchmark for an electric vehicle,” said What Car? editor Steve Huntingford. “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.”
He added that the EV6’s win cements Kia’s “position alongside Tesla as one of the most exciting electric car makers on the planet.”
Kia UK boss Paul Philpott said: “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.”
As well as its overall win, the EV6 RWD GT-Line won the Electric SUV category. The Cupra Born 58kWh V2 was named best Small Electric Car, with the Tesla Model 3 Long Range triumphing in the Large Electric Car category. EV charging firm Gridserve won the Innovation Award, presented in association with Thatcham Research.
To read about all the winners, visit the What Car? Awards website.
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