The Essendon Football Club would like to congratulate co-major sponsor Kia Motors on receiving an award in the annual Australia's Best Cars awards ceremony.
Kia’s multi award-winning Sorento has picked up another brace of accolades while the stylish Optima GT has also joined the gold rush at the annual Australia’s Best Cars awards ceremony.
Sorento was voted the best in the AWD SUV $50,000-$60,000 category and backed that up by topping the podium in the Family Wagon (2WD) category. To round out the day Kia’s new Optima GT Turbo won the judges’ hearts in the Medium Under $50,000 category.
“The acceptance of Sorento by Australia’s new car critics has been little short of sensational,” Kia Motors Australia Chief Operating Officer Damien Meredith said.
“To add not one, but two, Australia’s Best Car awards to the list of awards is as humbling as it is exciting.
“Then for the Optima GT to also finish as a winner is just the icing on the cake.”
Australia’s Best Cars is judged by experts from the motoring organisations in each state under the auspices of the Australian Automobile Association.
The judges assess each of the finalists in the various categories on their value, safety, performance and fitness for purpose among a host of other considerations.
For the Family Wagon segment, the ABC judges felt that across the entire ownership spectrum the Sorento “ticks the right boxes”.
“In Short, Kia has managed to blend the things people love about a large high-riding SUV with the functionality and versatility of a traditional people mover,” the judging panel said.
In the battle for the AWD SUV $50,000-$65,000 crown the judging panel felt that Sorento’s improvements in refinement and technology, along with the class-leading running and repair costs, were the keys to an award-winning performance.
“With its increased size, refinement, equipment and powerful but efficient turbo-diesel, it’s no wonder the Platinum is the most popular Sorento,” the judges noted.
For the Optima GT in the Medium Car Under $50,000 category it was again the quality and refinement of Kia’s new turbo petrol hero that won the day. “Quietness is again an element of the premium feel, and it is here that a lot of Kia’s research and development dollars have been spent to get it right,” the judges offered.
“The new 2.0L turbo-charged direct injection petrol engine is powerful … yet it still does well on the environment front.”
The Optima’s outstanding value for money equation was also worthy of mention by the judges: “Add an industry-leading 7-year transferable warranty and the Optima is very hard to beat in a class where the buyer is particular about what they are getting for their money.”
Unlike most of the Car Of The Year Awards, the ABC Awards are open to any car on sale in Australia, not just those launched in the consideration year.
Sorento, backed by Kia’s industry-leading 7-Year Warranty and capped price service program, had previously been named as the Cars Guide Car Of The Year, Drive’s Best Family SUV, Behind The Wheel’s Car Of The Year and OzRoamer magazines Best SUV Over $60,000.
