Kia’s latest electric car, the EV6, was last night awarded the Car of the Year 2022, becoming only the third zero-emission model to take the crown.
The award, which is now in its 59th year, was handed to Kia during a virtual event held in Geneva on the eve of what would have been the opening of the motor show, had it not been cancelled back in October over Covid concerns.
The EV6 scored 279 points from 59 members representing 22 European countries, with organisers confirming that two judges from Russia had been suspended from the vote in light of the conflict in Ukraine.
Kia’s Car of the Year victory: The electric EV6 SUV has been named 2022 Car of the Year – but scores from the Russian panel are deleted from this year’s vote over Ukraine invasion
‘The Russian votes will not be counted this year. The Russian flag will not appear during the announcement,’ an official statement said ahead of the presentation on Monday evening.
‘This is a reaction on the Russian attack on the Ukraine. The suspension is not personal, it is not against our members.
‘The Russian Jury members are not excluded from the Jury. But their right to vote is suspended until a change of the situation of the conflict.
‘However we realised that the suspension of the Russian votes does not have any influence on this year’s results, neither on the winning car nor on the ranking.’
Is this the king of new cars in 2022? The Kia EV6 has now picked up three major motoring awards this year, also lifting the crowns for the What Car? and Irish Car of the Year gongs
It is only the third time in the Car of the Year’s 59-year history that an EV has won the top prize, following the Nissan Leaf in 2011 and Jaguar I-Pace in 2019
The EV6 scored 279 points from 59 members representing 22 European countries
Kia says the EV6 can cover up to 328 miles on a single charge. When What Car? put it through a worst-case real-world test in cold conditions last year, it still managed to cover 224 miles
It means that with or without the votes of the Russian panel, the EV6 – which start from £40,945 in the UK – would have still be crowned Car of the Year.
Not only is this the first time Kia has taken the prize but is also the only Korean brand to lift the gong since it began in 1964.
Of the 59 counted voters from varying nations, 12 named it their top choice model.
The award’s coordinators said it scored highly for its ‘pleasant performance, all-wheel-drive capability and ultra-fast charging times’.
It was also selected above rivals for its impressive full-charge range and its ‘vehicle-to-load’ (V2L) feature, which – using a special plug adapter – means owners can charge their gadgets and household items from the vehicle’s Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese battery pack, which is available in two sizes (58kWh and 77.4kWh).
Last month, we showed how this V2L system can help those who fall victim to power cuts – like during storm Eunice – to keep their appliances running using electricity from the car’s batteries.
Prices start from a fraction under £41k, though the most popular version is the mid-range ‘GT-Line RWD’, which costs £43,945
A modern and wonderfully-designed cabin helped the Kia EV6 secure the 2022 award ahead of its electrified rivals
Kia’s EV6 can run your household appliances for days during power cuts: The electric car has a vehicle-to-load feature that, using this special adapter, turns it into a mobile power station where you can boil a kettle or charge your laptop
Will it fit in my garage? Kia EV6
On sale: now
Price range: £40,945 to £51,945
Length: 4,695mm
Width: 1,890mm
Height: 1,550m
Wheelbase: 2,900mm
Battery: 77.4kWh lithium ion polymer
Wheels: 19 inch
Official range: 328 miles
What Car? worst-case tested range: 224 miles
Charging time: from 10-80% in as little as 18 minutes
Power: 226bhp
Transmission: single-speed automatic transmission
0-62mph: 7.3 seconds
Top speed: 114mph
Drive modes: Eco, Normal, Sport, and Snow.
Luggage space, seats up: 490 litres
Luggage space, seats down: 1,300 litres
Car of the Year organisers added: ‘Throughout the cabin, the Kia EV6 shows an unprecedented level of connectivity and safety, advanced driver assistance systems, besides a flat-floor interior with sustainable materials.’
Frank Janssen, president of the Car of the Year jury, added: ‘It’s a nice surprise to see the Kia EV6 receive this award. It was about time that the brand and the group were rewarded, as they have worked so hard on this car. Kia’s pace of progress is really impressive.’
Renault’ new Megane E-Tech Electric came second. The French EV, which will cost from around £38k when it launches in the UK this year, scored 265 points
In third place with 261 points was the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which is priced from £36,995 in the UK and has a range of up to 300 miles
Kia’s svelte EV6 narrowly defeated the Renault Megane E-Tech Electric, with the French plug-in model scoring 265 points and being named the best car in 2022 by 15 voters – more than the EV6.
Third spot was taken by the also-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 – the sister car to the EV6 – which received 261 points in total.
A zero-emission model was odds-on to win the award in 2022, with six of the seven nominees in the running being fully-electric cars. The only one that wasn’t – the new Peugeot 308 – is available as a plug-in hybrid.
The only model up for the 2022 award with exhaust pipes is the new Peugeot 308 family hatch. It came fourth. Prices for the 1.2-litre petrol start from £24k (though is also available as a PHEV)
Skoda’s Enyaq iV was fifth overall. It has a range of up to 256 miles and is the least expensive EV model in the list of nominees for the 2022 award. Prices start from £34,510
The most expensive EV that was in the running for the 2022 award was the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which starts from £42,530 to £66,280 for the range-topping GT version
Cupra’s electric Born, which starts in the UK from £33,735, came seventh overall with 144 points. It is the sister car to Volkswagen’s ID.3
It marks a significant shift change in the award as manufacturers continue to add more electric models to their line-ups ahead of the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK at the end of the decade.
Previous fully-electric winners are the Nissan Leaf (2011) and Jaguar’s I-Pace (2019).
The award comes just weeks after the EV6 also picked up the What Car? Car of the Year prize for 2022 as well as the Irish Car of the Year.
Jason Jeong, president at Kia Europe, said: ‘The EV6 is truly a landmark development that’s been designed from the outset to make electric mobility fun, convenient and accessible by combining a highly impressive real-world driving range, ultra-fast charging capabilities, a spacious high-tech interior and a truly rewarding driving experience.
‘The EV6 is an exciting sign of what’s still to come in our evolving electrified line-up.’
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