Korean electric vehicle named Irish car of the year

THE Kia EV6 has been named as the Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year for 2022 at an awards ceremony in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.

Motoring journalists from print, online and broadcasting hosted the Covid-19 guideline compliant event, which was attended by Ireland’s leading car brands, importers and distributors.

Kia took the top award with its latest EV6 model which also won the Continental Tyres Irish Large Car of the Year category award at the ceremony. It is the second time that an electric vehicle has taken the award as Kia also won the 2020 Irish Car of the Year title with the all-electric Kia e-Soul.

Joint-Chairman of the Irish Car of the Year Committee, Anthony Conlon said: “The Kia EV6 is a great car and as the second electric vehicle to win the title, it is proof, if any proof was needed, that the era of electric motoring is already well and truly here in Ireland. Just look at our field of runners for this year’s awards, more than half of the contenders are available as either partial or full electric vehicles”.

Joint-Chairman of the Irish Car of the Year Committee, Cathal Doyle said: “Congratulations to the Kia team on a very worthy win and what an achievement to score back-to-back titles with two great electric vehicles. The Kia EV6 came out as the clear winner and was hugely popular with my motoring journalist colleagues”.

Tom Dennigan from awards sponsor, Continental Tyres said: “After missing out on a 2021 Irish Car of the Year awards programme, we are delighted to be back with these awards for 2022 as the whole programme provides a great guide to Irish motorists on what the best and latest cars coming onto the Irish market are. I am sure that the Kia EV6 will benefit hugely here from winning this much coveted award.”

The category winners:

1. Continental Tyres Irish Compact Car of the Year: Dacia Sandero

2. Continental Tyres Irish Medium Car of the Year: Citroen C4

3. Continental Tyres Irish Small Crossover / SUV of the Year: Opel Mokka

4. Continental Tyres Irish Medium Crossover / SUV of the Year: Renault Arkana

5. Continental Tyres Irish Large Car of the Year: Kia EV6

6. Continental Tyres Irish Luxury Car of the Year: Mercedes-Benz S-Class

7. Continental Tyres Irish Performance Car of the Year: BMW M3/M4