It’s a double win for Kia at the Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year awards as their electric car, the EV6 took the title at the Aviva Stadium last Friday. The last time the awards were held in 2020, the Kia e-Soul, another electric car, took the top honours. It was the first EV to take the title.
The awards are normally held in November but they were moved forward by a few months in the hopes that Covid regulations would allow a physical event to be held. All Covid precautions were taken and numbers were limited to ensure safety.
In all, 32 journalists from print, online and broadcasting backgrounds, voted on all cars launched in Ireland between November 2020 and November 2021. From these initial votes, seven category winners emerged with the final winner, the EV6, being chosen by the journalists live during the awards event.
To help with the voting process, two refresher days, with all eligible cars present, were held in late January at Mondello Park.
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 are the best and latest cars coming onto the Irish market. I am sure that the Kia EV6 will benefit hugely here from winning this much coveted award.”
Category Winners
Compact Car of the Year: Dacia Sandero
Medium Car of the Year: Citroën C4
Small Crossover / SUV of the Year: Opel Mokka
Medium Crossover / SUV of the Year: Renault Arkana
Large Car of the Year: Kia EV6
Luxury Car of the Year: Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Performance Car of the Year: BMW M3/M4
