Kia Sportage is Scottish Car of the Year
Kia's stylish new Sportage has taken Scotland's top motoring accolade at the 2010 Scottish Car of the Year Awards.
The Kia drove off with the prestigious Scottish Car of the Year title at a gala event in the Fairmont St Andrews on Friday evening.
An audience of 200 was made up of people drawn from all aspects of the motor industry plus the members of the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers who select the winner.
To take the overall title, the stylish Sportage had to win its own category and then defeat the strong opposition from the other categories in a final vote. This year there were 11 category winners - drawn from the following - Small, Family, Executive, Luxury, Sporting, MPV, Diesel, Drop Top, SUV, Eco and Safety.
As in previous years, competition was tough across the board and the Small category reflected that with two cars being very close. The award was taken by the Suzuki Swift and the runner-up was the Citroen DS.
The excellent Skoda Superb was the runaway winner of the Family car sector with the Peugeot 3008 in second place. The MPV award was won by the Peugeot 5008 in a close battle with Ford's S-Max.
It was another close contest in the Executive section with Volvo's S60 coming out the winner just ahead of BMW's new 5-series. In the Luxury category Jaguar's new XJ took the title with Audi's A8 finishing second.
The Sporting category offered up some great cars this year with the title going to SEAT's Leon Cupra R and Peugeot's RCZ taking the runners-up slot.
The Diesel section is always hotly contested and this time the winner is the BMW 530d with Jaguar's XJ the runner-up. The sensational Audi R8 Spyder took the Drop Top award ahead of Nissan's 370Z.
The SUV title was taken by the Kia Sportage ahead of the VW Touareg before going on to win the overall title.
The new ECO award went to SEAT's Leon Ecomotive model - recognised for its astonishing mpg figures and low 99 gm/km of CO2 emissions.
Suzuki's value for money Swift took the inaugural Safety award for having seven airbags and ESP included as standard equipment on all models.
During the event John Murdoch, President of the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers, said: "We sampled some superb new cars during the past 12 months and our task of selecting the category winners was not an easy one.
"Despite tough times in the motoring industry, some truly excellent new cars are still being launched and manufacturers are responding well to the the many challenges they currently face. Kia are improving at an astonishing rate and they have shown that by producing the new Sportage. The newcomer impressed us with its stylish looks, sound packaging and blend of driving dynamics, safety and of course value for money.
Michael Cole, Managing Director, Kia Motors (UK) Ltd., said: “This is a fantastic honour from one of our most important market areas in the UK. Sportage is a clear indication of our future potential and in Scotland we have some of our best dealers – the Scottish Car of the Year title will give them and us a great boost.
“We were certain this car was going to win friends from the first time we saw it and it is already selling at twice the rate we forecast – and that was twice the sales level of the old model! I know everyone within the entire Kia family will be excited that our first major honour for Sportage has come from Scotland where quality and value are basic requirements for success.
“I would like to thank all of the Association for this vote of confidence in what we are trying to do with the Kia brand – and I can tell you that our Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, who led the development of Sportage’s dynamic looks will be every bit as delighted as I am.”
