The Kia EV6 and Kia Soul EV have each won their respective categories in the 2022 What Car? Electric Car Awards.
The Kia EV6 was named ‘Best Electric Large SUV’ by the influential publication, while the Soul EV won the ‘Best Electric Small SUV’ award. This continues the EV6’s winning streak, following its ‘Car of the Year’ award from What Car? at the start of 2022. It was also awarded with the 2022 European Car of the Year trophy earlier this year.
The judging panel for the What Car? Electric Car Awards, made up of the magazine’s team of expert road testers, said the following about the EV6 to accompany its latest award: “Even in a year that has seen formidable new rivals launched in the UK, the EV6 has remained steadfast as our favourite large electric SUV, in part because of its ability to go a really long way between charges. The EV6 is a good choice if you actively enjoy driving too, and its smart, high-tech interior wouldn’t look out of place in a much more expensive car.”
On the Soul EV, the judging panel commented: “This small electric SUV looks like nothing else on the road, and its rivals are nothing like as convincing when it comes to performance and range. Being all straight lines and right angles, the Soul’s shape good news for interior space too. The Soul EV really is worth making a song and dance about.”
Kia EV6 – Best Electric Large SUV
The EV6 is Kia’s first dedicated electric car, and shows the exciting potential of the company’s new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). The EV6 is available with rear- or all-wheel drive and a 77.4 kWh battery as standard across a choice of three model grades: ‘Air’, ‘GT-Line’ and ‘GT-Line S’. The EV6 is capable of travelling up to 328 miles between charges, and its 800V fast-charging technology enables to recharge from 10-to-80 per cent in as little as 18 minutes from a 350 kW charger. A performance-orientated version of the EV6 – the ‘GT’ – is due to join the line-up later in 2022.
Kia Soul EV – Best Small Electric SUV
The original Kia Soul was the brand’s first globally sold electric vehicle when it launched in 2014. The new model, introduced to the UK in 2019, remains an important member of Kia’s electric car line-up, boasting a long-range 64 kWh battery pack and a powerful 150 kW (201 bhp) electric motor. The Soul EV is capable of travelling up to 280 miles on a single charge.
Kia to offer 14 EVs globally by 2027
Kia’s bold plans for vehicle electrification pushed the brand to its best-ever EV sales in 2021, and EVs have made up almost one in five (18 per cent) of Kia’s total UK sales so far in 2021. The brand also now offers a total of 10 electrified (hybrid, plug-in-hybrid and electric) models – one of the most comprehensive electrified line-ups in the UK today. The Niro EV sits alongside the EV6 and Soul EV in Kia’s fully electric line-up. Globally, Kia plans to offer a line-up of 14 EVs by 2027.
