[dropcap]W[/dropcap]omen on Wheels (WOW), South Africa’s motoring annual for women, has announced the winners in its annual Women’s Car of the Year Awards.
Thousands of votes were cast for the 120 finalists, which were grouped into 11 categories, and were not only voted for by the public, but also by an all-women judging panel comprising South Africa’s leading and most respected female motoring journalists. KIA Motors were nominated in six categories for its Picanto, Rio, Cerato, Soul, Sorento and Grand Sedona, with the KIA Picanto ultimately voted the Best Budget Buy for the year, and the Grand Sedona the Best MPV for the year.
According to Women on Wheels editor, Juliet McGuire, the judges voted based on criteria such as good value for money, practicality, comfort, and performance, and voted for the finalists in each category via a point system. The car with the highest number of votes in its category was then crowned the winner of that category.
The KIA Picanto, which was originally launched in 2010, remains one of KIA’s most popular and most awarded models, most recently being named the most dependable city car in J.D. Power’s UK Vehicle Dependability Study. In South Africa, the Picanto range was also recently expanded to include two budget-busting derivatives – the 1.0 LS and 1.2 LS. Proving that small can still be awesome, both new Picanto models were an immediate hit in the market.
However, it’s KIA’s flagship Grand Sedona that continues to surprise and delight consumers and motoring media across the world, and especially in South Africa. With it’s cutting edge exterior design, vastly flexible and high quality interior as well as car-like driving dynamics, the Grand Sedona has found favour with many consumers who require the space and flexibility of a people mover, but do not want to compromise on luxury, exceptional quality and class-leading creature comforts, or pay significantly more for a similar vehicle. The Grand Sedona’s win in the Best MPV category of the WOW Women’s Car of the Year Awards joins the recent J.D. Power APEAL (Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) Award in the Grand Sedona’s already-bursting trophy cabinet.
The range-topping KIA Grand Sedona SXL – which is available with a 2.2-litre turbodiesel or a 3.3 V6 petrol engine – is now also available with a no-cost, optional, factory-fitted 8-inch colour touchscreen that features an integrated satellite navigation system. This system joins the Grand Sedona’s already extensive list of standard features, which front and rear parking sensors with a reverse camera, heated and ventilated, 12-way adjustable electric seats for the driver and front passenger, heated second row seats, electrically heated side mirrors, Blind Spot Detection, fully automatic air-conditioning with independent three-zone controls, and KIA’s easy-to-use Smart Power Tailgate.
The Grand Sedona SXL specified with satellite navigation comes as standard with a 6-speaker sound system, while non-navigation models feature a ‘Premium’ 8-speaker system with Infinity speakers. Available in a 7- or 11-seat configuration (model dependent), the KIA Grand Sedona combines all of the creature comforts required for modern living, with space for the entire family.
All Grand Sedona models ship as standard with a 5-year / 100 000km Maintenance Plan, as well as KIA’s new 5-year / Unlimited km Warranty and 5-year / Unlimited km roadside assistance.
