Kia does it again... EV6 was named as the Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year for 2022

By Tony Conlon

Against the imposing backdrop of Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, the Kia EV6 was named as the Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year for 2022.

Kia took the top award with its latest EV6 model, which also won the Irish Large Car of the Year category award at the ceremony, attended by Ireland’s leading car brands, importers and distributors.

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 its all-electric e-Soul.

After an absence of two-and-a-quarter years, motoring journalists from print, online and broadcasting platforms hosted the Covid-19 guideline-compliant event at the home of Irish rugby and soccer.

As this year’s joint chairman of the Irish Car of the Year committee, I told the gathering I regarded the Kia EV6 as a great car and worthy winner of the title:

“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.”

Mayo man and fellow joint chairman of the Car of the Year committee, Cathal Doyle, added: “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. Irish Compact Car of the Year: Dacia Sandero

2. Irish Medium Car of the Year: Citroen C4

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

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

5. Irish Large Car of the Year: Kia EV6

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

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

The Continental Tyres Irish Van of the Year title for 2022 was awarded to the joint entry Citroen e-Dispatch/Opel Vivaro-e/Peugeot e-Expert.

How I voted:

In the Compact category, the Dacia Sandero found itself up against the Honda e and Hyundai i20. I gave my top vote to the Sandero, followed by the Hyundai i20 and Honda e.

In the Medium Car category, my top marks went to the Citroen C4, followed by the Cupra Leon. I gave equal third to the DS3, MG5 and Volkswagen Caddy passenger.

In the Small Crossover/SUV category, my number one went to the Opel Mokka, followed by the Mercedes-Benz EQA, joint third the Hyundai Bayon/Toyota Yaris Cross and joint fourth the MG ZS and Mazda MX-30.

In the Medium Crossover/SUV category, my top eight marks were awarded to the Hyundai Tucson, followed by 6 votes each to the Nissan Qashqai and Renault Arkana, and 5 votes to the Cupra Formentor.

The Large Car sector, from where the overall winner came, saw me give 6 votes each to the Kia EV6 and Hyundai IONIQ 5, 4 votes each to the Audi Q4 e-tron and Skoda Enyaq followed by 3 votes to the Volkswagen ID 4 and 2 points to the Toyota Highlander.

In the Luxury category, I gave my number one to the Mercedes-Benz S class, followed by the Audi Q4 e-tron, Mercedes-Benz EQV and BMW iX.

In the Performance Car category, my first choice was the Toyota GR Yaris followed by the Peugeot 508 PSE, Ford Puma ST, Volkswagen ID.4 GTX and BMW M3/M4.

Following the announcement of the winner from each category, members of the voting panel then cast their final ballot, watched over by Tracey Sullivan from Grant Thornton, who acted as adjudicator. I gave my number one to the Kia EV6.

In the Van of the Year category, my top vote went to the Citroen e-Dispatch/Opel Vivaro-e/Peugeot e-Expert, vans from the same stable that share everything bar names and badges.

My second choice was the Mercedes-Benz e Sprinter, joint third Toyota Proace City and Volkswagen Caddy, fourth Maxus e-Deliver 9 and fifth Maxus e-Deliver 3.

Also at the event, a special Service to the Industry award was presented to Don Hall of Hall PR. Compered by Newstalk’s Vincent Wall, it just felt great to be able to gather at a live awards ceremony in the company of other people again.

Photo caption: Anthony Conlon and Cathal Doyle, Joint Chairmen, Irish Car of the Year Committee; Ronan Flood, Kia Ireland; and Tom Dennigan, Continental Tyres Ireland