Korea Automobile Journalist Association (chairman Choi Woo-seok) held the ‘Car of the Year 2015’ awards ceremony at the K Hotel in Yangjae-dong, Seoul on January 27, and announced that the All New Carnival beat competitive models like Hyundai Sonata and Kia Sorento and received the grand prize.
The Car of the Year judges, comprised of reporters from 37 newspapers, broadcasting and automotive magazines belonging to the association, comprehensively evaluated about 40 new cars released last year in terms of △ value for money △ performance △ convenience △ design △ safety △ fuel economy.
As a result, the All New Carnival got 74.84 points, and was ranked No. 1 beating out Sonata (71.80 points) and Sorento (69.47points). Sonata and Sorento, ranked No. 2 and 3, received special awards.
The Carnival is a 9~11-passenger minivan (multi-purpose vehicle, MPV), first released by Kia Motors in 1998. Its 2G model was released in 2005, and the 3G model arrived in the market last June. A total of 32,397 Carnivals were sold in Korea until the end of last year after its release. Last October it was launched in North America, and 2000~4000 Carnivals are sold a month.
Kia Motors topped the podium again 4 years after the mid-size sedan K5 was named the ‘Car of the Year 2011 (the first year).’ In particular, it is the first time that a minivan was chosen as the car of the year. In 2012 the Hyundai i40 (mid-size sedan/wagon), in 2013 the Toyota Camry (mid-size sedan) and in 2014 the Hyundai Genesis (full-size sedan) was named the car of the year.
As for awards by category, 3 models, i.e. △ Mercedes-Benz ‘S63 AMG (Performance Award)’ △ Jaguar ‘F-type coupe (Design Award)’ △ BMW ‘i3 (Green Car Award)’ received awards. The Jaguar F-type received an award for 2 consecutive years. Last year the F-type convertible received the design award.
“The fact that domestic and imported cars were awarded evenly in the Car of the Year event, which is the 5th such event this year, reflects the diversity of the market,” said Oh Jong-hoon, the Car of the Year Selection Committee chairman. “This year we focused on the effective value perceived by consumers, design novelty and technological innovation.”
“As automotive reporters chose them after fair evaluation, it will be all the more meaningful,” said Choi Woo-seok. “We will make continued efforts to contribute to the automotive industry of Korea through various activities including the selection of the Car of the Year.”
Lee Gwan-seop, Vice Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy, Kim Yong-geun, chairman of the Korea Automotive Manufacturers Association, Jung Jae-hee, chairman of the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association and officials from the sponsors (Hankook Tire, KT Kumho Rent-a-car and Michelin Korea) attended the awards ceremony.