National Arab Motors retains its place as one of 16 best dealerships

Kia’s Rio and Sportage have recently scored an impressive duo of wins in the Australian Automobile Association’s prestigious Australia’s Best Cars awards.

Rio backed up its success of last year, defending its title in the hotly-contested Best Light Car under AUS$20,000 category while the Sportage took the crown in the Best SUV under AUS$40,000 category.

“This is a wonderful result in two of Australia’s most popular segments – a genuine endorsement of the work Kia has been doing to provide cars to Australian buyers with the key qualities of safety, quality and enjoyment,” Kia Motors Australia Chief Operating Officer Tony Barlow said.

Mr. Barlow said having two cars on the winner’s podium and another two (Optima and Sorento) as finalists was yet another reason to believe that Kia is heading in the right direction.

The ABC judging panel, drawn from experts from each of the state motoring clubs, found that the Sportage: “has a solidly constructed feel and comes with the reassurance of an excellent five-star ANCAP Safety rating.  The build quality and finish of Kia vehicles has improved dramatically in the last couple of years and the Sportage is now as good if not better in this area than many of the highly credentialed Japanese and European models in this class”

The judging panel also praised Kia for the work done to offer Australian drivers the type of behind the wheel experience they desire.

“The Rio’s on road performance, handling, ride and braking was close to best in class… Importantly, the Rio has most certainly benefited from a concerted local effort to tune and recalibrate the suspension and damping to suit Aussie conditions and Aussie roads.”