Which? The consumer’s association has named Kia as the best car manufacturer in the UK for its combination of long warranty, good products and high customer satisfaction. Which? praised the company’s “superb new range of cars” as well as the brand’s excellent value for money and “industry-leading” seven year warranty. Presenting the award, Which? Chief Executive, Peter Vicary-Smith said: “This is the first time Kia has made the short-list and to walk off with the title is a significant achievement.”

He went on to praise Kia for being one of the top ranked brands in the 2012 Which? Car survey for both customer satisfaction and reliability. Kia beat off competition from BMW, Hyundai, Skoda and Toyota to take the prize.Which? said in its commendation: “Kia’s new Rio, Sorento and Picanto have all impressed in our Test Lab, while the new cee’d and Optima get the thumbs-up from our initial road tests. Compared to where it was just five years ago, we feel that Kia is the most improved car brand around.”

Kia Motors’ Managing Director Michael Cole said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this award – especially at the first attempt. It marks the culmination of several years of hard work by our designers, engineers and by our dealers who are as committed as we are to give our customers an outstanding buying and ownership experience. We see this as a great honour as Which? has a long history of championing the consumer and being remarkably thorough in its testing process.”