The Kia K9 and Lexus ES have been chosen as the 2013 AWAK Car of the Year.
The Automobile Writers' Association of Korea (hereinafter referred to as the AWAK) announced on the 15th that Kia's flagship sedan K9 (K900) was selected in the domestic car category of '2013 AWAK Car of the Year', and Lexus New ES (ES) of Japan was selected in the imported car category, respectively.
The AWAK was officially established last March by gathering professional journalists from more than 20 media outlets, including automobile magazines such as
The Kia Motors K9, which was selected as the car of the year in the domestic car category, got an average of 755.29 points out of a total of 900 points in nine categories, including ▲ exterior ▲ interior ▲ NVH-ride ▲ driving dynamics (performance) ▲ efficiency ▲ safety ▲ features ▲ emotion.
The Lexus New ES was selected as the AWAK 'Car of the Year' in the Imports category by getting an average of 762.35 out of 900 points while receiving high scores in NVH, ride, and driving dynamics.
For the environment-friendly car category, Germany's BMW 320 diesel (320d) was selected. BMW diesel sedan, which is leading the imported diesel market, is evaluated as having low carbon dioxide emissions and excellent fuel efficiency. Out of 100 points in the fuel economy evaluation section, the average score was 89.14.
Furthermore, Porsche's new 911, which is considered as the 'symbol of a sports cars', was selected in the performance category, and Nissan's New Altima was selected as the best car in the design category for its modern and sophisticated exterior design.
There were 10 finalists for the '2013 AWAK Car of the Year,' and they include Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia K9, K3, BMW 3 Series, 1 Series, Mercedes-Benz New SLK 55 AMG, Toyota Camry (Hybrid), Lexus New ES (Hybrid), Nissan New Altima and Volkswagen Sirocco R (R-line).
For the selection of the "2013 AWAK Car of the Year, out of 42 new car candidates, those were sold more than 500 vehicles in Korea last year, 10 models have been selected," said Young-sun Hah, the direct of
He continued, "Through this 'Car of the Year' selection, it will be an opportunity to deliver more accurate information about automobiles to consumers," and "We hope the fair competition between the domestic and import cars will bring progress in the automotive industry in Korea," he said.
The '2013 AWAK Car of the Year' awards ceremony will be held on the 22nd at 3 pm at the Kukhwa Hall of the Korea Press Center.
The following is the result of the '2013 AWAK Car of the Year' selection.
-Car of the Year: Kia Motors K9 (Domestic Car Division) Lexus New ES (Imported Car Division)
-Environment-friendly Category: BMW 3-series diesel (BMW 320d)
-Design Category: Nissan New Altima
-Performance Category: Porsche New 911
