Eight Kia Vehicles Dubbed "Best Bet" by The Car Book

Anthony Fontanelle
February 22, 2007

Kia is continuing its drive to provide safe and high performance vehicles to the motoring public. One of the vehicles in the company’s range, the Kia Sedona, recently was awarded by MotorWeek as the “Best Minivan”, and more recently, the minivan, along with seven other Kia models were given the “Best Bet” distinction by The Car Book. The seven other Kia vehicles to have received the honor are the Kia Rio, Rio5, Spectra, Spectra5, Optima, Sportage and the Kia Sorento.

Last year, the Rio and the Optima received the merit, but this the first year that Kia had eight vehicles to receive the honor. This is a significant achievement for the Asian car maker since out of the 11 vehicles on their lineup, eight made it as the “Best Bet” in 2007.

Len Hunt, the Executive Vice President and COO of Kia Motors America, is apparently proud of their achievement and it is very evident in the statement that she issued. “Obviously, we are extremely thrilled and proud to have eight vehicles from our lineup be distinguished as ‘Best Bets’ by The Car Book. Since this distinction is only given to vehicles that have the safety and performance needs of consumers in mind, we consider it a true testament to Kia's commitment to providing only the highest quality vehicles to customers,” states Hunt.

The achievement of Kia in the recently published Car Book will surely increase their popularity among consumers. The Car Book, after all, is one of the most reliable buyers’ guides in the field. It provides an updated and comprehensive guide for those looking for a car, van, truck, or sports utility vehicle to buy. The book is published in cooperation with the Center for Auto Safety which is the country’s leader in automobile safety advocacy. Among the attributes of the vehicle that The Car Book presents to prospective car buyers are safety ratings, dealer prices, fuel economy, insurance premiums, maintenance costs, tires, and also a chart of state laws which concerns automobiles. The guide book is as helpful in the choosing of a car to buy as Active Brakes Direct is as helpful to car owners in looking for high performance brake components.

The Car Book gives the “Best Bet” distinction annually to vehicles which rates highly on the different areas aforementioned. The data evaluated by The Car Book comes from different sources. Both government and private studies conducted on 2007 model year vehicles were taken into account in the selection of the “Best Bet” vehicles. The greatest emphasis though is given to the result of crash tests performed on the vehicles. Those automobiles that posted good ratings on the crash tests and have significantly less number of complaints from testers are the ones considered to be part of the “Best Bet” selection.

Jack Gillis of The Car Book stated that: “The Car Book has long been the consumer’s best guide to smart and sensible car buying. We appreciate the fact that Kia continues to make a significant contribution to improving the market choices for the American buyer”.

Indeed, Kia has shown itself as a serious competitor in the automotive market in the US. With these distinctions bestowed upon eight of their eleven vehicles sin their lineup for the 2007 model year, Kia will be enjoying the boost and this may translate to higher sales figures. This also shows that Kia is dedicated to providing safe cars to the American motoring public, and that these vehicles are not only safe, they are also user friendly since they have good fuel economy and relatively low maintenance costs. This may start a new era for Kia where they start to make their presence felt in the US market.

Source:  Amazines.com