Northern Group Car of the Year 2023: Kia EV6 GT Wins Fun Category

Kia has secured another class victory in the Northern Group Car of the Year voting, as the hot EV6 GT has won our “Fun” category.

The GT joined its EV6 siblings in late 2022, with significant changes under the otherwise similar body that merited its inclusion this year. That not only includes a major boost in power, to 577hp, but also model-specific chassis changes, driving modes, steering, transmission, and brakes.

It’s little wonder then that our members voted the EV6 GT to top the Fun category, although it was a very close-run thing with the Maserati MC20 Cielo, with the Porsche 911 Dakar rounding out the podium.

Cited by Kia as a replacement for the Stinger — which won our Car of the Year award in 2018 — the EV6 GT is the first fully electric car to win the Fun category since the awards moved to their current format.

Kia was able to provide an example of the EV6 GT for our driving day, in the shape of the production-ready prototype model that has been evaluated by journalists over the last several months, and was the very car that ran up the Goodwood hill in its dynamic debut at the Festival of Speed.

That allowed the assembled judging team of 15 NGMW members to assess the car, with one judge reflecting on its category victory, stating:

The Kia wins, as it moves on electric cars to a whole new level of performance.

The judges made their votes in a secret ballot, the results of which will be announced at the SMMT Test Day North. Should the winning brand’s press office be in attendance, they’ll be presented with the legendary “Arthur” trophy to commemorate the victory!