Kia cleans up in 2016 Australia’s Best Car Awards

The 2016 Australia's Best Cars awards are in, and Korean manufacturer Kia has proved the most impressive with the judges, winning three categories and placing five times.

Run by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) on behalf of member clubs, including the NRMA, RAA and RACQ, the awards rate over 150 vehicles in 15 different categories.

Jaedene Hudson, NSW Best Cars Judge and Editor of NRMA Digital Motoring, believed the awards provided a comprehensive assessment of a range of vehicles which would ultimately help consumers choose the right car when it came time to buy.

“The public can be assured that if it's an Australian Best Cars winner, it's safe, drives great and good value for money," she said.

"The 15 category winners of this year's Australia's Best Cars awards took out their categories because they are the safest, best performing, best designed and most cost effective in their fields – congratulations to each of them.”

Kia’s three first place awards included the micro, small car under $35,000 and family wagon categories, while BMW also performed well picking up three awards for best small car over $35,000, medium car over $50,000 and sports car between $50,000 and $100,000.

The Mazda6 Touring took out the Judges’ Choice award, while also being named best medium car under $50,000.

"The Mazda6 Touring is a deserving winner of the Judges' Choice award. It is a safe, easy to drive car that perform well in all driving conditions,” said Hudson.  

For the second year running vehicles from the Volkswagen Group, including Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda, didn’t feature in the awards following the 2015 emissions scandal which blighted the manufacturer.

If you’re impressed by any of the winners, or just looking to upgrade your current ride, make sure you head over to our car loan comparison section to compare the best loans on the market.