It's hard to put into words just how difficult it is to win a Car And Driver 10Best Award. Unlike most automotive award competitions, you're not just competing against other new or significantly overhauled vehicles – every vehicle is competing against the entire market. You're not just competing against vehicles in your respective segment (large SUVs vs. large SUVs, for example) but rather against the entire market.
And this year, on Car And Driver's 10Best Trucks and SUVs list for 2023, 2 of the 10 10Best winners are Kias.
ELEVATE THE EVERYDAY
"Its degree of polish, well-considered design, level of equipment, and just plain niceness elevate the everyday," Car And Driver says of the Telluride. The compliments keep pouring in. "Its composed chassis is expertly tuned to the task at hand," Joe Lorio writes. According to Car And Driver, the Telluride is a Range Rover for the middle class. "We don't just mean in terms of exterior style, interior execution, or an arm-long list of features, although the Telluride excels in all of those areas. We mean that the The Telluride is really a class above."
This explains why the Telluride has now earned 10Best status in four consecutive years.
ELECTRIC AVENUE
Joining two other battery-powered vehicles for the 2023 list, the Kia EV6's position among Car And Driver's 10Best trucks and SUVs marks the first occasion in which electric vehicles have cracked the 10Best list. Car And Driver credits the EV6's fast-charging capability, the extreme range offerings in affordable price brackets (373 kilometres at $46,995; 499 kilometres at $54,995), and the availability of extreme performance.
"The EV6 isn't on the 10Best list just because the GT is quicker to 60 mph than a Mustang Shelby GT500," Austin Irwin says, "although that's admittedly a great thing." Instead, says Car And Driver, "The EV6 takes a spot because every version delivers a practical package, demonstrates well-bred refinement, and is blessed with a ride and handling balance that left us grinning."
