Kia receives Red Dot award for Sportage, Optima
The Sportage compact crossover and Optima midsize sedan are fast becoming popular among design experts as they earned more awards for Kia Motors.
Both vehicles won in the 2011 Red Dot competition just months after being recognized for outstanding design in the transportation category during the 2010 iF production design awards.
Red Dot's jury of international design experts also paid special tribute to the Optima by giving it the competition's highest distinction and naming it as the "Best of the Best" in its category.
"We are extremely proud of the Red Dot awards for the new Kia Optima and Sportage. They are a great acknowledgment of the hard work of our international design teams and an endorsement of our design strategy," said Kia Motors' chief design officer Peter Schreyer.
Schreyer, in particular, was thrilled with the Optima winning the "Best of the Best" award, saying that its "blend of simple and fluid lines and elegant but uncomplicated shapes draws the attention of the eye in much the same fashion as a perfectly tailored, fine Italian suit."
These latest wins brings the number of Kia models to receive a Red Dot award to four with the Kia Soul winning in 2009 and followed by the Kia Venga in 2010.
