Kia, a brand which I think only a few will give a chance of grabbing an award from under the nose of larger and more "prestigious" automakers such as Volkswagen, and Renault. But the Korean automaker has created a vehicle which did that and more.

The Kia cee’d, a small family car designed for the European auto market and manufactured in Europe has garnered multiple awards in Europe.  The Auto Channel reported that the vehicle has won the Family Car of the Year in Sweden, (that’s one), the Car of the Year in Greece (two), the Fleet Car of the Year in Poland (three), The ING Business Class Lease Car of the Year (four), two Car of the Year-like awards in Romania (five and six), in the Canary Islands (seven), and in Lithuania (eight).  Wow!

That’s not all though.  The cee’d also received the Best Hatchback Award in the United Kingdom and in Denmark.  The leading European auto magazine Autobild also named the cee’d as the Best Wagon.  And in The Netherlands, it was given the Innovation Award.  That just shows that this car is much more valuable than brake calipers on an Integra.

As can be expected, Kia is proud of the cee’d’s achievements.  With all those awards, the Kia cee’d is officially the most decorated Korean vehicle.  "We are delighted that the Kia cee’d has been so widely acknowledged around Europe as a genuine contender for C-segment ‘best-in-class’ honors," said Mr. Jean-Charles Lievens, senor vice president of Kia Motors Europe.

"Everyone at Kia, in Korea and in Europe, made a huge effort to ensure that the Kia cee’d family is exceptionally well styled, well built, keenly priced and has immense appeal for many different groups of European consumers. With its 5-Star EuroNCAP safety rating, cee’d has played a key role in raising Kia brand awareness. Positive media reports, a stream of ‘best car’ awards and a growing number of delighted Kia owners are accelerating demand for cee’d as we enter 2008. "