The Northwest Automotive Press Association, (NWAPA) handed out its Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) of the Year Awards on Nov. 6, at its traditional Mudfest luncheon, which coincides with the opening of the Seattle Auto Show.

NWAPA is made up made up of professional automotive journalists, primarily published in the Northwest, but the group has members from all across the nation. The organization’s membership includes people who write for automotive publications such as Motor Trend, Off-Road Magazine, Four Wheeling, and Popular Mechanics, web sites like Microsoft Carpoint, LACar, and New Car Test Drive, as well as newspapers from all over the nation, including the L.A. Times, San Francisco Chronicle and USA Today.

Mudfest is the group’s annual Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) competition that pits the newest and best off-road

The competition was broken down into four price categories:

• Under $25,000
• $25,000 to $35,000
• $35,000 to $45,000
• $45,000 and above

   There was also a new category this year, called Best Overall SUV Value

The Best Overall SUV Value and the SUV of the Year were selected from the four category winners.

   Winning in the Under $25,000 category was the new Kia Sorento, a brand new SUV from Korea’s KIA Motors. In the $25,000 to $35,000

group, the winner was the totally redesigned Toyota 4Runner. In the $35,000 to $45,000 category, the winner was the Volvo XC90, the first

SUV ever from the Swedish automaker; and in the $45,000 and above group the winner was the Range Rover HSE.

The Volvo XC90 was also selected by the writers as NWAPA’s SUV of the Year, by an almost unanimous vote. Of the 28 journalists who participated in the event, only two cast their votes for another vehicle. Motor Trend recently recognized the XC90 as its Vehicle of the Year as well.

The Kia Sorento, a brand new a mid-sized sport utility walked away with the Best SUV Value award. Again, the voting by the journalists was almost unanimous.

“Mudfest is recognized nationwide as the premier SUV event in the country,” said NWAPA President Lary Coppola, publisher of the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, who’s “Behind the Wheel” column appears in city and lifestyle magazines around the nation as well as his own paper. “It has become a ‘must’ event for manufacturers to showcase their newest vehicles. This year’s winners are the best of the best, and I believe the overwhelming voting for both the Volvo and the Kia reflect just how great these two vehicles are.”

Mudfest is a grueling two-day competition in which all the vehicles go head to head. The first day, which took place at Bremerton Raceway, consists of track testing, which includes timed acceleration, handling and braking maneuvers as well as on-road evaluations.

The off-road portion took place at the Thurston County ORV Park just west of Olympia.

This venue is a favorite because it was designed specifically for off-roading and offers a wide variety of terrain and conditions.

There were two off-road courses — one that is strictly mud, starting out at several inches deep and getting deeper by the end of the day; and a more challenging one that offers not only mud, but hill climbing, maneuvering around trees and deep water.

“There’s a reason we call this Mudfest,” quipped Coppola who is serving his second two-year term as head of the group. “The more mud there is, the more fun we have. Plus. driving SUVs under these conditions, the writers get to judge firsthand which SUVs are really best off-road. Mudfest definitely separates the posers from the real players.”

NWAPA proudly operates Mudfest under the Tread Lightly guidelines, an industry standard which promotes off-roading with minimal environmental impact.