The cars may have attracted all of the attention recently but there is another category that will be announced at the Continental Irish Car of the Year awards on Thursday 21 November; that of the Van of the Year.
The jury of the Van category is composed of nine specialist members of the Irish Motoring Writers Association and the have whittled the eligible machinery down to four vans:
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
Nissan NV200
Renault Kangoo
Toyota ProAce
In doing so each jury member assessed each van that is launched on the Irish market, grading each vehicle on such attributes as: value for money, versatility, build quality and performance.
“For Irish van drivers or fleet managers in the market for a new van, the overall guidance and reviews of the IMWA van jury are a great help in identifying what just might be the best vehicle to meet their needs”, said Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres.
Brian Byrne, Chairman of the IMWA Van Jury said: “In the context of the overall depressed market, we have a reduced number of entrants for this year’s award – however, they are all excellent vehicles and it is still a wide open competition for the title”.
While the Van of the Year will be announced at an awards ceremony in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry in November the winners of the Continental Irish Van of the Year 2014 category award winners – Car-Derived Van and SUV Commercial – will be announced in January 2014.
Last year’s Continental Irish Van of the Year title was awarded to the Ford Transit Custom. The Car-Derived Van and Commercial SUV category awards went to the Ford Fiesta Van and the Ford Kuga Van respectively.