The list of eligible vans for the title of Continental Irish Van of the Year 2015 has been announced by the Irish Motoring Writers’ Association (IMWA) Van of the Year Jury. The winner of the 2015 overall Irish Van of the Year title will be announced at an awards ceremony in the The Marker Hotel, Grand Canal Square, on Friday November 28, 2014.
The eligible vans for this year’s award are as follows:
Citroen Relay Nissan Qashqai Commercial
Dacia Duster Commercial Opel Vivaro
Fiat Ducato Peugeot Boxer
Ford Transit Renault Trafic
Ford Transit Connect Seat Leon Van
Ford Courier Ssangyong Rexton Commercial
Iveco Daily Volkswagen Golf Van
Nissan eNV200
In order to find the winning van and category winners each year, the IMWA van jury members assess each van that is launched on the Irish market, grading each vehicle on such attributes as: value for money, versatility, build quality and performance.
“In the current resurgent commercial vehicle market – where van sales are outpacing the growth in car sales – the choices of the well experienced IMWA van jury could be a good guide for van operators and fleet managers who are looking to renew their commercial vehicles in the new year”, said Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres.
Michael Moroney, Chairman of the IMWA Van Jury said: “We have 15 excellent commercial vehicles vying for this year’s award – that is a considerable increase on the number of vans that competed for the 2014 title (four vehicles)… This is surely a reflection of the more vibrant van sales market that we have seen this year where, in particular, we have seen increasing signs of the return to the market of the single van owner / operator.
The winners of the Continental Irish Van of the Year 2015 category award winners – Small Van / Car-Derived Van and SUV Commercial – will be announced in January 2015.
Last year’s Continental Irish Van of the Year title was awarded to the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. The Car-Derived Van and Commercial SUV category awards went to the Toyota Auris Van and the Ssangyong Korando Commercial respectively.
