The Citroen Berlingo / Peugeot Partner have jointly been voted Semperit Irish Van of the Year 2009 by the Irish Motoring Writers Association (IMWA ). The announcement was made at an awards ceremony in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin, attended by leading figures from the motor industry. The Citroen Berlingo / Peugeot Partner finished ahead of the Fiat Fiorino and the Citroen Nemo / Peugeot Bipper.
The final ranking of the shortlisted vans for the award were as follows: 1. Citroen Berlingo / Peugeot Partner; 2. Fiat Fiorino; 3. Citroen Nemo/ Peugeot Bipper; 4. Hyundai H1; 5. Smith Electric Edison; and 6. was the Piaggio Porter.
All nine voting members of the Irish Motoring Writers Asscociation van jury (including myself as IMWA Secretary ) took part in the vote. Value-for-money, reliability, versatility and lasting residual value were among the attributes assessed by the judging panel.
Presenting the award to Paul Cregan, Managing Director of Citroen Gallic Distributors and Michael Dwan, Managing Director of Gowan Distributors, Paddy Murphy of sponsors Semperit Ireland commented: ‘The Berlingo and Partner have won the valuable endorsement of the Irish Motoring Writers’ van jury and I am sure that in these tougher times in the commercial vehicle sector and wider economy, that endorsement will be a huge boost to the success of the vans in the Irish market.”
This is a big double for the Berlingo following the capture of this title for the original model. It is justified that it now accompanied by a brother model fro sister compant, the Peugeot Partner. The Fiat Fiorino came a very worthy second and also represents excellent value.
The Berlingo and Partner succeed the Fiat Scudo which won the 2008 Semperit Irish Van of the Year title. At the same ceremony the Citroen C5 was voted Semperit Irish Car of the Year 2009.
