The list of eligible vans for the title of Continental sponsored Irish Van of the Year 2011 award has been announced by the Irish Motoring Writers’ Association Van of the Year Jury.
The winner of the 2011 overall Irish Van of the Year title will be announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday November 25.
The eligible vans for this year’s award are as follows: Fiat Doblo Cargo, Mercedes Benz Vito, Nissan NV200, Opel Movano, Renault Master, Volkswagen Caddy and Volkswagen Transporter.
In order to find the winning van and category winners each year, the 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.
“Van and commercial sales continue to be weak in Ireland as a result of the current economic environment,” says Paddy Murphy of Continental Tyres, “so at a time when every cent counts, the choice of the IMWA van jury is a great help to van customers who are looking for guidance as to which models are best suited to the needs of the Irish market.”
Gerry Murphy, chairman of the IMWA van jury, says: “In spite of the downturn, this year’s field of runners for the Continental Irish Van of the Year title are a quality line up of vehicles showing that the manufacturers have confidence in the expected improvement in the Europe-wide economy.”
The winners of the Continental Irish Van of the Year 2011 category awards, Car-derived van and SUV Commercial, will both be announced in early January 2011.
Last year’s Continental Irish Van of the Year title was awarded to the Ford Transit Connect. And completing a clean sweep of the awards for Ford, the Car-derived van and Commercial SUV category awards went to the Ford Fiesta van and the Ford Kuga Commercial respectively.
