The list of eligible vans for the title of Continental Irish Van of the Year 2012 has been announced by the Irish Motoring Writers’ Association (IMWA ) Van of the Year Jury.
The list includes two nominations for German manufacturer Volkswagen. The eligible vans for this year’s award are: the Volkswagen Caddy EcoFuel, the Volkswagen Crafter, the Citroen Relay, the Fiat Doblo Workup, the Fiat Doblo NP and the Fiat Ducato E5.
The Continental Irish Van of the Year jury is comprised of nine members of the IMWA. 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.
“In these tougher times, businesses and small operators really depend on their commercial vehicles to be reliable and cost efficient,” said Paddy Murphy, of Continental Tyres Ireland.
“The choices of our experienced IMWA van jury are a valuable guide for Irish van owners who are thinking of replacing or upgrading their vehicles in the coming year”.
Gerry Murphy, IMWA Chairman and also Chairman of the IMWA Van Jury said that the economic downturn was having an effect on the number of new vans that are being launched on the Irish market.
“However, this year’s field of runners for the Continental Irish Van of the Year are a quality line up of vehicles and any of them would be a worthy winner of the title,” he said.
The winners of the Continental Irish Van of the Year 2012 category award winners – Car-Derived Van and SUV Commercial – will be announced in early January 2012.
Last year’s Continental Irish Van of the Year title was awarded to the Mercedes Benz Vito. The Car-Derived Van and Commercial SUV category awards went to the Volkswagen Golf Van and the Land Rover Discovery 4 respectively.
The winner of the 2012 overall Irish Van of the Year title will be announced at an awards ceremony in the Convention Centre Dublin, on Thursday November 17, 2011.
