IRELAND - Irish Car & Van of the Year, umm, 39 models vie for titles.

A field of 39 candidates for the Continental Irish Car of the Year 2015 awards was announced by the Irish Motoring Writers Association (IMWA) today.  The Continental Irish Car of the Year and Continental Irish Van of the Year will be revealed at a gala event in The Marker Hotel, Grand Canal Square, Dublin, on Friday November 28th.

The full field of candidates for the Continental Irish Car of the Year 2015 are as follows:

Alfa Romeo 4C

Audi S1

Audi A8

BMW i3

BMW X5

BMW 2 Series

BMW 2 Series Tourer

BMW X4

BMW M4

Citroen C1

Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

Citroen Cactus

Dacia Logan MCV

Ford Tourneo Connect

Ford EcoSport

Hyundai i10

Jaguar F-Type

Jeep Cherokee

Kia Soul

Lexus NX

Mazda3

Mercedes-Benz GLA

Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

New Mini

Nissan Qashqai

Nissan X-Trail

Nissan Pulsar

Peugeot 308

Peugeot RCZ R

Renault Zoe

Renault Twingo 

Seat Leon Cupra

Skoda Octavia RS

SsangYong Rexton

SsangYong Rodius

Subaru Impreza

Toyota Aygo

Volkswagen Golf SV

Austin Shinnors, Chairman of the IMWA, commented: “The number of models may have dropped year on year (down from 51 last year), but I am very pleased to say that one thing that has not suffered is the quality of the cars in the running for our awards – everything from exciting city cars, to family saloons packed with technology, to luxury / sport models and some cutting edge alternative fuel models, they are all there in the 2015 field of runners.”

The voting members of the Irish Motoring Writers’ Association assess each vehicle, attributing points on the basis of criteria ranging from innovation and safety, to space, comfort, build quality, driving quality and value for money.

“It has been heartening to see the uplift in car sales across the country this year and we can only hope that it is heralding a more general improvement in the country’s economic outlook.  For anyone in that increasing number of motorists who is considering a new car with the 151 registration, the choices of the IMWA car jury will be a good guide in drawing up a list of ‘must try’ cars”, commented Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland, Irish Car of the Year sponsor.

A shortlist of vehicles will be announced in the coming weeks.

Last year the Continental Irish Car of the Year title went to the Citroen C4 Picasso while the van accolade was won by the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.