The cars have grabbed all of the attention of late but the judges from the Irish Motoring Writers Association (IMWA) are also busy deliberating over the Continental Van of the Year award that will be announced at the gala awards ceremony on November 22.
The eligible vans for this year's awards are:
Citroen Berlingo Airdream
Citroen Dispatch Euro5
Ford Transit Custom
Nissan NV400
Opel Combo
Renault Kangoo ZE
Peugeot Partner Euro5
Peugeot Export Euro5
The judging panel, comprising nine specialist members of the IMWA, will assess each van, grading them on such attributes as value for money, versatility, build quality and performance before announcing the overall Van of the Year and the individual category winners.
The overall winner of the award will be announced alongside the Car of the Year at the awards ceremony in the Convention Centre Dublin with Car-Derived Van and SUV Commercial being announced in early January 2013.
Last year's Continental Irish Van of the Year title was awarded to the Volkswagen Crafter. The Car-Derived Van and Commercial SUV category awards went to the Fiat Punto Van and the Volkswagen Amarok respectively.