The candidates for the Continental Irish Car of the Year 2014 awards have been announced and it looks like it will be a difficult task for the Irish Motoring Writers Association (IMWA), with no fewer than 51 eligible cars to choose from. This represents a 38 per cent increase on the 2013 entry, which saw 36 cars vie for top honours.
The full field of candidates for the Continental Irish Car of the Year 2014 are as follows:
Audi RS 6 Avant
Audi S3
Audi S Q5 TDI
BMW 4 Series
BMW M6 Gran Coupé
Citroen C4 Picasso
Dacia Duster
Dacia Logan MCV
Dacia Sandero
Fiat 500L
Fiat 500L MPW
Ford Fiesta ST
Ford Kuga
Jaguar F-Type
Kia Carens
Lexus IS
Mazda6
Mercedes-Benz A-Class
Mercedes-Benz CLA
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
MINI John Cooper Works GP Hatch
MINI Paceman
Mitsubishi Space Star
Nissan Juke Nismo
Nissan Note
Opel Adam
Opel Mokka
Peugeot 2008
Peugeot 208 GTi
Porsche Cayman
Range Rover
Range Rover Sport
Renault Captur
Renault Clio
Renault Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo
Renault Twizy
SEAT Ibiza Cupra
SEAT Leon
SEAT Toledo
Skoda Rapid
Skoda Octavia
SsangYong Korando
Subaru BRZ
Subaru Forester
Suzuki SX-4 S-Cross
Toyota Auris
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Prius+
Toyota RAV4
Volkswagen Golf
Volkswagen Golf GTI
"The number of cars eligible for this year's award is up from 36 entrants last year to some 51 new models for this year," commented Gerry Murphy, Chairman of the IMWA, "that is a 38 per cent increase. And although we mightn't see signs of it here in Ireland yet, the car manufacturers are certainly showing confidence in the wider European car market".
The 28 voting members of the Irish Motoring Writers' Association will now 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 before announcing a shortlist of cars that will go forward to the gala event (to be held in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry, on Thursday 21st November) where winners of the Small Car, Compact Family Car, Family Car, Luxury/Executive Car and Performance Car classes will be announced along with the overall Irish Car of the Year.
Last year the Continental Irish Car of the Year title went to the BMW 3 Series while the van accolade was won by the Ford Transit Custom.