2014 Continental Irish Car of the Year shortlist

An original field of 51 candidates for the Continental Irish Car of the Year 2014 awards has been reduced to 16, the Irish Motoring Writers Association (IMWA) has announced.

After the votes from the first ballot paper were counted, the following cars have made the shortlist for this year (in alphabetical order by marque). Please note that this list is longer than most previous years because of the unprecedented number of eligible cars in the competition.

BMW 4 Series (Ex./Lux.)                  Citroen C4 Picasso (Com. Fam.)
Dacia Sandero (Small)                       Ford Fiesta ST (Perform.)
Kia Carens (Family)                           Mazda6 (Family)
Nissan Juke Nismo (Perform.)         Peugeot 2008 (Small)
Peugeot 208 GTi (Perform.)             Range Rover (Ex./Lux.)
Renault Clio (Small)                          Skoda Octavia (Family)
Toyota Auris (Com. Fam.)                Toyota Corolla (Com. Fam.)
Volkswagen Golf (Com. Fam.)         Volkswagen Golf GTI (Perform.)

All 28 jurors including myself chose from 9 Small Cars (Small); 15 Compact Family Cars (Com. Fam.); 9 Family Cars (Family); 4 Executive/Luxury Car (Ex./Lux.); and 14 Performance Car (Perform.). The more cars in the original category, the larger number (pro-rata) that qualify from that category for the shortlist published above in alphabetical order (by marque).

I am personally disappointed that the new Nissan Note, Mercedes-Benz CLA and Range Rover Sport didn’t emerge from their categories and make it to the final shortlist.

Jurors will again have a Refresher Day in the next week with the opportunity to test drive each shortlisted car again. They will then vote again on those shortlisted candidates. And the award ceremony and announcement of the Continental Irish Car of the Year 2014 will take place at a gala lunch event in Dublin on November 21.

The 28 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.

“For anyone in the lucky position of looking to renew their car with a 141 reg in January, the IMWA car jury provides a great service for Irish motorists in helping them to make sense of the array of new cars that has been launched in Ireland this year”, commented Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland, Irish Car of the Year sponsor.

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.