Saturday, 31 May 2014

About the Continental ICOTY Awards

Now in their 38th year for the 2015 competition, the Irish Car of the Year Awards organised by the members of the Irish Motoring Writers Association are sponsored by Continental, the tyres and automotive technology multinational.

The sponsorship came under the Continental brand for the ICOTY 2010 Awards, prior to that it had been under the Semperit brand owned by Continental.

Category awards were introduced for the 2009 awards, as follows:

– Semperit Irish Small Car of the Year 2009 
– Semperit Irish Family Car of the Year 2009 
– Semperit Irish SUV/Crossover of the Year 2009 
– Semperit Irish Luxury/Sport Car of the Year 2009 
– Semperit Irish MPV Car of the Year 2009


Variations have been made to category definitions in succeeding years.

CARS OF THE YEAR AS VOTED BY THE IMWA
(Compiled by Brian Foley)

1978 VW Golf Diesel
1979  VW Derby
1980  Fiat Ritmo
1981  Datsun Stanza
1982  Ford Escort
1983  Ford Sierra
1984  Fiat Uno
1985  Opel Kadet
1986  Ford Granada
1987  Fiat Croma
1988  Toyota Corolla
1989  Fiat Tipo
1990  Renault 19
1991  Fiat Tempra
1992  Opel Astra
1993  Toyota Carina E
1994  Ford Mondeo
1995  Opel Omega
1996  VW Polo
1997  Peugeot 406
1998  Citroen Xsara
1999  Ford Focus
2000  Toyota Yaris
2001  Opel Corsa
2002  Renault Laguna
2003  Mazda 6
2004  Toyota Avensis
2005  Ford Focus
2006  Suzuki Swift
2007  Honda Civic
2008  Ford Mondeo
2009  Peugeot 3008
2010  Citroen C5
2011  Nissan Juke
2012  Kia Rio
2013  BMW 3 Series
2014  Citroen C4 Picasso


LEAGUE OF WINNERS TO 2014


Ford 7
Fiat 5
Opel 4
Toyota 4
Citroen 3
Volkswagen 3
Nissan 2
Peugeot 2
Renault 2
BMW 1
Honda 1
Kia 1
Mazda 1
Suzuki 1


LAST DECADE LEAGUE

Ford 2
Citroen 2
Suzuki 1
Peugeot 1
Nissan 1
Kia 1
Honda 1
BMW 1

CATEGORY WINNERS SINCE 2009 (section under construction, not complete)

In the 2010 category wins, the Honda Jazz was given the Continental Irish Small Car of the Year 2010 award. The Family Car section was won by the Volkswagen Golf. The SUV/Crossover winner was the Peugeot 3008 (overall winner). The MPV of the Year was the Renault Grand Scenic. The Luxury/Sport Car winner was the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The Ford Connect won the Continental Irish Van of the Year 2010 award.

In the 2012 competition, the Kia Rio (overall winner) also won the Continental Irish Small Car of the Year 2012 category. Other category winners were the Ford Focus (Compact Family), Peugeot 508 (Medium/Large Family), Range Rover Evoque (Luxury), and Mercedes-Benz SLK (Performance). The Continental Irish Van of the Year 2012 was the Volkswagen Crafter.

In the 2013 contest, the Peugeot 208 won the Continental Irish Small Car of the Year category. The Volvo V40 took the Compact Family honours, and the BMW 3 Series (overall winner) won the Family Car category. BMW also took the Executive/Luxury award with the 6 Series Gran Coupe, and the Toyota GT86 won the Performance Car category. The Continental Irish Van of the Year 2013 was the Ford Transit Custom.