On Monday October 6 2014, the biggest names in motoring in Ireland gathered for the Association of Professional Motoring Press' APMP Car and Van of the Year Awards 2015.
The Powerscourt Hotel in picturesque Co Wicklow was the venue for the inaugural professional press awards, voted on by Ireland's most widely read motoring journalists. Ireland's motor distributors were present, including Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) President James Brookes (KIA), to see what cars and vans launched in the last year would be honoured.
The jurors from all forms of media, including print (national and daily and Sunday newspapers), radio (local and national), TV and online voted for category winners firstly and then used a single vote to nominate their Car and Van of the Year from the list of category winners. The open and transparent voting system, a key part of APMP's operation was warmly welcomed by the motoring industry.
The voting system: with each vehicle category, a juror had 25 points to distribute, with 15 points the maximum one vehicle could get and zero points the minimum. This voting system delivered a list of category winners. From the list of category winners, each juror had a single vote for their nominated Car of the Year and one for the Van of the Year - a simple majority delivered the overall winners.
A total of 17 awards were presented on the night, including the overall APMP Car of the Year 2015, which went to Nissan's second-generation Qashqai and the APMP Van of the Year 2015, which went to the triplets from Citroen, FIAT and Peugeot, namely the Relay, Ducato and Boxer panel vans.
Category Winners:
City Car of the Year - Hyundai's i10
Small Car of the Year – MINI Hatchback
Family Car of the Year – Audi A3 Saloon
Large Family Car of the Year – Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Performance Car of the Year – Alfa Romeo 4C
Luxury Car of the Year – Audi A8
Coupé/Cabriolet of the Year – BMW 2 Series
Small SUV of the Year – Citroen C4 Cactus
Mid size SUV of the Year – Nissan Qashqai
Large SUV of the Year – Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
Van Category Winners:
City Van of the Year – Ford Courier
Small Van of the Year – Ford Transit Connect
Panel Van of the Year – Citroen Relay/Fiat Ducato/Peugeot Boxer
Business SUV of the Year – Land Rover Discovery Business
The Innovation Award went to Mitsubishi for the Japanese firm's work in plug-in hybrid technology with its Outlander PHEV (see our review). The five-seat PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) has been very effectively packaged to deliver an easy-to-use car that is very economical and versatile too.
The list of contenders for the Innovation awards was full of brilliant advances in motoring and included BMW's 'i' production (electric vehicles) in Germany, where the production plant generates its own power with wind turbines while dramatically advancing how cars are built.
Citroen has brought roof-mounted front airbags to the masses too in the Cactus. Peugeot is pioneering three-cylinder engine production and driving forward interior ergonomics.
Volvo's diesel engine developments are also impressive, as is the customer service from fuel company Topaz in helping drivers stay alert and safe on our roads through its free coffee and other safety promotions. These were just a few of the innovations contenders, and the award was very warmly welcomed.
Michael Sheridan
