Continental Tyres Irish Car Of The Year Returns In 2022

The Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year 2022 awards programme has been launched, with 34 new cars and SUVs eligible for this year’s award.

The class of 2022 show the shift that is taking place towards electric with half of the eligible cars available as electric vehicles.

The aim of the Irish Car of the Year awards is to highlight for consumers the best new cars that have launched in Ireland in the past year. Cars are divided into categories with a number of category winners awarded, as well as an overall Irish Car of the Year.

The jury for Irish Car of the Year is made up of over 30 of Ireland’s most experienced motoring journalists, from across online, broadcast and print media, including this writer.

The Covid-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year awards programme in 2021. The Kia e-Soul was the last car to win the coveted title, announced as Irish Car of the Year 2020 at a gala event held in The Westin, Dublin, in November 2019. The e-Soul was a popular winner, and the first electric vehicle to win in over 40 years of Irish Car of the Year.

Speaking at the launch of this year’s awards programme, Joint-Chairman of the Irish Car of the Year Committee, Anthony Conlon, said:

“It is an important service that myself and the other motoring journalists who vote on the awards provide to the Irish car buying public – we help to make sense of the mind-boggling array of cars that are launched here each year, highlighting the best models in each category that are best suited to the needs of Irish drivers. And even though the pandemic has caused some disruption and delay in the production of some models, there has still been an impressive crop of cars for us to judge as part of the 2022 awards programme.”

Cathal Doyle, Joint-Chairman of the Irish Car of the Year Committee, added:

“With half of the contenders for this year’s Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year awards available as full electric vehicles, the extent to which the worldwide motor industry is reinventing itself is clear. That said, there are still many exciting new petrol and diesel models being launched as well as an ever increasing choice of hybrid options, ensuring there is a vehicle on sale to meet the needs of every Irish customer.”

Tom Dennigan of awards sponsor, German premium tyre brand Continental Tyres, said:

“We are delighted to be back with the awards programme for 2022.  Two years ago in 2020 when we last named an Irish Car of the Year winner, it was the Kia e-Soul, the first time that an electric car has won the title. Two years ago, the e-Soul was very much in the minority among the eligible cars as only a small number were electric.  Now, in spite of the pandemic, just look how the picture has changed with half of the entrants being available as full electric vehicles – there can be no more stark indication of the revolution that is occurring in motoring today.”

A field of 34 candidates is eligible for the 2022 Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year awards. The category winners and the overall winner of the coveted title will be announced in February.

The full list of eligible cars for the Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year 2022 awards is as follows:

Compact Car

Dacia Sandero

Honda-e

Hyundai i20

Medium Car

Citroen C4

CUPRA Leon

DS 3

MG5

Volkswagen Caddy passenger

Small Crossover/SUV

Hyundai Bayon

Mazda MX30

Mercedes-Benz EQA

MG ZS

Opel Mokka

Toyota Yaris Cross

Medium Crossover/SUV

Cupra Formentor

Hyundai Tucson

Nissan Qashqai

Renault Arkana

Subaru Outback

Large Car

Audi Q4 e-tron

Hyundai IONIQ 5

Kia EV6

Škoda Enyaq

Toyota Highlander

Volkswagen ID.4

Luxury Car

Audi e-tron GT

BMW iX

Mercedes-Benz EQV

Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Performance Car

BMW M3/M4

Ford Puma ST

Peugeot 508 PSE

Toyota Yaris GR

Volkswagen ID.4 GTX

…

Stay up to date on all the latest Irish Car of the Year news with Changing Lanes!

By Caroline Kidd