Irish Car of the Year


The Continental Tyres Irish Car of the Year award was established in 1978, based on similar awards of Car of the Year. It is organised and judged by the Irish Motoring Writers Association and Association of Professional Motoring Press a grouping of Irish motoring journalists. The award was initially sponsored by Semperit, but has been sponsored by Continental Tyres since it acquired Semperit in December 2009.
The award has eleven category winners: Irish Car of the Year, Compact Car of the Year, Medium Car of the Year, Large Car of the Year, Compact SUV of the Year, Medium SUV of the Year, Large SUV of the Year, Green/Efficient Car of the Year, Performance/Luxury Car of the Year, Hot Hatchback of the Year, and MPV of the Year since November 2019.
Ford has won the competition eight times, with the Ford Mondeo winning the overall title the most times for an individual model. The current Irish Car of the Year title holder is the Kia e-Soul, the first time ever an electric car has won the top title. The awards event takes place each year, at a venue in Dublin in November. The award ceremony for the Irish Car of the Year 2020 took place on 7 November 2019, at The Westin Hotel.

Current rules

Cars are assessed by jury, comprising 34 of the experienced motoring journalists in Ireland. Each member road test each car individually on the following criteria:
The first receiver of the award was the Volkswagen Golf Diesel, when it received the inaugural award in 1978. It debuted some four years after the regular Volkswagen Golf. The second receiver, the Volkswagen Derby, was around 1½ years old when it won the award, as was the third receiver, the Fiat Ritmo.
The Datsun Stanza received the award soon after its launch, while the next receiver, the Ford Escort, had been on sale since September 1980. Mercedes won the award of 2017, the first time in the forty year history of the award. The Peugeot 3008 won the accolade for 2018, the second time the car has won the top award since 2010. The current winner is the Kia e-Soul, which also won the categories of Irish Compact Car and Irish Green/Efficient Car of the Year 2020.
The Ford Mondeo is the only model achieving three time winner of the title Irish Car of the Year, winning it in 1994, 2008 and 2016.
YearIrish Car of the Year Winner
2020Kia e-Soul
2019Volvo XC40
2018Peugeot 3008
2017Mercedes-Benz E-Class
2016Ford Mondeo
2015Nissan Qashqai
2014Citroën C4 Picasso
2013BMW 3 Series
2012Kia Rio
2011Nissan Juke
2010Peugeot 3008
2009Citroën C5
2008Ford Mondeo
2007Honda Civic
2006Suzuki Swift
2005Ford Focus
2004Toyota Avensis
2003Mazda6
2002Renault Laguna
2001Opel Corsa
2000Toyota Yaris
1999Ford Focus
1998Citroën Xsara
1997Peugeot 406
1996Volkswagen Polo
1995Opel Omega
1994Ford Mondeo
1993Toyota Carina E
1992Opel Astra
1991Fiat Tempra
1990Renault 19
1989Fiat Tipo
1988Toyota Corolla
1987Fiat Croma
1986Ford Granada
1985Opel Kadett
1984Fiat Uno
1983Ford Sierra
1982Ford Escort
1981Datsun Stanza
1980Fiat Ritmo
1979Volkswagen Derby
1978Volkswagen Golf

Winners sorted by manufacturer