There were celebrations for a number of car makers at the 2014  Motorcheck.ie Fleet Car Awards announced this week at Carton House,  Maynooth.

The awards were sponsored by Car History and Automotive Data experts Motorcheck.ie and dedicated to the corporate car sector and organised by Fleet Car Magazine also featured a Drive to Fitness Safety Forum highlighting issues that can improve the wellbeing of the professional car driver.  

Representatives from Ireland’s automotive brands were informed of the new on-line self analysis programme developed for professional drives presented by Mark Dodd, M.D. Advancedrive while Professor Desmond O’Neill, National Programme Director for Traffic Medicine gave a unique insight to new guidelines relating to Traffic Medicine for the Professional Driver. Professor O’Neill is responsible for leading the development and implementation of a national framework for standards in traffic medicine in Ireland.

In this year’s awards there was a hat-trick of wins recorded by two car brands with the Volkswagen Golf and BMW 5 Series retaining their respective titles in the C-Segment and Executive categories for the third year in a row.

In the newly established C-Segment Premium the Audi A3 Saloon was run close by the new Mercedes-Benz CLA.

The Mazda 6 also retained its crown in the highly competitive D-Segment with the latest Volvo S60 stamping its authority in the Premium D-Segment, winning its first award.

Another new class created this time was the increasingly popular Crossover (SUV) to which the new Nissan Qashqai took the honours while the Hyundai i40 Tourer and Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate were successful in the two Estate categories.

“We are delighted to be involved as title sponsor of the Fleet Car Awards again this year. The fleet sector is such an important part of the Irish Motor Trade and these awards are a fitting recognition of this fact,” said Michael Rochford, Managing Director of Motorcheck.ie.

Afetr the awards presentation, Cathal Doyle, Deputy Editor, Fleet Car Magazine said: “Each category was a close run thing and the newcomers have made a significant contribution in maintaining the high standards set since the awards were established three years ago. 

“The Motorcheck.ie Fleet Car Awards are like no other in that so many aspects of the car in contention is under consideration such as Static Review, Driving Impressions, Drivetrain Efficiency, Driver Comfort, Interactive & Safety Technology, Residual Values and Aftermarket Service,” concluded Cathal Doyle.