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The chunky little Nissan Juke nudged ahead of the Kia Venga and the BMW 5 Series to be named Continental Irish Car of the Year 2011.

The judging panel from the Irish Motoring Writers' Association ranked their top five as follows:

1. Nissan Juke
2. Kia Venga
3. BMW 5 Series
4. Skoda Yeti
5. Opel Astra

The judges awarded points on the basis of criteria ranging from innovation and safety to space, comfort, build quality, driving quality and value for money.

Awards were made in five categories, reflecting the diversified nature of today’s car market in Ireland.

Continental Irish Small Car of the Year
Nissan Juke

Continental Irish Compact Family Car of the Year
Skoda Yeti

Continental Irish Family Car of the Year
Peugeot 5008

Continental Irish Executive / Luxury Car of the Year
BMW 5 Series

Continental Irish Performance Car of the Year
Peugeot RCZ

The Nissan Juke succeeds the Peugeot 3008 which took the title last year.  The Continental Irish Van of the Year 2011 title was awarded to the Mercedes Benz Vito.

And yes, we're fully aware that we're still in 2010 so it's a bit strange that the car of next year has already been announced. We don't decide on this stuff, we just report on it.