11 September 2002: Current Semperit Irish Van of the Year and International Van of the Year, Opel's Vivaro and the Renault Trafic have been triple-honoured scooping the 'Best Overall Van' title in the annual Irish Van & Truck Magazine awards. Doing doubly well, Peugeot and Mitsubishi picked up two gongs apiece while commercial kingpins, Ford garnered the largest harvest of titles with three golds, two for the ubiquitous Transit and one for the Ford Focus newcomer.

Immediately recognisable by the 'domed' roof over the driver's cab, Trafic/Vivaro are powered by two modern and economical 1.9DCi common rail diesel engines driving the front wheels. One's a 82bhp unit (with 190Nm of torque) mated to a 5-speed gearbox; the second's a high performance 100bhp (with 240Nm of torque) unit with a 6-speed-box, which was developed from the Renault Laguna II. The gear shift is integrated in the centre console thereby saving space and allowing for easier cross-cab access.

Both Opel and Renault offer two wheelbase lengths 3,098mm / 3,498mm respectively with two payload ratings 1000kg or 1200kg. And you get acres of space; load volume on the short-wheel-base model is 5 cubic metres extending to just under six on the long wheel base variant.

Common to both are power assisted steering, remote control central locking, fog lamps, CD player, tinted windows, height adjustable driver's seat, rake adjustable steering wheel and sliding side door.

Awards:
Best Overall Van 2002: Opel Vivaro/Renault Trafic; Best Supermini Van: Peugeot 206; Best Car-derived Van: Ford Focus; Best Cube Van: Citroen Berlingo/ Peugeot Partner: Best Small Panel Van: Opel Vivaro/ Renault Trafic; Best Medium Panel Van: Ford Transit; Best Large Panel Van: Ford Transit; Best SWB Commercial 4x4: Mitsubishi Pajero SWB: Best LWB Commercial 4x4: Toyota Land Cruiser: Best Double Cab Pick-up: Mitsubishi L200