THE Ford Transit topped the Irish vehicle sales list for October with 284 units for the month. This is the second month in a row that the Transit has achieved this accolade for a commercial vehicle.

The Transit has been included as one of five short-listed vans for the Semperit Irish Van of the Year 2007 award. The winning van will be announced at an awards ceremony in Leopardstown Pavilion on Thursday 16 November.

The new Transit has a stylish new look, improved interior design, more car-like driving dynamics and a range of new options designed to suit all kinds of customers. The International Van of the Year jury awarded the 2006 title to the new Transit, the third time in six years the top prize has gone to a Ford van, after wins by the Transit (2001) and Transit Connect (2003).

"Ford's engineers have taken one of Europe's best vans and made it even better, " the jury said about the Transit.

TOP FIVE SALES FIGURES FOR OCTOBER 1 Ford Transit, 284 2 Ford Focus, 250 3 Toyota Corolla, 234 4 Toyota Avensis, 208 5 VW Passat,190 Renault's Logan stands alone

RENAULT'S budget car, the Logan, originally intended to sell only in eastern Europe, may have standalone dealers when it arrives in Ireland and other European markets.

The Logan has been a surprise success in the western European markets. A Renault spokesperson said, "With the Logan's success we are thinking of having seperate showrooms for Renault and Dacia in western Europe, or at least showrooms that would have a distinct space for Dacia."

Renault is adding variants to the original Logan saloon. A seven-seat station wagon went on sale last month. A car-derived van, pick-up and an SUV are also planned.

The Logan launched in western Europe 14 months after going on sale in Romania. Designed as an affordable vehicle for developing markets, it attracted a surprisingly large number of buyers in France . . .

where it sells for 10,000 . . .

Germany and Spain. Renault says it has sold 30,047 Logans in EU member states in just eight months. Over 14,000 of the budget-priced cars were sold in France, 5,000 in Spain and 4,000 in Germany.