The Renault 5/Alpine A290, named European Car of the Year 2025

At a ceremony held at the start of the Brussels International Motor Show (which returns after the 2023 edition) and in pure Eurovision style, the 60 jury members of The Car Of The Year award (one of them from Highmotor) have announced their verdict, choosing the best car on the European automotive market.

The Renault 5 was crowned the best car of 2025, beating six other contenders in the final: Alfa Romeo Junior, Citroën C3-ëC3, Cupra Terramar, Dacia Duster, Hyundai Inster and Kia EV3. This year’s edition was more competitive than ever, as all the finalist models featured electrified powertrains, most of them 100% electric.

Two consecutive wins

With this victory, the Renault 5 takes over from its sibling, the Renault Scénic E-Tech, which claimed the continental top prize last year. This is only the second time in the 62-year history of the Car of the Year that a brand has retained the crown two years running. It happened in 1995 and 1996 with the Fiat Punto and the Fiat Bravo/Brava. Since then, it had never happened again.

Once the verdict of the 23 countries was known, the Renault 5 was the most voted, with 353 points, ahead of the Kia EV3, which scored 291 points, followed by the Citroën C3-ëC3 with 215 points. Fourth place went to a surprising Hyundai Inster (172 points), fifth to the Dacia Duster (168 points), just four points behind, sixth to the Cupra Terramar (165 points) and seventh to the Alfa Romeo Junior, with 136 points.

Five versions between 95 and 220 hp

Renault offers its new 5 model in three powertrain versions, of 70, 90 and 110 kW (95, 120 and 150 CV) with batteries of 40 and 52 kWh capacity, which gives ranges between 300 and 400 km and charging powers of 80 and 100 kW for the 90 and 100 kW versions. For its part, prices start at 25,000 euros and reach 33,500 for the most complete versions.

As for the Alpine A290, with a special tuning of brakes, suspension and tyres (19 inches), the power rises to 180 and 220 CV, respectively, which limits the real-world range to between 365 and 380 km. In this case, prices start at 38,700 and reach 46,200 euros.