2025 Renault 5 named European Car of the Year

The all-electric 2025 Renault 5 E-Tech and battery-powered Alpine A290 hatch have both been judged joint European Car of the Year, giving the French car-maker its second consecutive win in the prestigious awards.

Scoring 353 points from a jury of 60 judges from 23 countries, the Renault 5 E-Tech and closely related Alpine A290 beat the Kia EV3 (291 points) to second place after 25 judges placed the small French hatchbacks in first place.

In third place was the Citroen C3/e-C3 (215), followed by the new Hyundai Inster (172), Dacia Duster (168), the Cupra Terramar (165) and the Alfa Romeo Junior (136).

Seeing Renault take back-to-back wins, the latest eECOTY victory follows last year’s win for the Renault Scenic.

To qualify for European Car of the Year the model must be all new, with facelifts like the Tesla Model 3 and Renault Clio ruled out from entering.

Both the Renault 5 E-Tech and the unhinged 375kW 5 Turbo 3E have been confirmed for Australia, with the former likely to rock up in 2026 while the latter likely to arrive around the same time.

Not confirmed yet is the Alpine A290, although Australians’ love of hot hatches should help build a business case for the French performance brand’s latest offering.

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