The Renault 5 E-Tech and Alpine A290 have been jointly named European Car of the Year for 2025. It's the second time in a row for Renault, which won the big award in 2024 for the Scenic E-Tech. It's also the eighth win overall for Renault, starting as far back as 1966 with the Renault 16.
Sadly, none of the above has immediate relevance for New Zealand new-vehicle buyers; Scenic E-Tech was never sold here and Renault NZ paused its passenger-car range entirely last year, concentrating on commercial vehicles instead.
But the 5 E-Tech does spearhead Renault's new-generation models and will likely be a hero model for the local range if and when it kicks off again (which would only be when the Kiwi EV market is in a better state of health).
The 5 E-Tech is a pure-electric reboot of the classic Renault 5 that was so popular in Europe in the 1970s and '80s. It was awarded jointly with the Alpine A290, which is a essentially a performance version of the same car; equally significant in an historical context too, because the original 1976 Renault 5 Alpine (aka Gordini) was one of the world's first hot hatches.
The 5 E-Tech beat out six other finalists: Alfa Romeo Junior, Citroen e-C3/C3, Cupra Terramar, Dacia Duster, Hyundai Inster and Kia EV3.
Euro COTY is judged by 60 motoring journalists from 23 countries. The 5 E-Tech/A290 took first place with 353 points, followed by the Kia EV3 (291) and Citroen e-C3/C3 (215).