Can the Car of the Year title escape the Renault 5?

The seven finalists for Car of the Year are known. A quite open vote this year with models boasting very different profiles.

A “Car of the Year” sticker on the rear window has long been a guarantee of record sales. That is less true today, but the contest remains interesting. The 60 jurors from 23 European countries have managed to narrow down the preliminary list, which this year was expanded to 42 models compared to 25 last year, to just 7. In alphabetical order, they are the Alfa Romeo Junior, the Citroën C3/ë-C3, the CUPRA Terramar, the Dacia Duster, the Hyundai Inster, the Kia EV3, and the Renault 5/Alpine A290, the latter two being considered as a single model.

Starting today, the jurors have 8 weeks to test the models and decide which one deserves to be crowned. The seven cars will participate in a joint test at the Mettet test site in Belgium, until the final vote for the 2025 Car of the Year title.

How do these 7 finalists stand up? Let’s start with the most unexpected: the Alfa Romeo Junior. This model was born under a bad star with a name, Milano, which earned it the wrath of the Italian government, judging that naming a car produced outside Italy this way was a scandal. Add to that the current difficulties of Stellantis, and it can be excluded from the race for the title. The Citroën C3 and its electric variant ë-C3 have serious chances, but the multi-energy philosophy could be penalized. Not entirely thermal, not entirely electric, so not perfect, and recent bugs reported on the electric version don’t help reassure us. The Cupra Terramar is the only hybrid in the bunch and benefits from a young and dynamic image that could boost the contest’s image. But like any good CUPRA, it is expensive and elitist. The Dacia Duster offers an excellent value for money, and its finish now rivals the best SUVs. But the Franco-Romanian Dacia Duster is rated only 3 stars out of 5 by EuroNCAP. It’s hard to see how such a car could be named the best of the year, but it doesn’t matter, as it doesn’t need to be.

The Year of the Car in Korea?

Now let’s look at the two small Korean models. The Hyundai Inster is the electric derivative of the Casper, which is almost unknown in Europe but highly popular worldwide. This lack of recognition could be fatal for it. The Kia EV3, on the other hand, enjoys the good image of the brand and ticks all the boxes with a fully electric structure, a nice look, a good range, and an accessible price point of 35,990 euros within the limits.

Finally, the Renault 5 and its variant, the Alpine A290. It’s already not very nice of the jury to lump both cars together when the Renault Group is doing everything to create a unique brand identity for Alpine. If either or both win, who will truly be crowned? Let’s judge only the R5. A charming look, a modern interior while revisiting the markers of the original model, well-thought-out pricing, and a battery offer that can appeal to a broad spectrum of drivers. A winner? Keep in mind that the 2024 European Car of the Year was awarded to the Renault Scenic. Awarding one manufacturer two years in a row is never easy and might fuel the lobbying rumors circulating around the competition.

If Renault suffers from more political than technical considerations, who might win the crown? Only one manufacturer among the 7 finalists was already opposed to Renault last year: Kia. So we are placing a small bet on the EV3.