The electric Renault 5 E-Tech and Alpine A290 were joint winners of the 2025 European Car of the Year announced at the Brussels International Motor Show.
With relatively few non-ICE cars being launched as car makers try to get us to fall out of love with fossil-fuel cars, the shortlist was dominated by electric and electrically assisted cars, with the Renault 5 and Alpine A290 joint finalists, joined by the Alfa Romeo Junior, Citroen C3-eC3, Cupra Terramar, Dacia Duster, Hyundai Inster and Kia EV3.
Voted for by a panel of 60, the European Car of the Year Gong went to Renault – for the second year in a row – with a joint win for the Renault 5 E-Tech and its Alpine sibling the Alpine A290.
The R5, in particular, looks to be just the sort of small, and relatively affordable, EV buyers will flock to with its £23k starting price, delightful retro styling and 190-mile range, although you’ll probably want the bigger battery and bigger motor option starting at £27k. Almost bargains by EV norms.
Similarly, the Alpine A290 looks a promising performance take on the R5 for those who want more get-up-and-go, with up to 220bhp and 221lb/ft of torque in the GTS model, and range of 236 miles, but likely to cost over £30k when prices are announced.
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