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I will never forget the sight of a bright yellow cool looking car hurling up the narrow gravel road to my house — in 1976! Yes, my dad was testing a brand new Renault 5 and just had to give me — 7 years old — a ride in it. We had a Citröen 2CV in our household, and this 1st generation Renault 5 was so refreshing. Cool looking, fast, roomy. I just loved it. One of the top cars I would love to own today is the virtually unattainable Renault 5 Turbo, but then …
Renault stopped production of this car after 24 successful years, and the Renault Clio that came in 1990 kind of replaced it. But look and behold, a brand new Renault 5 sees the day of light, and it’s electric! It is also now the European Car of the Year 2025. And it’s yellow! Well, I’m sure you can get it in other colors too, but I don’t care. It’s a testament to the feeling this car gave me in 1976, and I think many others feel the same.
It shares the title with its sister model, the Alpine A290.
Excerpts from the press release from the Association of Danish Motorists (FDM):
“Renault 5 is The Car of the Year 2025. The small retro electric car ended up at the top of the podium when the prestigious title was awarded on Friday morning in connection with the opening of this year’s major motor show in Brussels, Belgium. Renault 5 shares the title with the Alpine A290, which is a sister car.
“Kia EV3, which in November was Car of the Year in Denmark 2025, came in 2nd place.
“This year is the 62nd time that a jury of a total of 60 European car journalists from 23 countries has chosen The Car of the Year.”
FDM’s automotive technical editor, Søren W. Rasmussen, president of the jury, says:
“With the Renault 5, it is now possible to buy a well-functioning electric car in the price range of around 200,000 DKK ($27,500). The cheapest version costs 185,000 DKK ($25,400), while the top version is available for 230,000 DKK ($32,600). The Renault 5 is thus following in the footsteps of the larger Renault Scenic, which won the same title last year.”
While the electric car fever is raging in Denmark, sales of electric cars are somewhat slower in Europe. This is also seen in this year’s final line up of cars, where only 3 of the 7 finalists are pure electric cars.
“Nevertheless, it comes as no surprise that the title of The Car of the Year once again goes to an electric car. Because even though not all countries are as far advanced as we are in the Nordic region, when it comes to electric cars, the direction for development has been set by both politicians and car manufacturers: Electric cars are storming ahead, and in the coming years we can expect many more electric car models to choose from,” says Søren W. Rasmussen.
The results from the jury were as follows:
- Renault 5/Alpine A290 (electric only) — 353 points
- Kia EV3 (electric only) — 291 points
- Citroën C3/ë-C3 (petrol/electric) — 215 points
- Hyundai Inster (electric only) — 172 points
- Dacia Duster (petrol/hybrid) — 168 points
- Cupra Terramar (petrol/hybrid) — 165 point
- Alfa Romeo Junior (petrol/electric) — 136 point
It’s funny, this is such a cool car, and if I had to replace my Tesla Model 3, this would be the one I wanted. I don’t even have to test drive it. I just know it will bring a smile on my face. Hang on, my daughter needs a car….
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