The Renault 5 has taken the crown at the annual What Car? Car of the Year Awards.

The Renault 5 was praised for its comfort, driveability, pricing and advanced infotainment system

The electric supermini’s victory – announced at a ceremony last night at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House on London’s Park Lane – follows hot on the heels of its European Car of the Year title win for 2025.

It is the fourth time that Renault has won the overall What Car? Car of the Year title, but the first time it has done so since 1997, when the original Scénic MPV took the top prize.

Renault’s latest win also represents the fourth time that a fully electric car has been named Car of the Year, following on from the Kia e-Niro (in 2019), the Kia EV6 (2022) and the Volkswagen ID Buzz (2023).

The new Renault 5 was also crowned Best Small Electric Car for its comfort, driveability, pricing and advanced infotainment system.

Other big winners on the night included the Hyundai Santa Fe (which was named Seven-Seater of the Year), Kia EV3 (Small Electric SUV of the Year), MG HS (Plug-in Hybrid of the Year) and Škoda Elroq (Family Electric SUV of the Year).

The Volkswagen Passat won the most awards of any car: Estate of the Year, Tow Car of the Year and the Safety Award sponsored by Thatcham Research.

Meanwhile, the Kia EV4 picked up the Reader Award, which goes to the most exciting upcoming electric car and was decided by a public vote.

Last year’s overall What Car? Car of the Year, the Lexus LBX, retained its Small SUV of the Year title.

What Car? Car of the Year Awards 2025

OVERALL WINNER

Car of the Year: Renault 5 52kWh Techno

CATEGORY WINNERS

Small car – sponsored by MotorEasy: Renault Clio 1.0 TCe 90 Techno

Family car: Toyota Corolla 1.8 Hybrid Icon

Hot hatch: Mercedes-AMG A45 S Plus

Small SUV – sponsored by Solera Cap HPI: Lexus LBX 1.5 Premium Plus

Family SUV – sponsored by Quotezone: Kia Sportage 1.6 T-GDi 48V 3

Plug-in hybrid: MG HS 1.5T Plug-in Hybrid SE

Small electric car – sponsored by DrivenFi: Renault 5 52kWh Techno

Small electric SUV: Kia EV3 Standard Range Air

Family electric SUV – sponsored by Black Horse Finance: Škoda Elroq 85 Edition

Executive car: Tesla Model 3 RWD

Estate: Volkswagen Passat 1.5 TSI eHybrid 204 Elegance

Seven-seater: Hyundai Santa Fe 1.6T Hybrid Premium

Luxury car: BMW X7 xDrive40i M Sport (Ultimate Pack)

Coupé/convertible: BMW 4 Series 420i M Sport

Sports SUV: Porsche Cayenne Coupé S

Sports car: Porsche 718 Cayman GTS

Performance car: BMW M3 Touring xDrive Competition

SPECIAL AWARDS

Reader Award: Kia EV4

Tow Car Award – in association with the Camping and Caravanning Club:

Volkswagen Passat 1.5 eTSI 150 R-Line

Reliability Award – sponsored by MotorEasy: Mini

Technology Award: N e-Shift on Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

Safety Award – sponsored by Thatcham Research: Volkswagen Passat