The Renault 5 has been named What Car? Car of the Year for 2025.

The electric hatchback impressed the judges from Autocar’s sibling title for being comfortable, desirable and “very well priced”.

It’s the first Renault to take top honours at the annual ‘motoring Oscars’ since the original Scenic won in 1997 and marks the French brand’s fourth victory since the awards began in 1978.

It's also the fourth EV to have won What Car?'s Car of the Year award, following the Kia e-Niro (2019), Kia EV6 (2022) and Volkswagen ID Buzz (2023).

“It’s a car that you can buy with your head and your heart, and one that proves you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a great electric vehicle at a time when the costs of motoring are more challenging than ever,” said What Car? editor Steve Huntingford.

This comes after the 5 and its hot hatch sibling, the Alpine A290, were jointly named Car of the Year 2025 by a panel of 60 European journalists including Autocar editor Mark Tisshaw.

The rest of the What Car? award winners are listed below:

What Car? Car of the Year Awards 2025 in association with MotorEasy

Overall winner: 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: Skoda Elroq 85 Edition

Executive car: Tesla Model 3 RWD

Estate car: 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