Only last week Renault teased the production-ready 5 E-Tech, and now the entire car has leaked. Patent images published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) show the subcompact model in its full retro-modern glory. This attractive EV will replace the Zoe, and better yet, Renault’s performance division Alpine will use this as the basis for an electric hot hatch.

The Renault 5 E-Tech shows off the charge indicator light on the hood we saw in the teaser, and there are two charging ports: One on the left front fender and one on the right front fender. Even the wheel design has been largely carried over from the concept, although the alloys seem a smidge smaller.

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Compared to the concept, the production R5 loses the rear light bar to make way for a black trim piece. It has bigger side mirrors and traditional front door handles instead of the flush ones we saw on the show car. Mounted on the C-pillar, the handle for the rear doors is bigger now. The black roof and red accents indicate we’re looking at a high-end version of the small EV.

It is worth noting the third-generation Renault 5 will be electric-only but it won’t ride on a dedicated EV platform. The new hatch will use the Clio‘s underpinnings and source as much as 70 percent of the hardware to slash production costs. The platform has been dubbed AmpR Small (formerly CMF-B EV). Unusual for a B-segment car, it’s going to have a multi-link rear suspension, which should translate into sharper handling.

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Initially, the Renault 5 E-Tech will be sold strictly with a 52.0-kilowatt-hour battery good for 249 miles (400 kilometers) of range per WLTP. A cheaper variant with a 40.0-kWh pack and a shorter range will be added later in the life cycle. These batteries will benefit from a higher energy density compared to the Zoe. The new EV is going to be smaller, at just 154.3 inches (3.92 meters) long.

As for pricing, the company with the diamond logo says it’s going to charge (pun intended) about €25,000. At current exchange rates, that works out to about $27,000. The world premiere of the Renault 5 E-Tech is locked in for February 26 at the 2024 Geneva Motor Show.

Vehicle evaluations for the 2022 Motor1.com Star Awards are happening right now! This week, our editors are holed up in a secret location in California with 20 vehicles waiting in the wings, all vying for a coveted Motor1.com Star Award. And we’re bringing you, dear reader, along for the ride. Sort of, anyway.

After each (very long) day of testing, we will go live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter for what’s sure to be a rousing discussion of everything we liked, didn’t like, and the general state of our sanity after hours of driving. We won’t be alone, however. You can join us by posting comments and asking questions, and we will respond as best we can. Be prepared for witty banter, spicy hot takes, and all kinds of quality car content from the best crew in the business.

There’s more on performance with today’s batch of finalists, though it’s not simply about pure horsepower. Case-in-point, a 200-hp Honda Civic Si joins the 819-hp Lucid Air Grand Touring in this segment. The crew will also be discussing best value, where the price cap is set at $40,000.

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It’s also worth mentioning that, at this point, the Motor1.com team has been going full tilt on Star Awards evaluations for four days straight, 12-plus hours each day. The gig is almost up, and the conversation should be as spirited as the performance cars parked outside. This is a livestream you won’t want to miss.

For 2022, vehicles will compete in seven categories including Best EV, Best Performance, Best Luxury, Best SUV, Best Truck, Best Value, and Editor’s Choice. With a few exceptions, categories aren’t vehicle-specific which means one model could win multiple awards. The finalists represent the highest-rated vehicles we’ve tested that are either all-new or substantially updated versus last year, evaluated through our comprehensive granular rating system of 144 micro-segments. It covers everything from safety to performance, design, comfort, and more.

Erange EV tires has joined us this year as a title sponsor, which helps make this comprehensive evaluation possible. Be sure to check them out, follow us on social at Instagram and TikTok for special behind-the-scenes Star Awards action, and learn about all the finalists in the Rambling About Cars Star Awards podcast, available below.

We’ve talked about the growing new car prices on a number of occasions but we need to bring that topic back again. The situation isn’t expected to normalize until late next year and this time around, a new study from J.D. Power shines more light on customer satisfaction with vehicle purchases in the United States – and that number drops for the first time in more than 10 years. There are some clear winners in the study but overall, the industry sees a decline compared to last year’s results.

When prices of new cars started to go up in 2021, customer satisfaction was kept high thanks to the higher-than-expected trade-in values. However, the situation continues to escalate this year and the new-vehicle inventories are at record low levels. This, in turn, enables dealers to charge higher rates than MSRP, which drives the satisfaction index down. J.D. Power says that the index for fairness of price has been declining steadily in the last several years.

Regardless of the market condition, there have always been winners and losers. Alfa Romeo tops the study in the premium segment this year with a satisfaction score of 833, reasonably above the industry’s average of 786. Porsche ranks second with a score of 831, while Lexus comes third with a score of 819. In the mainstream segment, Buick ranks first with a score of 825, followed by Dodge (816) and Subaru (804), all performing higher than the industry’s average.

In general, J.D. Power’s study concludes that – and this shouldn’t really come as a surprise – customers are happier when they pay less. Satisfaction among buyers who paid more than the sticker price is 757, while satisfaction among those who paid the sticker price is significantly higher at 850. About a quarter of the mass market customers paid more than MSRP, while that percentage drops to 19 percent in the premium sector.

As for the best-performing brand in this study, Alfa Romeo seems to be doing a good job of keeping its customers happy in times of high new car prices and slow deliveries. With refreshed and new products coming soon, the trend is likely to continue – and the expected supercar announcement in 2023 will surely help with the marque’s image.

The North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year jurors narrowed down the 26 semifinalists to the  vehicles up for the big award. We’ll find out the winners on January 11, 2023, at a special event in Detroit, Michigan.

The finalists for North American Car of the Year are:

The finalists for North American Truck of the Year are:

The finalists for North American Utility of the Year are:

“Our nine finalists for 2023 represent a diverse cross-section of this year’s best new vehicles, ranging from sports cars to powerful pickups to three electric utility vehicles – which is the first time in our history that all three finalists in a specific category are battery-electric,” said NACTOY President Gary Witzenburg.

Six EVs being finalists for this award is a new record for NACTOY.

During the October test drive event, the NACTOY jurors took part in an informal poll about their thoughts on EVs. They believe that 50 percent of vehicles up for the award would be electric by 2024 or 2025. They think “public charging limitations” is the primary reason people aren’t buying electric vehicles. Misinformation about the models and cost are other major issues.

In June, the NACTOY organizers announced the 47 vehicles competing for this year’s award. There were 31 SUVs and crossovers, 13 cars, and 3 trucks. They sliced it down to 26 vehicles as semifinalists in September.

A jury of 50 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada start with a long list of all of the new or substantially updated vehicles in a year. Throughout the year, the jurors whittle down the nominees to semifinalists, finalists, and eventually the winners.

Last year, the Honda Civic was the North American Car of the Year. The Ford Maverick won the truck category, and the Bronco took the utility class.

The shortlist of finalists vying for the 2023 Car of the Year award has been decided. The jury, which consists of over 60 members representing several European countries, has chosen seven cars out of a long list of 27 hopefuls. Interestingly, all of the finalists have some form of electrification involved – if not fully battery-electric.

There will be a final voting round happening at the start of January. That round will decide the winner of the 2023 Car of the Year award, which will be announced at a ceremony at the 100th Brussels Motorshow on January 13, 2023.

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Here are the finalists for the 2023 Car of the Year:

The winner of the 2023 Car of the Year will follow a momentous win by Kia in 2022. The Kia EV6 was hailed as the 2022 Car of the Year, which was a first for the South Korean automaker. It garnered 279 points and 12 individual top votes after a close battle with the Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric. The Hyundai Ioniq 5, the EV6’s cousin from the same Korean auto group, ranked third.

The Car of the Year is an international award. The jurors consist of senior motoring journalists across Europe. The objective of the award is to find a single, decisive winner. There are no categories, sub-divisions, or class winners.

For 2022, the Car of the Year jury reached 61 members that represent 23 European countries. the representation for each country is proportionate to the size of the country’s car market and its importance in car manufacturing. France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Spain each have six members. The other countries have fewer representatives.

The 2023 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year (NACTOY) awards are in the books and the winners are revealed. The Acura Integra wins for Best Car, with the Ford F-150 Lightning crowned Best Truck and the Kia EV6 taking home the title of Best SUV.

Organizers for the annual awards ceremony announced the nine finalists in November. The presentation took place at the M1 Concourse Event Center north of Detroit in Pontiac, Michigan.

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The vehicles competing against Acura for North American Car of the Year were the Genesis G80 EV and the Nissan Z, pitting a compact five-door hatchback against a two-seat sports car and a sizable electric sedan. Collecting a total of 174 votes, NACTOY jurors noted the Integra’s styling and fun-to-drive persona as factors in its win.

In the truck category, The F-150 Lightning received the most votes of all at 483, easily beating the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 and Lordstown Endurance in the final round. In its win, jurors liked the familiarity of the F-150 fused with electric power. The F-150 Lightning also won two Motor1.com Star Awards for Best Truck and Best EV.

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For the utility segment, Genesis made a second appearance in the final round with the GV60. The Cadillac Lyriq was also a finalist but neither could top the Kia EV6, which earned 258 total votes. Jurors highlighted the Kia’s styling, strong performance with the GT model, impressive range, and easy charging in its victory.

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2023 is only the second time that an electric vehicle was a finalist in all three categories. Having six EVs competing for the awards is also a new record.

The NACTOY jury consists of 50 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada. Each year, they start with a list of new or substantially updated vehicles. They whittle down this long list to a group of semi-finalists and eventually three models in each category that are up for the award.

In 2022, the Honda Civic won the North American Car of the Year. The Ford Maverick was North American Truck of the Year, and the Bronco scored the  North American Utility of the Year award.

For the first time ever, a Jeep received top honors from the long-running Car of the Year awards, announced on January 13 at the Brussels International Motor Show. This year’s winner is the new Jeep Avenger electric SUV, which is available in Europe, Japan, and South Korea. It will not be sold in North America.

The Avenger also happens to be Jeep’s first pure electric vehicle. Debuting last October, it uses a single motor with an output of 154 horsepower (115 kilowatts) and 181 pound-feet (260 Newton-meters) of torque. It drives the front wheels, though a dual-motor Avenger is in the cards for a future all-wheel-drive model. A 54-kWh battery provides 249 miles of range in the WLTP cycle, though in slower-speed urban settings that range could approach 342 miles. It can fast charge through a 100-kW connection, going from 20 to 80 percent range in 24 minutes.

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In its Car of the Year victory, the Avenger received 328 total votes, including 21 best votes from a 57-member jury representing 22 European countries. Other vehicles in contention were the VW ID. Buzz, finishing second with 241 overall votes and 16 best votes. In third was the Nissan Ariya at 211 votes, making this year’s top-three vehicles an all-electric podium for the second time in the history of the awards. Last year, the Kia EV6 captured the overall win, with the Renault Megane E-Tech Electric and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 following closely behind.

Other contenders for the 2023 award were the Kia Niro, bringing internal-combustion power to the fourth spot. The Renault Austral landed in fifth, followed by the Peugeot 408 and the Subaru Solterra / Toyota bZ4X twins rounding out the seven finalists.

While Jeep has no plans to bring the subcompact Avenger stateside, A larger EV will grace North America in the form of the Recon. A Wrangler Unlimited-sized four-door, Jeep stresses it’s not a Wrangler replacement but it will have considerable off-road capability with its electric powertrain. More information on the 2024 Recon should arrive later this year.

Check out the Rambling About Cars podcast for more EV discussion, available below.

The final category challenge of our five-week #Motor1socialcar23 contest is over. What started as a contest with 40 competitors has led to five category winners.

And now, the social fans have spoken for the fifth time. The winner of the EV category is the BMW i4 M50. But the action isn’t over just yet! More on that in a moment.

Category Winners

Starting back in January, we announced five automotive categories with eight competitors in each. Daily challenges on our Facebook and Instagram pages started with quarter-finals, then semi-finals, and final rounds taking place over the weekend. The 40 competitors were chosen by the Motor1.com staff based on the popularity of vehicle posts on social media over the last several months. However, YOU chose all the winners in this contest with your votes!

In case you missed the action, here are all five category winners for the #Motor1socialcar23 contest

Regional And Global Winners

You’re reading this on the Motor1.com US website, but our M1 family is global. Multiple editions participated in this year’s Social Car of the Year challenge, featuring region-specific vehicles in the same 40-car format.

Here’s where the action continues. While each region has five category winners, we are in the process of counting all the votes for all Motor1 editions to determine one global champion. The process is simple – the vehicle that received the most social media votes from the last five weeks will be crowned the #Motor1socialcar23 winner. That includes all vehicles from all categories from all Motor1 editions, so as you might image, this takes some time.

Overall #Motor1socialcar23 Winner

Stay tuned for our special announcement coming the week of March 5. And thank you all for participating in this year’s ambitious five-week challenge!

The long journey to this year’s World Car of the Year has begun with the announcement of the ten finalists in the main category of the competition, plus the top four finalists in the five additional World Car Awards. The winners will be announced on April 5 during the 2023 New York International Auto Show.

The WCOTY jury includes 100 international automotive journalists from 32 countries around the world. The 10 finalists were chosen from an initial list of 30 contenders. Without further ado, these are this year’s finalists in the main category:

World Car of the Year finalists:

Alfa Romeo Tonale
BMW 2 Series Coupé
BMW X1 / iX1
Honda HR-V (NA) / ZR-V (JP, CH, ASEAN)
Hyundai Ioniq 6
Kia Niro
Mazda CX-60
Mercedes-Benz C
Nissan Ariya
Nissan Z

Below are the top five finalists in each of the competition’s four additional categories. It’s important to note there were just three entries in the World Urban Car segment, which means all three candidates automatically become finalists. As weird as it seems, the Citroen C3 is one of the three finalists in this class, though this one is not the European model, but the one that’s produced in India.

World Electric Vehicle finalists:

BMW i7
Genesis GV60
Hyundai Ioniq 6
Kia Niro EV
Lucid Air

World Luxury Car finalists:

BMW 7 Series / i7
Genesis G90
Land Rover Range Rover
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
Lucid Air

World Performance Car finalists:

BMW M4 CSL
Kia EV6 GT
Nissan Z
Porsche 911 (992) GT3 RS
Toyota GR Corolla

World Urban Car finalists:

Citroen C3
ORA Funky Cat / Haomao
Volkswagen Taigo/Nivus

Additionally, there’s a design award. The design panel includes six top design experts, such as Ian Callum and Shiro Nakamura. The jurors selected the following vehicles as finalists in this class: Cadillac Lyriq, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Land Rover Range Rover, Lucid Air, and Nissan Z.

In the next stage, the top three models will be announced on March 7, followed by the declaration of the winners in all categories on April 5. 

Every February, the researchers at J.D. Power release an annual dependability study for vehicles that are a few years old. This year, the study is based on the feedback from 30,062 owners of three-year-old vehicles that were purchased new. The overall takeaway is that dependability is improving slowly across the board, though issues persist with advanced technology and infotainment systems.

J.D. Power compiles its information and generates a ranking in terms of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). Lower numbers are obviously better, and for 2023, Lexus takes the overall crown with a score of 133. As such, Lexus also ranks best for luxury brands, while Kia is the best mass-market automaker with a score of 152. On the other end of the scale, Land Rover holds the unfortunate distinction of ranking last at 273. J.D. Power lists the industry average this year at 186, an improvement of 6 from 2022.

^{Bottom Five Brands, 2023 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study}

For the most part, this year’s automaker rankings haven’t shifted much, but there are notable exceptions and Ford is arguably the most shocking among them. Having ranked above average in 2022 with a score of 188, the Blue Oval plunged 61 points to land at 249. It’s now the lowest-ranked mass-market brand, finishing just ahead of Audi at 252. Ford’s own luxury brand Lincoln is one step up from Land Rover at 259. Rounding out the bottom five is Mercedes-Benz with a score of 240 – another shocking freefall considering the German brand was in average territory last year at 195.

Back at the top, General Motors has two brands in the top five. Buick ranks fourth at 159 and Chevrolet is fifth with 162. Aside from Lexus and Kia, Genesis is the other top-five brand at 144. Though still not quite up to the industry average, Ram’s dependability index increased an impressive 77 points from last year to land at 189. Volvo increased 41 points to score 215, and Nissan logged a 35-point improvement to reach 170. That’s good enough for the Japanese company to finish in the top 10.

^{Top Five Brands, 2023 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study}

As for specific vehicles, J.D. Power lists the Lexux RX and Toyota C-HR in a tie for the most dependable models overall. Kia ranked highest for compact and mid-size cars with the Forte and Optima, and in the SUV world, the Kia Sportage also received the best score for compact SUV. Other notable rankings include the Chevrolet Tahoe for large SUV, Chevrolet Blazer for mid-size SUV, GMC Sierra for full-size light-duty pickup, and the Toyota Tacoma for mid-size pickup.

Full results of the dependability study are available at J.D. Power.