As is tradition, ahead of the opening of the Geneva Motor Show, the European Car Of The Year jury has crowned its winner for 2024, and that winner is the new electric Renault Scenic.
A final list of seven cars
The Scenic beat out an impressive shortlist of six rivals, including the BMW 5-series, BYD Seal, Kia EV9, Peugeot E-3008/3008, Toyota C-HR, and Volvo EX30. That list was voted upon by a jury of 58 motoring journalists representing 22 countries.
The Scenic scored 329 points, with each jury member allocating 25 points across the six cars. The Scenic was the No.1 model for 22 of those jurors.
The BMW 5 Series and i5 came second on 308 points, while the third-placed Peugeot 3008 and e-3008 garnered 197, and Kia's big EV9 came fourth with 190.
The seventh Renault win in COTY
It's the seventh time in the 61 years of the European Car Of The Year award that Renault has come out on top, with previous winners being the Renault 16 (1966), Renault 9 (1982), Clio (1991), Scenic (1997), Megane (2003), and Clio (2006).
"Winning the prestigious 'The Car of the Year' award is a great source of pride for everyone at Renault Group and the Renault brand. This recognition demonstrates that we have made the right choices: record-breaking range, generous and inviting roominess, all with a closely managed environmental footprint! When you add in the driving pleasure and 'voiture à vivre' equipment such as the new Solarbay panoramic sunroof or the latest generation OpenR Link system with integrated Google systems, Scenic has all the right features to shore up its position on the European EV market," said Fabrice Cambolive, CEO of the Renault Brand.
625km range
The Scenic uses the AmpR electric car platform (a development of the previous CMF-EV chassis) which mixes relatively light weight (1,890kg) for a large SUV-style vehicle, with space for five and yet a compact size, at 4.47 bmetres. The Scenic can manage up to 625km of one-charge range, depending on the version, and Renault says that it's aiming for a price tag of less than €40,000 "with access to government subsidies in countries where incentive schemes are in place."