Column: COTY – Car of the Year 2026 – when the judges' common sense takes a back seat

I admit, I love this tradition. More than sixty COTY journalists – Car of the Year from all over Europe, each with their own taste, enthusiasm and – let's face it – an ego that would fill at least two gas tanks. People who have driven more kilometers in their lives than the average Uber driver in ten years. And all this to choose the car of the year. A symbol of progress, innovation, the future, humanity. So a car that shows the direction of development of the automotive industry and in a way gives it a thumbs up, praises it and confirms that it is doing the right thing. So let's see what's wrong with the selection - Car of the Year 2026.

Boom! And then they announce this year's seven finalists – Citroën C5 Aircross, Dacia Bigster, Fiat Grande Panda, Kia EV4, Mercedes-Benz CLA, Renault 4 and Shame on Elroq. Of the above, I can perhaps only agree with Kia EV4, I have serious concerns about all the others, which I will justify below.

If someone had told me this was a list for an exhibition »Retro day in motoring", I would nod. But these are supposed to be the best of the best, pioneers of mobility, synonymous with progress. Except they're not. Of course not. These are the brands and cars that best fool automotive journalists - who are mostly still in those golden days when their opinion counted for something and when they had a barrel of red heating oil at home to fuel their diesel.

Who judges the future if they live in the past?

Here we come to the first real absurdity. Among the jury members for COTY – Car of the Year 2026 are still people who drive diesel sedans or SUVs and they view the electric car as tool Satan, who sucks our children's electricity from the sockets. Seriously.

If you don't understand life with an electric car – the daily charging, the route planning, the feeling of silence, the instant torque – then you simply can't appreciate what the car of the future means. If you don't I love all cars. – even electric ones – and you apologize during every test because you got into an EV, then you have no basis for a credible judgment.

What am I talking about? That a journalist who doesn't understand that there are different levels of mobility today – from utilitarian e-mobility to classic, emotional, petrol-scented mobility – and who doesn't know how to appreciate all forms, simply shouldn't be judging, What will the car be like in 2026?

You have to love cars. All of them. You have to accept their diversity, understand the context. And above all – you have to live with them. Without personal experience, without ownership, without daily coexistence with an electric car… it simply doesn't work anymore. With electric cars, the ownership experience is the only real story. Everything else doesn't give you the whole picture.

This is one of the main problems of today's automotive journalism: test cars have become a substitute for reality. They test, they don't live. And that's not the same. Not even close. The essence of understanding e-mobility lies in owning an electric car. The essence of an electric car is revealed only in your daily routine. When you charge it every evening, like a phone. When you find out where the infrastructure is missing. When an app comes to your rescue that finds a free charging port at three in the morning. When silence becomes your new normal. When you drive an electric car for a year, two, three... and don't pay for service, and you use the savings to cover insurance, tolls and regularly calculate your TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), not only reach in WLTP tablesUnderstanding an electric car is not about design, driving characteristics – but above all, ownership.

In 2025, more than 90% of all newly introduced models will be electric. How can someone who has never really lived with an electric car understand, evaluate, influence? How can you write the future if you still read a map, not a GPS? Again, I'm not saying that these journalists don't know how to drive electric cars... and evaluate this segment. But the real assessment is that - completely different. The assessment of life with a car.

This is also why the car is becoming a new category. We move vertically in our minds, not horizontally as we used to in photography. And this is no longer a world where the coachman could judge, what the next electric or smart car should be. That's why automotive journalists with "phone covers" that look like notes from the last millennium, many places remained trapped in time. They're just not in touch. New cars are a stress to them, like stress new smartphone for an elderly person. They've been run over by time. They really have no idea because they're not interested in electronics and technology. They're interested in cars, but they're not what they used to be.

Times have changed. Cars have changed too. You have to judge them with your head in the future – not with your heart trapped in the past.

 

The current situation is like a butcher judging vegan burgers. By smell.

The problem with the Car of the Year 2026 judges is also – or primarily – tunnel vision. If you don't own an electric car, you'll always lean towards what's closer to you, what you've believed in for decades. And here's where the real weak point comes into play: most of the journalists in this selection are quite old. Their average age is well over 50 – and these are the years when it is very difficult for us humans to change. And even less willing to change our own beliefs. It means we are stuck in what we know.

That's why these people - in addition to pressure from the industry - choose cars that have nothing to do with the future. Instead of looking forward, they look to the past.

Industry interest: mass overpriced cars – pressure and lobbying

If they are on Beauty pageants often involve scandals about the exploitation of young girls, then the COTY selection is a similar symbiosis – between the automotive industry and journalists, who – let's face it – have been experiencing quite a bit of turmoil in the last decade and are no longer editorially autonomous. Given the situation in the media, journalists today are often as susceptible to "compromises" as young girls who show more than just a swimsuit performance behind the scenes – all for a ribbon. In the case of cars, it's for a test vehicle, a sponsored flight, or an advertising campaign.

In the automotive industry, as a journalist, you depend on 40 to 50 brands, among which – at different stages of their careers – the same people often move around. Despite the number of brands, there are not ten times as many decision-makers in PR and marketing. It is one slightly larger family, mostly European, with a few Asian exceptions, which have either become almost indigenous in Europe or are so global that they have comparable influence to the European giants.

And in this industry – unless you're Top Gear – it really isn't worth holding grudges. You quickly end up on some blacklist. I myself ended up there because of a negative quality experience with a car from the VAG group – the Cupra Born. And make no mistake – I didn't write about this experience on my platforms, only in specialized Facebook groups. Still, it was enough for a ban for life.

The pressure from this industry on journalists, who are often independent, is such that they often make decisions based on the tactics dictated by the manufacturers. That is why we often see cars among the award winners that, according to the basic criteria – technical features and safety – should never have become European Car of the Year.

One such example is, for example, Renault 5 – probably one the worst winners in the history of this selection. Euro NCAP result? Four stars. Space, price, technical features? Closer to 2022 than 2025. A car that is not yet mature – but you buy it only based on emotions.

This year? Mediocrity on the pedestal of COTY finalists – of course without the Chinese on EU soil

Dacia Bigster – a car that sounds like it was made from beer and PowerPoint. Solid on the price list, practical, but “car of the year”? That’s like declaring instant coffee the coffee of the year. Most reviewers agree that you get something for your money, but if the basic – safety – is lacking – like with the Duster, where NCAP only gave three stars – such a car definitely doesn't belong in the finals. Regardless of the price-to-usability ratio. And it drives very poorly.

Fiat Grande Panda – charming, square, pleasant. But technologically? A typical example of Stellantis recycling platforms that we have already seen. If the Grande Panda came with a “USB-X” port, it would be news. So it remains a nice car with a platform that – considering what the Chinese offer in this segment – should already be retired. Technologically immature and at the same time too expensive in the electric version. It is in this selection only because it can also be obtained with a conventional internal combustion engine. To be honest. For comparable money you get the Leapmotor B10 – a completely different car.

Mercedes-Benz CLA – luxury, yes. But with charging that doesn't work everywhere. The "800V affair" resonates strongly with Mercedes. Charging disabled at 400V They will probably fix it at the charging stations, but the situation reveals that the negative selection is apparently so deep with this brand that the system can make such an obvious huge mistake. When a premium car can't "drink" electricity where you want it, you feel like a baron without a yard and an electrified parking lot.

The design is also baronially baroque – and retro-looking. The CLA still clings to the “ICE” of the world and screams for the stuffiness of the designer’s pencil, who likes to see a classic watch on his wrist and diesel in the tank. Yes – the designers at Mercedes-Benz still prefer to drive cars with internal combustion engines, and it shows. In my opinion, the design will not be enthusiastic in China, which is a distinctly futuristic market. It is unfortunately not too far ahead of its time – it is more 2015 than 2025.

And Skoda Elroq? – I don't know who approved this shape, but this is not evolution, this is optical crime. If Picasso had designed an SUV after five beers and three energy drinks, it would be the Elroq. By doing this, I have seriously offended this artist and stripped it of its historical significance – but the Elroq is simply not a beautiful car. Certain proportions do not withstand the basic laws of design and force optical tricks that simply do not work. The car looks terrible in photos – and even worse in person. I simply cannot give it a thumbs up, even if there is nothing particularly wrong with the technology – but even there it is extremely gray and average. In the last year I have begun to seriously doubt the design department of the damage, which for a while did excesses, but now it seems to me that they have gone off the right path.

Citroën C5 Aircross – in all likelihood, I would rather include its cousin on the same platform – the Jeep Compass – among the finalists, which in my opinion is the most refined of all. Similar to the Fiat Panda, I am not so much criticizing the platform here, which is interesting mainly for its versatility – the Stellantis offers everything from classics, plug-in hybrids to electrics on it. But still – so many cars have the same or very similar problems that this selection is a real lottery. And the C5 Aircross will also have these problems. I really appreciate what Citroen is doing with its French extravaganza within the group.

Kia EV4 – It is the only car among the finalists that I would place among the finalists myself, with the caveat that there is a not-so-small technical flaw that bugs me. But more on that later in my selection of "my" finalists.

Renault 4 – a nice car with an overpriced price, to be honest. With 4×4 drive, at least an 8 kWh larger battery and five stars in the NCAP test, it would meet my basic criteria for a “finalist”. Certainly better than the Renault 5 – also because it is significantly more useful on the second bench and in the trunk. I don’t “hate” it as much as the Renault 5 – I don’t know why, but it is simply a more useful car from the start. The facelift will almost certainly bring a larger battery, better charging and – hopefully – at least a 5,000 euro lower price. Then it will be a very interesting car. Today it just isn’t.

What about truly advanced cars? And my favorites of the selection – Car of The Year 2026.

It didn't Volvo EX90. It is not Zeekr 7X. There is no real technological excess. There is no feeling of looking into the future – more of a feeling of being at a used ideas fair. It is as if the jury does not want to reward those who actually take steps forward, but those who walk safely on the old road – and drive there at 80 km/h.

Among all the candidates, which I will also list, I would choose the following finalists. I have seen them all live and sat in them and I believe that they meet the basic criteria. They are "people" enough not to be excluded from the selection of COTY - Car of The Year 2026, but also advanced enough to be deserve attentionMore when the jurors gave them their verdict.

1. Zeekr 7X: Incredible price-to-technology ratio. It's not without its flaws, but it clearly demonstrates that technology that is only available in premium packages for cars over €120,000 can be had here for €60,000. Self-closing hydraulic doors, 800-volt architecture and 650+ horsepower – this shows the direction in which Porsche, Audi and other European giants should be looking. Zeekr will be the Chinese Porsche on EU roads. It's about 30% cheaper than its EU competitors. As an interesting fact… it appears in the COTY selection as Zeekr 7 – which is absolutely not spelled correctly. It's like removing the letter X from BMW X3. Zeekr also has a 007 model. Unacceptable sloppiness “COTY – 2026”, where they don't even spell the newcomer's name correctly.

2. Smart #5: A specific design, somewhat reminiscent of the Mini Countryman, with the right amount of technical courage. For a little over the entry-level 40,000 € you get a mature electric car on an interesting platform with very good equipment. One of those cars that positively surprises. In the Smart #5 Brabus package, an exceptional car without competition, around 60,000 euros, which drinks from the charging station faster than the Porsche Taycan. It is specific in shape, but also in a way reflected in the right places. The whole brand is finally progressing nicely and going in its own direction.

3. Volvo ES90: Exactly what premium should offer segment 2026. Just the classics, mixed with proven Scandinavian elegance. In my opinion, the most beautiful car of the selection (outside and inside) – materials, design and – I believe – also driving characteristics are in the right place – even some sporty spirit is breathed in. Yes, it is expensive – as Volvos have always been – but when we put it side by side with competitors such as the Mercedes-Benz EQS, EQE or Audi A6 e-tron, it quickly shows that it can compete with them in terms of price. A car that should be among the finalists, but unfortunately for many it is more Chinese than European and therefore with minus points from the judges. Unjustified.

4. Kia EV4: According to the specifications, it is an average electric car, but in its class it can definitely shake things up. A relatively large battery for its size, the already proven 3rd generation of Korean EVs and an affordable price. Although it does not have 800V charging, I would like DC charging above 180 kW. The smaller battery has a 100 kWh charge, which is at least 50 kWh too little for 2025. It was also selected because it is "old-world-like" enough for the judges to understand it. But I especially appreciate the good price and the new competition in the "Golf" class of electric cars. Where there is the greatest shortage of such cars. Although the price for the GT line version with a large 78 kWh battery reaches a bizarre 49,000 thousand on the German market. Which, in my humble opinion, is at least 10,000 euros too much considering what is offered. You can get much better electric cars for the money. I could easily choose the Leapmotor C10 instead. But I appreciate the Korean approach.

5. Mazda 6e or DS N°8:  For the final finalist, I would choose between these two:

Mazda 6e – with a smaller battery, an extremely balanced car. The large battery is technologically quite wrong (slow charging), but the small one is good. Technically it is not without flaws. Mazda retains much of what once made it special – despite being made in China. But it is, as always, very beautifully and timelessly designed. For around €42,000 with very rich equipment and thoughtful materials, it represents a good buy. Perhaps even the best value for money – considering the centimeters. The ride is no longer what it was, but the soul of the car still remains very comparable. In my book – a hidden favorite of this year's selection.

DS N°8 – the most unique car in this group. And I like that. It's not overly expensive, but it offers a lot. I appreciate that DS has chosen its own platform and philosophy of drives and batteries within the Stelantis group. It's not about record numbers, but about thoughtful, bold difference. DS gives buyers what they expect: design and conceptual separation from the gray average. It is this "dot on the i" that, in my opinion, takes it to the top five. So courage! And that should be rewarded. Europeans lack it. This thinking with your own head.

Conclusion: Car of the Year or Vintage of Mediocrity?

If there were to be a selection Car of the Year 2026 a mirror of what Europe values in motoring, then that mirror points back to the past. This is not a festival of innovation – it is an exhibition of compromises. And unfortunately it sends the wrong signal to the industry. Instead of saying: “Don’t do that anymore, look at what the Chinese are doing, improve!”, we give them applause and affirmation.

The lack of cars (at least one or two) that I listed as my finalists is evidence of negative selection – it starts in the development departments and continues with the journalists. This is a serious problem. Why?!
As long as we pat ourselves on the back and buy awards based on the past, as long as we don't admit that Asian competition is not just breathing down our necks - it's overtaking us, as long as the seventh force is not ready to make a fair assessment, the European automotive industry will continue to sink. And there will be no help.

This year's selection is proof that the EU automotive industry is unable and unwilling to progress. But if you want to win, you must first know how to lose. – and with their heads held high. This selection does not allow the industry to do that. It does not allow the cleansing and catharsis that this industry needs – immediately – today.

I would like to believe that this is progress, but this year it seems as if the jury is measuring the future with a meter from the nineties. If this were really the Car of the Year, it would have to be a car that amazes you – not one that makes you yawn, as the winner will most likely be – COTY – Car of The Year 2026 – Škoda Elroq. (the most likely COTY 2026 according to all the signals from the “domestic” jurors) Definitely the most boring of all the cars of this year, but just as gray as most of the automotive journalists – COTY jurors. But it is certainly a mirror of this completely wrong selection.

It might make sense to rename next year's selection to:
"Car of the Past - for those who fear the future."

As I was writing this, the 1954 Marlboro Man ad kept echoing in my mind, in which the advertisers featured a real-life cowboy from Wyoming who was discovered by Burnett's photographers while filming on a ranch. The highly romantic and cinematically shot commercial, which only depicts the simple life of a cowboy, created one of the most successful campaigns, playing on a note of nostalgia.

But one thing is clear - if there is a commercial that should no longer be made today, it is this one: the ad that sold freedom but brought cancer.

The story of the COTY – Car of The Year 2026 selection is very similar.