The selection for the Slovenian Car of the Year is a special event every year, a kind of Slovenian Oscar, except that the audience is smaller and the catering is more homely. When I looked at the list of five finalists for 2026 – Audi A5, Dacia Bigster, Hyundai Inster, KIA EV3 and Renault 5 – I asked myself: Is this really the pinnacle of engineering or have we simply become dangerously undemanding? Here is an analysis without any fluff. I have scoured the dark corners of the internet, checked the facts and I will be completely direct. This is a record that importers may not print and frame, but you must read it. So - Slovenian Car of the Year 2026.
Let's be brutally honest before we even open the hoods. Slovenia is a specific market. Small, intimate, where everyone knows everyone and where hands wash hands. The selection for Car of the Year often looks less than professional assessment and more like a competition over who took whom to the better lunch. In an environment where the advertising budgets of importers are the lifeblood of the media, objectivity sometimes gets lost somewhere between the appetizer and the main course. So let's see – Slovenian Car of the Year 2026.
We all know that in this small subalpine country of ours, some kind of award is also given to, say, "to negotiate diplomatically". Or at least buy favor with a large enough advertising space. That's why this list of finalists should be taken with a grain of salt - or even with a tear. Because if it were just a pure profession, the list might be completely different. But because we live where we live, we have what we have. And what we have is full of compromises. Considering that I write about 500 automotive articles a year, I will allow myself serious criticism of this selection.
Audi A5: A dinosaur with buttons from the last millennium
Let's start with Audi A5. A car that looks like a relic of another, more analog era. While global trends dictate minimalism, Audi seems to have looted the electronics warehouse from 1995. The interior is adorned with hundreds of buttons, switches and levers, making you feel less like you’re in a car of the future and more like you’re in a Finnish sauna with too many thermostats. For a car from 2026, it’s a ridiculous example of design regression, although purists will scream “tactility.”
The global testers are clear: “It drives great.” Of course it does, it’s an Audi with Quattro! But let’s be honest – for a car to “drive well” in 2025 or 2026 is not an achievement, but a basic hygienic minimum. This is no longer the norm for the finale. With its engines starting at 110 kW (150 hp) and ending at monstrous numbers, it is fast (the top speed is limited to 250 km/h or 155 mph), but it acts like a gentleman in a tuxedo at a rave party. Beautiful, but desperately old-fashioned. Just look at the Chinese AUDI E5This would be the Slovenian Car of the Year 2026 without any worries.
Dacia Bigster: A big car that may forget about passengers
Let's continue with Dacia Bigster. The name promises adventure, and the look promises robustness. But beneath this “cool” exterior lie concerns that you can’t ignore. Dacia and Renault have not been shining in Euro NCAP tests lately, and if the car makes it to the finals in 2026 with a questionable safety rating, it will be a great professional embarrassment for the jury itself. Opinions are already being exchanged on forums and Reddit about the questionable protection of adult passengers and that Dacia is “skimping” on assistance systems under the pretext that customers don’t want them.
Reality? Assistance systems save lives. If the Bigster offers the level of crash protection of a cardboard box, neither the attractive 103 kW (140 hp) hybrid drive nor the affordable price help it. Yes, it's spacious and looks ready for the apocalypse, but In 2026, security should not be a matter of extra payment or compromiseBut it is true that for this price you get the most "tin" on the market, which is still an important currency in Slovenia.
Hyundai Inster: Could be a winner if it weren't ugly
And now to Hyundai Inster. I'll be as brief and brutally honest as I can here. This car could be an absolute winner. It has it all: it's small, nimble, electric, and cleverly designed for the urban jungle. With a 42 kWh or 49 kWh battery and a range of around 300 km (186 miles), it's perfect for Slovenian distances. But it has one, insurmountable problem. It's damn ugly.
It looks like a failed attempt to cross a microwave with a Pokemon toy. The design is so polarizing that you'll either love it (if you have very specific taste and vision) or want to park it on the next street so the neighbors can't see you. Too bad. Hyundai knows how to make nice cars (check out the Ioniq 5), but they clearly lost the bet with the Inster. If it had at least a little more style and a less "toy" look, it would be a serious contender. As it is, it's just a cute little bugger with a top speed of 150 km/h (93 mph).
KIA EV3: A smart car that becomes stupid in Slovenia
The KIA EV3 is a technological marvel on paper. It looks like a scaled-down EV9, a real little spaceship with a battery of up to 81.4 kWh and a range that promises freedom (600 km or 372 miles). But before you open the champagne, let's pour some clean wine. Charging speed? Nothing special. It's just sufficient, far from the records you'd expect from such a battery. On long trips, you'll still drink more coffee than you'd like. At the same time, the price is reasonable, with a margin of good taste. So high.
The biggest problem lies elsewhere. KIA in Slovenia is often not connected to the network – it does not have network updates. You have a supercomputer on wheels, but without an internet connection it is practically dumb. Applications freeze, updates are delayed. It's like buying the latest iPhone and using it only for calls. The importer promises changes, but it has been doing this for years. Despite the fact that it accelerates to hundreds in 7.5 seconds, the feeling of digital disconnection in 2026 is simply frustrating. That's also why it should not be a finalist – Slovenian Car of the Year 2026.
Renault 5 E-Tech: Nostalgia on wheels with a safety question mark
Finally, the Renault 5. Emotions, emotions and more emotions. A French assault on our memories. I admit, the car is beautiful. Devilishly beautiful. With a weight of under 1500 kg (3306 lbs) and a 52 kWh battery, it promises the playfulness we've been missing. But like Dacia, here too, the sword of Damocles hangs over our heads in terms of safety and reliability.
The platform is new, and it shares it with the R4. Online forums are full of warnings about “buggy” assistance systems and questionable structural strength in certain collisions. Are we willing to sacrifice safety for retro style? Acceleration to 100 km/h in 8 seconds is fun, but if the assistance systems beep in vain or fail when it really matters, nostalgia quickly fades. The Renault 5 is proof that sometimes we buy with our eyes, when we should buy with our heads.
Conclusion: Choosing between the lesser evil and emotional manipulation
So what is left for the Slovenian Car of the Year 2026? The choice is actually tragicomic and a reflection of the state of mind in the market.
We have the Audi A5, which is technically perfect but spiritually outdated; a car for people who are afraid of touch screens. We have the Dacia Bigster, which offers a lot of car for little money, but with a safety risk that should scare any responsible father. We have the Hyundai Inster, which would be the perfect city car if it weren't designed in total darkness. We have the Kia EV3, which is great until you find out that in Slovenia it only works on "half-plasters". And we have the Renault 5, which sells us memories, wrapped in beautiful but perhaps fragile packaging.
If I were to choose with my heart, I would take AudiIf I were to choose with my wallet, Dacia. But being the cynical realist I am, I know that whoever had the best strategy behind the scenes will win. My take? In 2026, we should be demanding more: more security, better connectivity, and design that doesn't require apologies.
