Polestar and Renault have been named the latest winners of the AUTOBEST 2026 Awards for excellence in automotive.
The 32 jurors from across Europe – including Motoring Research’s Richard Aucock representing the UK – awarded the ECOBEST 2026 Award to the Renault Twingo E-Tech Electric.
The award is presented to vehicles set to make a meaningful impact in terms of environmental performance and innovation. It is usually awarded a year ahead of a new car’s launch, making it perfectly timed for the planned 2027 introduction of the new Renault Twingo.
The jurors praised the Twingo’s “strong contribution to highly accessible and practical urban electromobility,” and considered it “a strong symbol of democratised electric mobility for European cities”.
Polestar scoops SMARTBEST 2026
Polestar has won the SMARTBEST 2026 Award for its clever integration of Google Maps’ live lane guidance directly into the driver’s display.
Debuting on the clever Polestar 4, this tech uses AI and vehicle camera data to highlight the correct lanes to take during navigation. It’s especially useful during complex merges, multi-lanes exits and heavy urban traffic, “taking the guesswork out of following sat nav instructions”.
The system is debuting first in the US and Sweden, and will follow in the UK later – Motoring Research will be among the first to test the new award-winning Polestar tech when it arrives in the UK.
AUTOBEST 2026 winners to be celebrated
The latest two awards mean all nine AUTOBEST Award categories for 2026 have been selected.
The winners will now be celebrated during an AUTOBEST Awards Ceremony in Vienna on 19 March. The lunchtime event will bring together execs and CEOs of the winning companies alongside European and international media, “to celebrate excellence and innovation in the automotive industry”.
Again, Motoring Research’s Richard Aucock will be there – come back next month for all the news from Europe’s top automotive awards initiative.
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