The Jeep Avenger won European Car of the Year 2023 by 87 points, and the result came on the show floor. It was announced at the 100th Brussels Motor Show on Friday 13 January 2023. The award’s organisers said it was the first time the ceremony had been held at the show.
It was the 60th edition of the award. A jury of 57 members from 22 countries gave the Avenger 328 points and 21 “best” votes, 87 points ahead of the runner-up (Stellantis, 16 January 2023).
| Place | Car | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeep Avenger | 328 |
| 2 | Volkswagen ID. Buzz | 241 |
| 3 | Nissan Ariya | 211 |
| 4 | Kia Niro | 200 |
| 5 | Renault Austral | 163 |
| 6 | Peugeot 408 | 149 |
| 7 | Subaru Solterra / Toyota bZ4X | 133 |
Source: caroftheyear.org, edition 2023.
Febiac, the show’s organiser, said the winner and the runners-up would be on show throughout the event in Hall 9. We were there on 16, 17 and 18 January, the public days, and photographed four of the seven finalists.
There are no photographs of the ID. Buzz, the Ariya or the Solterra/bZ4X, so those three appear here only with their points.
We filmed the Avenger on the Brussels show floor on 16 to 18 January 2023. Our Jeep Avenger First Look has the full story.
Jeep Avenger: A 4×4 Look For An Electric Debut
The Avenger on the stand was dressed for something tougher than a showroom. It wears chunky all-terrain tyres and black arch extensions, a bonnet panel with a blue outline, and blue accents on the roof rails and front bumper. The backdrop reads “4×4” above the start of a second word.
The placard on the bumper says only “Avenger”. Jeep had shown an Avenger 4×4 Concept at the Paris show on 17 October 2022. Stellantis described it with wider fenders and track, larger exposed tyres and tow hooks, and gave no powertrain details (CleanTechnica, 17 October 2022, quoting the release).
So the figures below are for the production Avenger that won the award, which may not be the car on that stand.
Stellantis called the Avenger Jeep’s first fully electric model, and the first of four electric Jeeps for Europe by 2025. It has a 54 kWh battery and a 115 kW motor with 260 Nm of torque. The official preliminary range is up to 400 km on the WLTP cycle.
The launch edition sold 8,000 units after its Paris debut, and first deliveries were expected in the second quarter of 2023. On the show floor Jeep stood in Hall 5 with the other Stellantis brands, according to AutoGids.
In Belgium, autotijd.be’s January 2023 price list shows four versions, all electric. They run from €36,000 for the entry car through €37,500 for the Longitude and €39,500 for the Altitude to €42,500 for the Summit, all including VAT. AutoGids gave the same starting price on 15 January 2023.
The Finalists On The Floor
Kia Niro: Fourth, With An Electric Option
The second-generation Niro is red in our photograph, with a Car of the Year seal on the rear door. AutoGids wrote on 14 January 2023 that visitors could see it for the first time at the Brussels show, on a Kia stand in Hall 7.
AutoGids gave the electric Niro a 64.8 kWh battery and 460 km of range. autotijd.be lists nine Belgian versions in January 2023. They run from €30,990 for the 141 hp hybrid to €53,990 for the top 204 hp electric, with 183 hp plug-in hybrids in between. It finished fourth.
We filmed the Niro on the Kia stand at the Brussels Motor Show 2023. Our Kia Niro First Look has the full story.
Renault Austral: Fifth, As A Mild Hybrid
Renault introduced the Austral in March 2022, and it finished fifth. The placard on the car in Brussels reads “Austral Mild Hybrid”.
Renault’s Belgian list for January 2023 had ten versions (autotijd.be). They started at €31,800 for the 130 hp petrol with a manual gearbox and topped out at €44,200 for the 200 hp E-Tech full hybrid in Iconic Esprit Alpine trim.
Peugeot 408: Sixth, As A Plug-In Fastback
The 408 stood in front of a black backdrop with the Car of the Year logo, with finalist badges on its door and bonnet. Its placard read “New 408 Plug-in Hybrid”.
Peugeot’s launch text of 22 June 2022 calls the 4.69-metre car a fastback at the top of the C segment, the first of its kind for the brand. It came with 180 and 225 hp plug-in versions and a 130 hp petrol.
In January 2023 the Belgian list ran from €35,900 for the petrol Allure to €49,300 for the 225 hp GT. The plug-in versions cost €43,800 to €49,300 (autotijd.be). The 408 was sixth.
Brussels Motor Show 2023 at a glance
| **Dates | ** 13 January 2023 (press day and invited guests); public days 14 to 22 January |
| **Venue | ** Brussels Expo, Halls 5, 6, 7, 9 and 11 |
| **Visitors | ** 271,057, counted by Febiac for 14 to 22 January |
Source: Febiac programme page (archive, 24 Apr 2025); Touring, 24 Feb 2023; Belga, 12 Jan 2023.
We filmed the 408 plug-in at the Brussels Motor Show 2023. Our Peugeot 408 First Look has the full story.
Our Take
The 2023 shortlist split roughly in two. Four of the seven finalists were battery-electric: the Avenger, ID. Buzz, Ariya and Solterra/bZ4X. The Niro, Austral and 408 came as hybrids or plug-ins, and only the Niro offered a pure electric version at the time of the show.
The jury did not pick the electric car with the longest range among those we photographed. The Avenger’s 54 kWh battery gives a preliminary 400 km, while AutoGids quoted 460 km for the electric Niro’s 64.8 kWh. For a buyer who drives long distances, that gap is worth weighing.
What the photographs cannot settle is which Avenger Jeep put on its stand. The award went to the production car, and Stellantis had given no powertrain details for the 4×4 Concept that the stand car echoed.
Independent editorial. No brand or organiser paid for or reviewed this article.
