Munich. BMW has achieved a triple success in the “Best Cars” readers’ poll conducted by German “auto motor und sport” magazine. In the “Large SUVs/Off-road Vehicles” category, 14.1 per cent of the votes cast went to the BMW iX3 (BMW iX3 50 xDrive: energy consumption, combined: 17.9–15.1 kWh/100 km (WLTP); CO2 emissions, combined: 0 g/km (WLTP); electric range: 678–805 km (WLTP); CO2 class(es): A)**, the first Neue Klasse model, enabling it to beat 69 competitors. Readers also awarded the BMW 2 Series Coupé the “Best Car” title in the “Compact Class” for the fifth consecutive year. And the BMW 3 Series took first place in the “Medium Class” category, with 12.4 per cent of the votes in a field of 26 competitors. Around 95,000 readers took part in what was the 50th iteration of the poll. With 480 models in 13 categories presented both online and in the “auto motor und sport” print edition, there were more vehicles to choose from than ever before.
In addition, January 2026 saw four BMW model series win awards at the “Car of the Year Awards 2026” of British car magazine “What Car?”. The BMW 4 Series was once again voted “Coupé of the Year” by the magazine’s editors and experts. For the third time in a row, the award for “Performance Car of the Year” went to the BMW M3 Competition Touring with M xDrive (fuel consumption, combined: 10.4 l/100 km; CO2 emissions, combined: 234 g/km (WLTP), CO2 class: G)**. Like no other model in its class, it combines performance with everyday usability, adding another chapter to the success story of BMW M models. BMW also won the “Luxury Car of the Year” award, which went to the BMW X7. The BMW iX3 achieved a particularly noteworthy result. The all-electric model won two major “What Car?” accolades, “Car of the Year 2026” and “Premium Electric SUV of the Year”. With these latest awards, BMW is continuing the string of successes it achieved in prestigious national and international competitions in 2025, with BMW vehicles from a wide range of market segments coming out on top in public polls, owner surveys and expert jury decisions.
Triumphs for the BMW iX3: “Car of the Year” in numerous countries.
Presented at the IAA Mobility 2025, the new BMW iX3 was an instant success. It establishes a new design language and sets standards for driving dynamics and performance. A range of up to 805 kilometres, battery charging at up to 400 kW and a consumption of just 15.1 kWh/100 km (WLTP) demonstrate the outstanding abilities of the new BMW iX3. The new BMW Panoramic iDrive stands for innovation in the interior, while the Heart of Joy high-performance control unit and BMW Dynamic Performance Control enable driving pleasure on an entirely new level. These qualities also impressed the experts. The motor journalists at “Auto Bild” and “Bild am Sonntag”, two German publications from Axel Springer Verlag, honoured the BMW iX3 with the “Golden Steering Wheel” for “Best Innovation”. First awarded in 1976, the “Golden Steering Wheel” counts among the most prestigious accolades of the European automotive industry.
Other awards naming the BMW iX3 as the outstanding new vehicle included “Top Gear’s 2026 Car of the Year” (UK), “Swiss Car of the Year 2026”, “Car of the Year” at “Electrifying.com” (UK) and first place in the “Full Electric” category at the “LR66 Automobile Awards” (France). In addition, there were technology awards such as being included among “The Best Inventions of 2025” by “Time Magazine” (US). “Carwow” in the UK presented the BMW iX3 with its “Tech Trailblazer Award” at the “Car of the Year Awards 2026”. “Carwow” Germany honoured BMW Panoramic Vision, which made its debut in the first Neue Klasse model, as the year’s “automotive innovation”. High praise also came from Alma Media, one of Finland’s leading media companies. Experts from the daily newspaper Iltalehti, the business and financial newspaper Kauppalehti, and the online marketplaces Nettiauto and Autotalli, voted the BMW iX3 the “Best Electric Car of the Year” 2025. A jury member explained: “This may be the first competition the iX3 wins, but once it enters next year’s international awards, there will be plenty of trophies to come ...” For the readers of “Auto Zeitung” (Germany), it was already clear that the BMW iX3 deserved the “Auto Trophy” in the category “Best Electric SUV above 50,000 euros”. The BMW iX3 was also eagerly awaited on the Chinese market. Numerous media outlets described the model as the “Most Anticipated All-Electric SUV”.
BMW 5 Series: accolades for Sedan and Touring.
The BMW 5 Series added to its successes of the past years: the specialists at “Top Gear”, one of the most renowned names in motoring journalism in the UK and beyond, declared the BMW i5 Touring their “Best EV Estate”. At the “Auto Express New Car Awards” (UK), the BMW 530e (fuel consumption, combined: 8.4–8.0 l/100 km; CO2 emissions, combined: 197–181 g/km (WLTP), CO2 class: G)**,1 was voted the “Premium Hybrid Car of the Year”. The automotive journalists at the French-language “Le Guide de l’auto” in Canada ranked the BMW 5 Series first in the categories “Mid-Size Luxury Cars” and “Electric Luxury Vehicles”, viewing both the all-electric and ICE versions as the outstanding vehicles in their respective segments. Expert verdicts also determine the awards presented by “Car and Driver”, one of the largest and oldest automotive magazines in the US. Here, the editors awarded the BMW i5 Sedan the “Editors’ Choice” accolade in the “Electric Mid-Size Luxury Sedan” category. “Carwow” in Spain crowned the BMW 5 Series its “Most Comfortable Car” of 2025. Readers of German “Auto Zeitung” magazine awarded the “Auto Trophy” for “Best Electric Sedan” to the BMW i5. The BMW 5 Series also won “Best Upper/Luxury Cass” honours. And the BMW 5 Series triumphed at the “Auto Bild Company Car Awards” as well. Readers voted the model series the overall winner in the “Upper Medium Class” category. The editors explained: “With its digital offensive, strong driving dynamics and the all-electric i5 variant, the Munich carmaker strikes a chord with company car drivers.” “Auto Bild” and “Bild am Sonntag” (Germany) awarded the “Golden Steering Wheel” in the “Upper/Luxury Class” category to the BMW M5 Touring (energy consumption, weighted, combined: 18.1–17.7 kWh/100 km and 5.5–5.2 l/100 km (WLTP); CO2 emissions, weighted, combined: 124–118 g/km (WLTP); CO2 classes: with discharged battery G, weighted, combined D; fuel consumption with discharged battery: 11.0–10.7 l/100 km (WLTP))**,1. The high-performance model earned the highest points score of any car entered in this prestigious competition, thereby adding its name to the long list of BMW M award winners.
Big wins: BMW 7 Series, BMW X7, BMW X6, BMW X5 and BMW iX.
An award for the most comfortable way to drive a BMW: at its “Electric Car Awards 2025”, British magazine “What Car?” declared the BMW i7 the “Best Electric Luxury Car”. In early 2025, the BMW X7 was named “Luxury Car of the Year” by the same magazine and successfully defended its title again this year. In South Africa, “Car Magazine”, one of the country’s leading automotive magazines, annually selects its “Top 12 Best Buys”. The editorial team chose the BMW 7 Series as its “Luxury Car”. Another set of awards presented in South Africa is the “Cars.co.za” “Consumer Awards”. This is based on a combination of expert assessments and owner surveys. The winning “Premium SUV” was the BMW X5 xDrive30d M Sport (fuel consumption, combined: 8.2–7.8 l/100 km; CO2 emissions, combined: 215–204 g/km (WLTP), CO2 class: G)**. In the category “Best SUV above 60,000 euros”, readers of “Auto Zeitung” (Germany) awarded the “Auto Trophy” to the BMW X5.
In the US, the BMW X5 received the “Car and Driver Editors’ Choice” award in the “Mid-Size Luxury SUV” and “Hybrid Mid-Size Luxury SUV” categories. The BMW 7 Series won the “Editors’ Choice” accolade in the “Full-Size Luxury Sedan” class, while the BMW i7 won the same award in the “Electric Full-Size Luxury Sedan” segment. The BMW X7 stood out for the jury as a “Full-Size Luxury SUV”, as did the BMW iX in the “Electric Mid-Size Luxury SUV” category. The results for the largest battery-electric BMW model were confirmed by J.D. Power’s “Electric Vehicle Experience Ownership Study” (US). The verdict: No model – irrespective of the type of powertrain – has more satisfied owners. This was also supported by the assessment of the “American Automobile Association” in its “AAA Car Guide”. The largest US automobile club and mobility service provider combines consumer and safety ratings with editorial expertise and named the BMW iX xDrive50 the “Overall Winner” and winner in the “Midsize SUVs” category. The BMW iX secured further wins in the “New Car Awards” of “Auto Express” (UK). The magazine’s experts awarded the model the “Large Premium SUV of the Year” and “Premium Electric Car of the Year” titles.
One of the most important quality and satisfaction surveys worldwide is the “J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study” (APEAL). This US study focuses on emotional and subjective assessments. The BMW X6 won in its segment and also achieved the highest score of all vehicles included in the study.
Strong performance from mid-range models.
The BMW 3 Series and 4 Series models, along with the BMW X3 and BMW X4 Sports Activity Vehicles, are important pillars of the company’s global market success. They represent a combination of sporty driving dynamics, exacting design and excellent everyday usability in key segments. “Car and Driver” (US) awarded the BMW 3 Series and BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé its “Editors’ Choice” accolade in the “Compact Luxury Sedan” segment, with the BMW i4 equally successful in the “Electric Compact Luxury Sedan” category. The BMW 4 Series and BMW X4 won their respective classes in the “J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study” (APEAL).
The BMW X3 grew more modern, distinctive and sporting in 2024. It impresses with a new design language, a comprehensive powertrain portfolio and a premium ambience marked by an individual style, complemented by BMW Operating System 9, BMW iDrive with QuickSelect and Digital Premium and an advanced range of assistance systems. With these qualities, the BMW X3 scored highly in its first full year on the market. Its visual appearance impressed readers in the “autonis” poll conducted by “auto motor und sport” magazine (Germany), netting it first place in the “Large SUVs/Off-road Vehicles” category. It also collected an “Editors’ Choice” award from “Car and Driver” (US) in the “Compact Luxury SUV” category. At the “New Car Awards” of “Auto Express” magazine (UK), it was named “Mid-size Premium SUV of the Year”. “Car Magazine” in South Africa likewise declared the BMW X3 the winner in this category, as part of its “Top 12 Best Buys” listing. The BMW X3 impressed owners as much as experts in South Africa, and the BMW X3 30e xDrive M Sport (energy consumption, weighted, combined: 16.7 kWh/100 km and 3.3 l/100 km (WLTP); CO2 emissions, weighted, combined: 76 g/km (WLTP); CO2 classes: with discharged battery G, weighted, combined B; fuel consumption with discharged battery: 8.2 l/100 km (WLTP))**,1 was also a winner at the “Cars.co.za” “Consumer Awards”. In Germany, readers of “Auto Zeitung” magazine awarded the “Auto Trophy” in the category “Best SUV between 30,000 and 60,000 euros” to the BMW X3. In the reader poll conducted by “Auto Bild Sportscars”, the top model in the series, the BMW X3 M50 (fuel consumption, combined: 8.3 l/100 km; CO2 emissions, combined: 189 g/km (WLTP); CO2 class: G) was named “Auto Bild Sportscar of the Year” 2025 in the “SUVs up to 100,000 euros” category.
The BMW Z4 is currently available as the BMW Z4 Final Edition for a limited time period, demonstrating once again that sheer driving pleasure is an intrinsic part of the BMW brand’s DNA. The “Sport Auto Award” poll of “Sport Auto” magazine (Germany) saw the BMW Z4 M40i (fuel consumption, combined: 8.4–8.0 l/100 km; CO2 emissions, combined: 197–181 g/km (WLTP), CO2 class: G)* take victory in the “Convertibles/Roadsters up to 100,000 euros” category by a large margin, with 31.1 per cent of the votes cast.
Compact, dynamic and equally successful with electric powertrains.
The entry-level model in the BMW product portfolio is the BMW 1 Series. In the “Auto Zeitung” readers’ poll, the series won the “Auto Trophy” in the category “Best Small Cars, City Cars & Compacts” with 15.7 percent of the votes cast; the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé took victory as the “Best Medium Class” vehicle. The BMW 2 Series Coupé received the “Car and Driver Editors’ Choice” accolade (US) in the “Sport Compact Luxury Coupé” category. At the “Auto Express New Car Awards” (UK), the model series won the “Coupé of the Year” award. The BMW 2 Series also dominated the compact class in the “autonis” poll conducted by “auto motor und sport” magazine (Germany). The BMW 2 Series Coupé won with 40.8 per cent of the votes, followed by the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé in second place with more than 26 per cent of the votes cast. In the US, the BMW X1 led its segment in the “J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study” (APEAL). It also won the “Car and Driver Editors’ Choice” accolade (US) in the “Subcompact Luxury SUV” segment. The award from “Le Guide de l’auto” (Canada) in the “Subcompact Luxury SUVs” category went to the BMW X1/BMW X2. The readers of “Auto Zeitung” magazine awarded an “Auto Trophy” to the BMW iX1, highlighting the comprehensive range of drive systems BMW offers in this vehicle segment.
BMW winning prestigious brand awards as well.
The numerous awards won by BMW models and BMW technology also reflect positively on the BMW brand. The “Kelley Blue Book Consumer Choice Award” (US) is an accolade based on actual purchasing and ownership decisions; BMW took “Best Car Styling Luxury Brand” honours. At the “Which? Awards” (UK), BMW received the “Electric Car Brand of the Year” award. In the “autonis” reader poll conducted by "auto motor und sport” magazine (Germany), BMW was voted “Design Brand of the Year”. And in the “Auto Trophy” poll of “Auto Zeitung” (Germany), the magazine’s readers awarded BMW the “World’s Best Brand” accolade.
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