Honda has set the aim of turning into the primary Japanese model to go totally electrical by 2040 however as an alternative of rolling out electrical variations of present fashions, the automaker kickstarted the brand new period with a clean-sheet design. The Honda e is greater than an city EV, it’s a halo mannequin bringing the model’s heritage into the longer term, closely betting on design and expertise to make electrification fascinating.
Final week we received the keys to the flagship Honda e Advance and spent loads of time behind its wheel. We received to find its quirks, check its fun-to-drive issue, cost it, and even battle with vary anxiousness. It’s admittedly some of the charming EVs available on the market, however did it win us over?
Head-turning design due to uncluttered retro-futurism
Small vehicles with retro-inspired styling will not be a brand new factor. The Honda e is the Japanese reply to a development that began with the VW Beetle within the ‘90s and continued with the MINI Cooper and Fiat 500 within the ‘00s. Nonetheless, Honda did it another way, with a give attention to expertise for its area of interest product.
Those that know their little bit of Honda historical past will spot the references to the first-gen Civic from the ‘70s within the proportions, toned fenders, character line, and C-pillar. Fortunately, Honda struck a tremendous steadiness between heritage and modernity, making its smallest automobile head-turner as confirmed by the good bit of consideration we received from totally different demographics. Actually, the e is without doubt one of the uncommon circumstances the place the manufacturing model seems higher than the idea, making us wonder if this design language might be utilized in extra fashions.
See Additionally: Would You Slightly Have The Fiat 500 Or The Honda e?
I don’t want my design diploma to understand the surfacing and the minimalist but eye-catching styling cues. Look carefully and also you’ll see that the curved glossy-black plastic surfaces connecting the full-LED lights on each ends are mirroring the encompassing setting the other way up. Options just like the mirror-replacing cameras, the pop-up door handles, and the frameless home windows, make the e look premium regardless of its dimension.
The Honda e is fairly compact, measuring 3,894 mm (153.3 inches) lengthy. That is 262 mm (10.3 inches) greater than the Fiat 500 and 49 mm (1.9 inches) longer than the MINI Cooper SE, making room for a correct five-door bodystyle. Because of the brief overhangs, the two,538 mm (99.9 inches) wheelbase is typical of a contemporary supermini and is almost equivalent to the rival Peugeot e-208.
Small however tidy cabin full of tech
Shifting inside, it’s arduous to not get drawn by the elephant within the room which is the full-width, five-screen structure on the dashboard. Infotainment options are among the many key priorities for many patrons, regardless that some complain about screens getting bigger and extra distracting. Surprisingly, Honda managed to fulfill each events by making the display screen ultra-wide and putting it on the proper top for the driving force to remain centered on the highway. The reality is that you just in all probability don’t want as many pixels to finish on a regular basis duties, however the crisp wallpapers create a pleasant environment for all passengers.
The 6-inch digital mirrors on every nook work nice in all lighting situations and don’t require as a lot getting used to as you’ll initially count on. Having cameras as an alternative of mirrors means you possibly can simply navigate by way of tight areas and profit from the broad angle of the lens to restrict blind spots. Nonetheless, as a result of power of behavior, you’ll usually end up shifting your head in a quest to see totally different angles, which clearly doesn’t work with the mounted picture on the screens. Within the Advance trim, the central mirror may also flip right into a display screen displaying the unobstructed feed from the rearview digital camera however for this case, we desire the common mirror which makes it simpler for the eyes to focus and regulate.
The remainder of the digital dashboard features a fairly primary instrument cluster partly hidden behind the steering wheel that exhibits the whole lot you want with a give attention to driving aids, and the considerably extra configurable twin 12.3-inch touchscreens. Honda’s infotainment is easy to make use of with menu choices immediately accessible from the customizable shortcut icons on each side.
You even have the power to swap pages from one display screen to the opposite with the contact of a button. For instance, you possibly can place the built-in navigation in a single and the Bluetooth media within the different, swapping them when wanted. Weirdly, some options can’t be accessed by the co-driver when the car is on the transfer for security causes.
On account of an unknown bug, I wasn’t in a position to join Android Auto however I made good use of the twin USB charging ports positioned subsequent to the HDMI outlet and the very helpful normal AC energy outlet on the underside of the middle console the place you possibly can join your laptop computer. Lastly, the bodily buttons for house, altering brightness, switching off the screens and the quantity knob are neat, as are the local weather controls that have been fortunately in a separate part.
See Additionally: Electrical Honda e Good points Real Equipment For Its Japanese Launch
Setting apart the huge screens, the inside seems like a contemporary reinterpretation of the unique Honda Civic. When it comes to construct high quality, the material upholstery and the wooden trim feel and look fairly good however there’s nonetheless loads of uncovered arduous plastic for the value phase. Practicality is metropolis automobile common, with a not-so-easy-to-reach material smartphone pocket, a retractable cup holder, bottle holders on the doorways, a small glove field, and a modular storage compartment within the central tunnel that comes useful for bigger objects.
The Honda e can match as much as 4 adults with relative consolation for a car of this dimension. Rear passengers have more room than in a Fiat 500 however lots lower than in an ICE-powered supermini just like the VW Polo. They do, nonetheless, get 4 studying lights proper subsequent to the usual sunroof and USB ports for charging. Usually talking, if you’re as much as 6 toes (1.83 m) tall you should have no challenge with headroom and legroom however it’s at all times nicer to sit down on the entrance. The seats feel and look good creating a comfortable lounge-room environment. The cargo house, although, could be very restricted with a capability of 171 lt (6 cubic toes). That is smaller than all of its rivals however not less than the rear seats fold flat for extra demanding journeys to the grocery store or when it’s essential choose somebody up from the airport.
Agile, fast, and refined on the highway
With an marketed WLTP vary between 200-220 km (125-137 miles) relying on the variant which is lower than equally-priced rivals, the Honda e is clearly designed for metropolis use. Certainly, the small footprint, the sunshine steering wheel, and the tiny 4.3 m (14.1 toes) turning radius make it fairly agile in slim roads, whereas the Single Pedal Management System in its most intense braking mode managed from the paddles is good for visitors.
The birds-eye view digital camera and the sensors make it easy-peasy to park however you may as well ask the Honda Parking Pilot to do all of the give you the results you want though this may possible take extra time than doing it your self. Talking of driving aids, the Honda Sense suite has the whole lot you’d ask for. The adaptive cruise management with cease & go operate works easily and not one of the passengers might inform that it wasn’t me accountable for the pedals. The lane centering additionally works nicely at instances however it could possibly get distracted from hazy strains.
Within the extra highly effective Advance variant we drove, the only rear-mounted electrical motor produces 152 hp (113 kW / 154 PS) and 315 Nm (232 lb-ft) of torque, somewhat than the 134 hp (100 kW / 136 PS) of the bottom mannequin. Whereas these numbers don’t sound mind-blowing, in actuality the Honda e feels faster than the marketed 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 8.3 seconds, particularly in Sport mode the place it turns into much more responsive. It will possibly simply attain freeway speeds and even the highest velocity of 145 km/h (90 mph) the place it stays quiet inside due to Honda’s nice effort in NVH.
Journey high quality is the place the small Honda excels, being on par with autos from bigger segments. The totally unbiased suspension strikes an incredible steadiness between firmness and luxury. When you gained’t get Citroen ranges of plushness, it’s amazingly refined for its dimension and ends in nearly no physique roll within the corners. Though the steering really feel just isn’t on par with the MINI Cooper and the Ford Fiesta with regards to spirited driving, its mild nature is extra appropriate to an electrical metropolis automobile whereas nonetheless being quick and direct.
The RWD powertrain, the subtle chassis setup, the low heart of gravity, and the 50:50 weight steadiness are the components of a fun-to-drive machine. Certainly, the Honda e will put a smile in your face each time you push it, giving full management and being pleasant near the restrict. With the ESP turned off it even turns into tail-happy but it surely at all times retains its composure. The load of 1,527 kg (3,366 kilos) doesn’t actually present aside from underneath heavy braking. The one challenge right here is the battery juice that will get drained whenever you step all the way in which into the gasoline pedal.
Vary anxiousness remains to be a factor
And that is the place we have to speak about the principle level of criticism for the Honda e; its restricted vary of as much as 220 km (137 miles). The rationale for that’s the comparably small floor-mounted 35.5 kWh lithium-ion battery which was a strategic determination by the engineering workforce in favor of decrease weight and price. This attribute limits using the Honda e as a second automobile to a goal group with quick access to a charger. In different phrases, should you dwell in an residence you must in all probability look elsewhere. Whereas there are opponents with smaller batteries like the bottom Fiat 500 Motion (23.8 kWh) or the MINI Cooper SE (32.6 kWh), the extra competitively priced variants of the Fiat 500 (42 kWh) and the Peugeot e-208 (50 kWh) will depart the Honda behind when it comes to vary.
In our Honda e Advance fitted with 17-inch wheels, the WLTP vary is 125 miles (201 km). In actual life, you gained’t see greater than 170-180 km (106-112 miles) on the journey pc. Fortunately, in regular driving, the estimate proved to be fairly exact however you probably have just a little little bit of enjoyable behind the wheel you’ll discover the battery degree dropping quick. As with all EVs, metropolis driving and heavy visitors are being type to its effectivity in distinction with excessive velocity or heavy acceleration which is able to drain the battery quick. Having mentioned that, should you cost in a single day and begin your day at one hundred pc, you’ll possible by no means face vary anxiousness points. In spite of everything, most Europeans don’t drive that a lot each day – based on Eurostat, the common particular person’s every day distance for city journeys is wherever from 5.6 km (3.5 miles) in Greece to 19 km (12 miles) in Germany.
The benefit of a small battery is fast charging. A full cost on a 7.4 kW Sort 2 AC charger takes 4.1 hours, though 100 kW DC fast charging (good luck discovering one…) can get you to 80 % of cost in half-hour. Throughout our evaluate we used the 6.6 kW onboard charger on a public charging community, taking us from 1 to 99 % in round 5 hours. Issues will not be trying that nice on an ordinary house outlet although. Whereas our Honda e had a second charging cable permitting us to plug it on the wall, it solely added 4 % in just a little over an hour with greater than 15 hours wanted for the remaining 60 % cost based on the journey pc.
Pricing and availability
The Honda e is just out there in Europe and Japan, with the automaker selecting to not deliver it Stateside. In Greece, the place we drove it, pricing begins from €35,990 ($40,304) for the Honda e and from €38,990 ($43,641) for the Honda e Advance earlier than you add the federal government incentives that shave 15-20% off the price. Within the UK the EV is listed for £34,365 ($45,989) and £36,865 ($49,334) respectively, which has similarities to what you’d pay for mid-spec Honda CR-V Hybrid AWD.
Sub-compact EVs from different automakers is usually a lot cheaper though high-spec variants find yourself being dearer. These embody the Fiat 500 (€28,300-38,600 / $31,675-43,207), the Peugeot e-208 (€32,300-40,900 / $36,158-45,785), and the MINI Cooper SE (€33,960-38,357 / $38,013-42,935). Alternatively, you will get the base-spec VW ID.3 which begins from €34,000 ($38,068) regardless of being a phase above. Word that the aforementioned costs don’t embody authorities incentives.
Our verdict
The Honda e is an EV for many who prioritize model and expertise over value-for-money and outright usability. Pricing is steep for its dimension, however the gadget-filled inside seems like a comfortable front room with retro design cues introduced into the longer term. Driving the e places a smile in your face and the styling makes you look twice over your shoulder each time you park it. Apart from the apparent cool issue of its design and the somewhat full checklist of normal gear that comes with the excessive value, the Honda e presents a refined journey and good efficiency. A bigger or extra environment friendly battery is the one factor that’s lacking to permit higher freedom and extra enjoyable behind the wheel, for the reason that vary is restricted in comparison with rivals, narrowing its use primarily within the city cycle as a second automobile.
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We want to thank Honda in Greece for lending us the press automobile.