Honda e review: a attractive, tech-packed electric railway car for the city, with one big compromise
Unmatchable minute review
The Honda e is precious, prosperous… and compromised. It's jam-packed full of tech, including a neat party trick that allows you to connect a console to the car and frolic games happening one of its 12-inch screens, while the exterior design will have passers-by cooing.
However, many people want their car to give them a feel of freedom and adventure, and the Honda e's range is its major limiting factor.
Honda says information technology's good for up to 125 miles WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure - an diligence monetary standard test) connected a man-to-man charge, but realistically you'rhenium look nearer to 100 – and if you find yourself on a motorway you'll get to a lesser degree that once again.
It's not designed for call travel though. The Honda e is very much a car collective for European city driving – it's a motorcar to begin you around township, and IT buttocks play the 'second car in a household' role comfortably, providing emissions-emancipated driving for those trips to the shops, the shoal extend or your daily commute (provided information technology's not too far).
In that location's space in the boot for shopping bags, and thither are rise seats which adults can just about appropriate in – kids will be fine – spell the front of the cabin is airy, scavenge and modern.
If you like screens, you're in hazard, American Samoa the Honda e has five stretched outgoing across its pall. There are three 12-in displays – the central documentary screen, passenger screen and digital screen – while the additional two are smaller displays providing a live in fertilize from the extremity wing mirror cameras.
In that location are also mess of ports, including multiple USB slots, an HDMI-in and a full-size power outlet.
The Honda e may be a compendious electrical machine, but information technology's bursting full of tech to keep you engaged and entertained. However, the range bequeath likely be a deal-breaker for many, and there are other small EVs that offer more crop for less money – although none of them looks quite equally cute as the e.
Honda e price and availability
The Honda e monetary value starts at £29,165, just we swarm the (slightly) more powerful Honda e Advance, which starts at £31,665.
Add metallic blusher – our review vehicle came in an bewitching Crystal Aristocratic shade –and the final exam damage of the electric machine TechRadar drove was £32,215.
That makes the Honda e one of the pricier compact EVs on the market, with the Rescript 500e and Renault Zoe some offering lower opening prices.
You tooshie bargain the Honda e in the UK and across Europe, but we don't yet know if it'll be free in the likes of North America or Australia.
Honda e design
We horde
Honda e Advance
Magnate: 113kW
Barrage: 35.5kWh
Top stop number: 100mph
0-62mph: 8 seconds
Browse: up to 125 miles WLTP
Price: £32,215
Cunning. That was the most common reception when we asked others what they thought of the Honda e.
Its rounded edges, circular head and tail lights, and dinky dimensions make for an attractive aesthetic, and one we wouldn't blame anyone for down in love with scarce a slim bit. We were certainly smitten with the car's exterior styling.
The door handles sit flush to the bodywork, popping out when you hitting unlock on the key, while the backstage mirrors take in been replaced with narrow camera stalks. Some of these design decisions help reduce drag and increase efficiency – and As we'Ra already mentioned, and volition discuss in more contingent later, you'll deprivation all morsel of efficiency you can get here.
Steady though the Honda e is a small car, information technology still comes with four doors, allowing for easier access to the rear seats. Patc the handles for the front doors are located where you'd expect them to be, the handles for the rear doors are close to the rear border of the car (the C pillar), and not quite Eastern Samoa obvious at first glimpse as they blend into the black window bezel.
The rear handles don't belt down out automatically – passengers need to physically press cardinal side in to pop the some other side out and open the door. It's non as complicated as IT might sound, though, and their all but-hidden location keeps the sides of the Honda e clean.
Climb inside and the clean aesthetic continues. Honda claims the minimalist interior is configured to find ilk a lounge, and spell it whitethorn not look like whatsoever posing room you've ever been in, IT is comfortable.
IT also feels astonishingly commodious for front buttocks passengers, considering the overall size of it of the machine. The front seats are kind and comfortable, with enough leg and manoeuvre elbow room on offer.
A eye console sits separately from the dash, meaning there's a clear spread 'tween the two footwells, which helps to make over the illusion of the Honda e feeling bigger than it in reality is.
This space is large enough to place a bag in, although you'll want to be protective that IT doesn't topple into the driver's footwell.
The central section houses the drive select buttons, parking brake controls and drive mode switch, and in that location's also a storage surface area towards its rear, with transportable partitions allowing you to tailor-make the space; for exercise, you can make sure that your drink is secure, some size information technology is, although thither's too a pull-out cup bearer at the frontal of the center console that provides improved access to your crapulence as it's in front of you, rather than behind your elbow.
The door pockets sweep just a third gear of the width of the doors, and are relatively slender – but in that location is quad for a drinks bottle here, too as for keys or a phone.
In the back there are two seats – there's no middle third option here – and while legroom is at a superior and the headroom is a partake modification, deuce adults are able to sit here.
You'Ra unlikely to take the Honda e connected long road trips, and passengers should comprise able to cope with the special space for short journeys.
Rear illumination is slimly different in the Honda e to other cars, with each seat acquiring its own dedicated spot in the headliner that's controlled via a clitoris on the central tower between the doors (the B column). This provides advisable get down for to each one individual than the joint central illuminated found in many cars.
Again, storage is a bear on limited, just at that place is a wassail holder in to each one arse door, and a powder store pocket on the back of the front seats. The tree trunk is small, but decent for the size of the car.
In point of fact, we were pleasantly surprised by how much space thither is here, atomic number 3 it felt up bigger than we'd expected. There's enough room for a couple up of small cases, operating theater a few all-night bags.
Honda e drive, range and charging
Hop into the number one wood's seat of the Honda e and thither's no start/stop button happening display – the car is ready to roll once it's heard the key along your person. Just pop your foot on the brake and blue-ribbon your drive direction and you'Ra off.
Labor select is easy, with extensive buttons in the central console that offer pleasing feedback nether the finger.
The Honda e is agile on the roads. Its compact dimensions and low centre of gravity way it's dynamic enough round the corners, and can zip inaccurate from lights without hassle.
It's not going to set pulses racing with its 100mph top speed or 8-ordinal 0-60mph time, but there's enough power to get you around townspeople, and the RWD (rear-wheel-drive) configuration gives it a slightly more racy feeling than a front-wheel-drive setup.
The light steering and tight 4.3m / 14ft turn circle awful the Honda e is easy to maneuver steady in comparatively confined spaces – convenient when it comes to inner-city parking.
The result is a elevator car that's really quite fun to parkway, feeling not dissimilar to a go-kart from time to tim as you whip it round corners. The ride is relatively aerodynamic, and inside the cabin there isn't too much road noise (at metropolis speeds at to the lowest degree), making the Honda e an enjoyable grade to be.
Thither are two drive modes: Rule and Sport, with Normal being the default setting, and the one we'd recommend you use the bulk of the fourth dimension to undergo the most orbit. Sportswoman stiffens the suspension a trifle and ups the acceleration available nether foot, but it's not going to transform the dynamic experience.
Around town so, the Honda e excels. If you fancy going further afield, even so, this International Relations and Security Network't the car you want to be in.
The e isn't marketed as a marathoner – it's been very much intentional as a city-runaround or second vehicle in a household – but when you undergo a car in that location's sometimes the temptation to go a trifle further.
The official Honda e place is up to 125 miles WLTP, but realistically you'll be lucky if you get 100 miles from a single charge. Sticking to slower residential roadstead we were able to get over 100 miles from a single charge, but if your routes see you taking faster roadstead you'll find the battery depletes more quickly.
We drove a route of approximately 60 miles, on mostly fast roads where we kept the speed at around 60-65mph, and the battery depleted 60% over the course of the journey.
Thankfully in that location was a charger at our terminus, so we were fit to take a full charge before devising the return spark, but even and then we didn't experience too comfortable as we watched the graze tick down.
While the Honda e May cost optimized for around-townspeople motoring, information technology does do with adaptative cruise control and pilot assist, which makes driving on faster roads easier.
IT can keep itself in-lane, and come after the car in front, speeding up and slowing down automatically. The system worked well for us, and for the casual short blast up a motorway it certainly comes in reclaimable.
Honda e specs and tech
If you similar screens in your car, you'Re going to love the Honda e. V displays stretch the entire width of the pall, with trio 12-inch displays flanked past small screens which play your wing mirrors.
The main trio of screens comprises matchless located behind the steering wheel, which acts as your instrument cluster, with the other two offering touch stimulant. The central CRT screen is the main infotainment reveal, from where the driver will control the navigation and audio.
The third screen is for the front seat rider, giving them access to docudrama controls that allow them to control media playback, view the represent, and even catch up on the latest news and weather.
These touchscreens are promising, clear and responsive, but the UI total International Relations and Security Network't the most intuitive we've put-upon. The covered quick options layout should be simple on the face of IT, but the system's intelligent in surfacing some options over others is sometimes disorienting.
What isn't confusing is working unstylish how you'atomic number 75 going to keep all your devices charged. The Honda e comes with a plethora of ports, with two USB, one HDMI and a 12v port whol located at the base of the dash, between the anterior footwells.
There's a small pocket below these ports, providing you with a place to slip your handset when it's charging.
These ports are married aside a life-size power outlet – the same as you'd find in your home – enabling you to connect all mode of devices, so much Eastern Samoa a laptop, and yes, even a PS5. The Honda e isn't alone when IT comes to offering a traditional great power mercantile establishment in its cabin – we've seen them in other tense cars, including the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5.
However, the combination of a power outlet and an HDMI stimulant is something more unique, and it agency you give the axe connect devices such as games consoles and play them on the 12-inch presentation. We managed to knock off up the PlayStation Classic, and then a PS5 to play Deathloop in the Honda e.
While the 12-column inch display is fairly removed from the large, 4K, HDR-toting TVs we'rhenium used to gambling connected, it does work in the Honda e. It's easy to entrap, and easy to play.
An hour of play on the power-starved PS5 adage the battery drop just 2% – so there's the potency here for some earnest gaming sessions. Not that you'd be taking your PS5 with you everywhere, but this feature brings a whole new level of versatility to the Honda e.
Safeguards are in situ too. You have to be in Car park for the HDMI input to work, which reasonably stops you playacting games surgery observance movies while happening the move. Rear fanny passengers aren't forgotten either, with a advance two USB ports accessible to them.
Finally, the two smaller displays are part of the digital wing mirror system happening the Honda e. They seat in personal credit line with the rest of the screens, and this means they're at a height where they find normal to consider.
We've practised digital mirrors in other cars, so much as the Audi e-tron Sportback, where the displays are decorated into the threshold panel, which places them lower down than you'd instinctively want them.
So their location happening the Honda e is better, simply the viewing angle provided from these static cameras still isn't ideal, and we'd have liked to have seen few level of adjustment.
The mirrors themselves work substantially though, and patc it volition require some getting accustomed for those WHO haven't experienced digital mirrors before, it doesn't take too long to become accustomed to the frame-up.
Should I buy a Honda e?
Buy it if…
Put on't pip out if…
John linked TechRadar a decade ago every bit Stave Author for Phones, and ended the long time has shapely up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs of whatsoever of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live Telly and radio, including Sky Newsworthiness, BBC News, BBC World News, Alabama Jazeera, LBC and BBC Tuner 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, Bathroom is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. Can also looks after the daylight-to-day running of the site.
Honda e review: a cute, tech-packed electric car for the city, with one big compromise
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