Honda e

The retro styled modern city car

Honda really struck a chord with the motoring press when they released the quirky looking ‘e’ electric car. It’s cutesy looks, nippy acceleration and amazing turning circle made it awesome in town, but a less-than-ideal range and expensive starting price meant it was quite a hard purchase decision to make with your head… though, of course, you could lead with your heart instead.

Range and charging

The e is best for towns and cities not least because its range is at the lower end of the spectrum for modern electric cars (137 miles WLTP or about 100 miles in the real world), but also because of its awesome turning circle. It’ll turn tighter than a London cab!

Charging is okay, with a max charging speed of 46kW, meaning it’ll match the Renault ZOE. That said, other rivals like the Vauxhall Corsa-e or FIAT 500e will charge faster, so they’d be better for you if you’ll rely heavily on public charging.

Top spec ‘Advance’ version comes with a more powerful motor, heated windscreen and steering wheel, digital rear-view and wing mirrors, a premium stereo system and the ‘Honda Park Pilot Assist’ feature which parks the car for you… oh, and the dashboard turns into a fish tank (no, seriously).

For more information, check out the review of the Honda e over on our blog.

Inside the Honda e

The interior of the Honda e is described by Honda themselves as, “A calm, spacious and contemporary interior welcomes you and your passengers”… we’ll leave you to decide what that really means.

From our point of view, though, they’re definitely there with ‘spacious’ and ‘contemporary’. Despite being a small car, the cabin has plenty of head and leg room even for taller drivers thanks to the open cabin and lack of central transmission tunnel. It completely opens up the space and makes for an airy feel. Contemporary, too, with the two central 12.3″ touchscreens allowing for various information to be cycled through simultaneously by the driver and passenger (you can even switch the screens from one side to the other).

Space in the back is not too dissimilar to that of a Renault ZOE or MINI Electric, but be warned there are only two rear seatbelts (so it’s a strict four seater). Plus, sadly, the boot is really quite small and with a large load lip to lift things over, this car is less practical than a Peugeot e-208 or similarly price Citroën e-C4.

But, despite the Peugeot having quite a stylish interior, neither of those cars meet the Honda e for sheer wow factor. If you like standing out and having the latest tech, the Honda is where it’s at.

Honda e key features

We’ve already mentioned the two 12.3” touchscreens, which come with navigation and Apple CarPlay & Android Auto too, so you’re well equipped for tech.

It doesn’t stop there, though, with cameras for wing-mirrors and a rear-view camera too. The ‘Advance’ model also comes with a premium sound system, and all Honda es have a voice-activated “Personal Assistant” that can help you find a charge point or check the weather… though you could just look out the window for that last one.

Driving technology is vast too, with loads of safety kit thrown at it. Adaptive cruise control, collision mitigation, road departure warning, lane keeping assist, automatic high-beam headlights and low-speed braking control all as standard.

The biggest ‘key feature’ though would be that turning circle, making it amazingly easy to park and get around tight city streets. A u-turn in a Honda e takes up just 8.6 metres – that’s 1.5 meters less than the current London taxi.

Electric cars on subscription

With a subscription, you can try an electric car for just 60 days and then hand it back with 30 days’ notice or keep it for as long as you need.

Take a look at our available cars below: