Honda e Review & Prices

The all-electric Honda e is a bit like a reality TV celebrity. Under the bright lights at its reveal as a concept car it looked a million dollars, but in the cold light of day, with its pyjamas on, shuffling to the off licence, the production version doesn’t have quite the same impact.

Still, it’s a good attempt, and certainly more visually interesting on the outside than the vast majority other small EVs on sale right now, including the Renault Zoe, Mini Electric and Mazda MX-30.

Inside the impact is no less dramatic. Most cars have a screen these days, but the Honda e has gone windmilling into Dixons on Black Friday and come back with the whole shop. There’s a screen for everything in there, and while it’s a bit ‘90s in overall design, you can’t accuse it of being boring. No sir.

Two of the screens somewhere in the middle handle the car’s infotainment system, plus there is a set of digital dials for the driver and another screen each side that display the digital door mirror images.

Lots of screens then, but this isn’t a car designed for lots of people. A couple of adults will be fine in the front, but not in the back, although, of course, if you have two young children, they’ll be okay. The boot is tiny – really only good enough for a weekend away, without folding the rear seats down.

The Honda e used to be available with either 134bhp or 152bhp, but the lower powered model has now been dropped. The remaining version is equipped with a 35.5kWh battery which yields a modest range of 137 miles, although Honda reckons that’ll be more than enough if you live in a city.

Charging it from 10-80% with a rapid charger takes just 30 minutes or, via a typical 7kWh charger at home close, to six hours. A full charge at home costs in the region of £5, saving you around £15 versus fueling the average petrol car over the same distance.

The trouble is, the Honda e is quite expensive to buy compared with other EVs of the same size. But, if you’re taken with the little car’s retro charm enough to forget its modest range and big price tag, head over to our Honda deals for the very best prices.

There’s no getting away from the fact that the Honda e is a pricey little EV. It starts off over £6000 more than the very capable Peugeot e-208 and stylish Mini Electric. The Volkswagen ID3 hatchback is more comparatively priced, and while it may not have the same design flair as the Honda e, it’s more practical and has double the range. 

If price is not your biggest concern, then the Honda e’s quirky looks and tech-fest interior are unlike anything else on sale, and it makes for a superb city car thanks to its compact dimensions.

Its size make the Honda e an agile little car, it’s pretty punchy around town, too, although longer trips aren’t its strongest suit

In town

Short trips around town are what the Honda e was designed for, you will appreciate its responsive engine and tiny dimensions. The myriad screens stacked along the dashboard work well once you become accustomed to them, aothough the two smaller screens at each end replacing conventional side mirrors can take some getting used to. 

Visibility is good and the steering wheel and driver’s seat offer plenty of adjustment for all shapes. Being rear-wheel-drive gives the Honda e a superb turning circle and you can adjust the strength of the regenerative braking feature or switch to one-pedal driving if you wish. 

All this equates to a very relaxed and simple driving experience. Pressing Sport mode adds a bit of pep, but even in its standard setting the Honda e accelerates smoothly and quickly. Most harsh road surfaces are ironed out without a fuss, this really is the perfect city-friendly daily driver.

On the motorway

The Honda e is comfortable at the national speed limit, but its acceleration tails off above 50mph and its limited range make it less than ideal for long road trips. That said, it’s impressively quiet at speed, with very little wind or road noise making its way into the cabin.

On a twisty road

There’s a certain ’rightness’ to the way the Honda e feels as you drive it along a winding stretch of road. It turns sharply, doesn’t lean excessively and rarely seems flustered over poor road surfaces. It may not be all that quick, but that immediate surge of power at low speed out of slow corners is very satisfying.

There's plenty of space for two in the front, although stowage and rear passenger space are less generous

The two front seats are comfortable and can be adjusted to fit just about anybody this side of Peter Crouch. Storage space is not quite so generous - the door bins aren’t particularly large, and neither is the glovebox. 

The centre console has space for larger cups and there’s a small pouch below the heating controls for a mobile phone. There are two USB ports for charging as well.

Space in the back seats

It may have four doors, but you wouldn’t want to force a pair of adults in the back unless it was for a short trip around the block, or punishment. It’s best suited to younger kids and there’s no central seat or third seatbelt if you somehow thought you could shoehorn three people back there. A pair of ISOFIX mounting points are also provided, although getting bulky baby chairs to fit may be tricky.

There’s space for a small cup in each of the rear doors and fabric sleeves in the front seatbacks for small items. A pair of USB ports help keep your kid’s electronic devices charged.

Boot space

You get 171 litres of space with the rear seats up, which isn’t a lot. Even the Mini Electric offers 211 litres, and more a practical alternative such as the Peugeot e-208 has a comparatively sprawling 311 litres of luggage space. To be fair, the Honda e has enough space for a few shopping bags or a couple of squashy bags for a weekend away, and with the rear seats down, you get 861 litres of total luggage space. Plenty for a small city car, plus the load area is flat, with just two suspension mounts intruding into the boot floor.

The cabin is unlike any other small car on sale and the huge screens dominate the interior, but the door mirror-replacing cameras won't be universally enjoyed

The cool twin-spoke steering wheel would make quite a statement in more mundane interiors, but here it's overshadowed, quite literally, by a bank of screens running the length of the wood-grain covered dashboard. 

The overall effect is all a bit ‘90s, but it works well and is a refreshing change from the usually dour interiors of small city cars. A pair of 12.3-inch touchscreens take care of the infotainment side of things, sat-nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto all come standard along with an eight-speaker audio system.

You can also browse the internet and connect your gaming console to the screens when stationary, not strictly a value-add on your daily commute but a fun fact to tell your mates nonetheless. You can customise the screens to your requirements - fancy a virtual fish tank that allows you to feed your little electronic fish? The Honda e is happy to oblige. On a more practical note, four USB charging points are provided - two for the front and two for the rear.

Two smaller 6.0-inch screens situated at either end of the dashboard replace conventional door mirrors, they receive a live feed from small cameras mounted on each front door. 

The Honda e is now offered solely with a 152bhp electric motor (the base 134bhp model has been dropped). It zips to 60mph in around eight seconds, which matches the Peugeot e-208, but is slightly behind the Mini Electric and VW ID3. It never feels anything but nippy though, providing strong acceleration around town, made even sharper when utilising Sport mode. 

Being fitted with a small capacity 35.5kWh battery pack means that the Honda e boasts only an official 137 miles between charges (131 miles with 17-inch wheels). The pay-off for the lack of range is that a smaller battery equals a lighter car which benefits the ride, handling and performance. Another benefit is that you can add 80% charge in just 31 minutes using a 50kW fast charger.

The closest alternative to the Honda e in terms of range is the Mini Electric, which has an even smaller 32kWh battery but has a slightly longer 145-mile range. If you really need to go further than that between charges, the Peugeot e-208 offers 217 miles and the Renault Zoe manages an even more impressive 230 miles.

In real-world testing, we managed 113 miles from the e, which is a respectable 90% of its claimed range, particularly when you consider it was mostly motorway miles. Driving in the city, where EVs are more efficient, would likely get closer to the claimed figures.

Being electric, the Honda e incurs no road tax at all and seeing as its emissions are 0g/km, you don’t pay a fee for driving in Ultra Low Emission Zones (ULEZ) either.

The Honda e scored a four-star rating in Euro NCAP testing. It managed a decent 76% and 82% respectively for adult and child occupant crash protection respectively, however, it missed out on a full five star rating due to a slightly below average 62% score for vulnerable road users (cyclists and pedestrians) and a 65% result for the effectiveness of its active and passive safety equipment. As a comparison, the Peugeot 208 (on which the e-208 is based) also scored four stars, while the Renault Zoe scored an abysmal zero stars.

The Honda e comes standard with lane departure and blind spot warning as well as adaptive cruise control. It also has Honda’s Parking Pilot system which includes a multi-view camera system and parking sensors front and rear. Keyless entry is also fitted.

Honda as a brand is known for making reliable vehicles, the Honda e is a newcomer to the market so it’s a bit too soon to tell how it will fare. It is based on an all-new platform but electric vehicles have fewer moving parts so it should prove to be a solid vehicle in the years to come. 

For peace of mind, the Honda e is offered with a three-year/90,000-mile warranty extendable by an additional two years. The battery pack comes with an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty - if the minimum state of charge drops below 70% Honda will replace or refurbish the battery pack during this period. There has been just one recall for the Honda e so far, and it was for a seatbelt reminder that may not be displayed.