Honda e:Ny1 Review & Prices

The Honda e:Ny1 might have a bit of a silly name, but look past the clunky moniker and there’s a handsome electric SUV with a comfortable, spacious interior.

However, it will need more than an airy cabin and a pretty face to tempt you out of excellent, similarly priced alternatives, such as the Renault Megane E-Tech, Peugeot e-2008 and Hyundai Kona Electric. The bigger, more practical Tesla Model Y and Kia EV6 are also within reach.

So what are its chances of success? Well, Honda’s a little late to the party with its electric family SUV, and with slower charging and shorter range than most other options, it feels like it’s turned up to the reception holding a packet of Bakewell Tarts while everyone’s already tucking into the wedding cake.

Still, hearts aren’t won through on-paper statistical comparisons. Instead, the e:Ny1 aims to win you over through a stylish exterior design and a smart, sophisticated and high-tech cabin. Materials feel like a bit of a step up in quality from your average Honda, and the large central touchscreen is clearly laid out and easy to use.

It’s not the sort of premium to bother Audi and BMW, but it’s upmarket enough for a family car. The seats are really comfortable and there’s loads of space for those in the front and back – though long-legged drivers might find their left leg is a bit cramped.

What’s slightly less impressive is interior storage, with small door bins and cubby holes up front, and even less for rear seat passengers, but there should be enough practicality for most. The boot is pretty small, though – at 361 litres there’s less capacity than everything else you might consider, particularly the huge Tesla Model Y.

If the driving experience is more important than practicality, then there’s good news. Around town the e:Ny1 is really comfortable, and while it can wobble over larger bumps, there are few thumps and crashes from potholes, and it’s really smooth and refined on the motorway. 

Twisty roads are less impressive, with the body leaning a lot in corners and the light steering making it tricky to be precise when turning at speed. Again, the Model Y is more impressive here, but that car is noticeably less comfortable over rubbish road surfaces.

Where pretty much every alternative beats the Honda, though, is in the battery department. Its fast charge rate is underwhelming, and miles behind the class-leading Kia EV6. And once the battery is fully charged it can go up to 256 miles, which is fine but nothing to shout about.

So if you want to do big miles in your electric SUV, the Honda e:Ny1 might not be the most appealing choice. But if you want a comfortable, good-looking car and don’t need a massive boot, it’s certainly one to consider – even if, on paper, it’s rather outgunned at this price point.

Interested? Find out how much you could save by checking out carwow’s Honda e:Ny1 deals. You can also browse the latest used Hondas from our network of trusted dealers, and when it’s time to sell your car, carwow can help with that, too. 

If you’re shopping for a 40-something-thousand-pound electric family SUV, there are approximately eleventy-billion options to choose from. And unfortunately for the Honda e:Ny1, there are some compelling options that cost less.

For example the Hyundai Kona Electric, Peugeot e-2008 and Renault Megane E-Tech are three such cars, with starting prices comfortably below the Honda – and all have bigger boots.

At a similar price to the e:Ny1 is the Toyota bZ4X, Nissan Ariya and Kia EV6. And if practicality is key, you’re also looking at the Skoda Enyaq and Tesla Model Y for this money. These are generally bigger cars, too.

The Honda e:Ny1 is really comfortable in town and on the motorway, but it leans a lot in corners

In town

The Honda e:Ny1 is at its best driving around town, where it’s quiet and comfortable over bumps. There’s a bit of a jiggle over poor roads but you won’t be wincing from potholes crashing through the cabin – the Tesla Model Y is less refined and more ‘sporty’ in that regard.

Of the three driving modes – Eco, Normal and Sport – you can happily cruise around in Eco. It feels much smoother in this mode, with the other two a little jumpy when you press the throttle, and it has the added benefit of maximising range. Annoyingly, though, the maximum amount of regenerative braking isn’t particularly high, so you’ll be using the brakes more than in most other EVs.

Forward visibility is really good, thanks to the upright body shape, but there’s quite a big blind spot over your shoulder because the rear window is small. As standard you get parking sensors all around with a rear-view camera, which helps to mitigate the rear visibility issue when manoeuvring.

On the motorway

At motorway speeds, the e:Ny1 is really comfortable, and does a good job of soaking up bumps in the road. It’s a shame that you get quite a bit of road noise, then, because it would be an otherwise quiet and refined companion for long drives.

The punchy electric motor means motorway slip roads are no bother and you get up to 70mph in no time. Once above 60mph, though, there’s a bit less gusto from the motor regardless of which drive mode you’re in, so overtakes can take a moment’s planning.

There are loads of driver assistance systems fitted to keep you on the straight and narrow – as you would expect at this price. All cars get adaptive cruise control with lane departure warnings, and Traffic Jam Assist means you don’t have to bother the pedals when crawling along in traffic.

On a twisty road

That comfort focus does come somewhat at the expense of cornering fun. There’s quite a bit of body lean if you chuck the car into a corner, which doesn’t inspire confidence and means you’re sliding around in your seat. The steering is also quite light and vague, making it tricky to place precisely when you’re trying to have a bit of fun. And if you put the car in Sport mode, it’s easy to spin the tyres when pulling away, which can be unnerving if you’re not expecting it.

If you want your electric family SUV to be capable of carving up a countryside road from time to time, you would be better served by the Tesla Model Y or Kia EV6.

The cabin is pretty spacious, particularly for those in the back, but the boot is really small

Space is pretty good for those in the front, and the driver’s seat goes high enough to give you a good view of the road ahead. However, there’s not much space for your left leg and there’s not much adjustment for reach in the steering wheel, so taller drivers might struggle to find a good driving position. It will be more than adequate for most, though, and those in the passenger seat will have no such issues.

Storage isn’t quite as noteworthy. The door bins are average at best and the space beneath the armrest is better but not massive. At least there are two deep cupholders and a place to wirelessly charge your phone beneath the touchscreen, with USB-A, USB-C and 12V sockets.

Space in the back seats

Those in the back are really well catered for, because there’s loads of kneeroom and headroom. There’s also space to fit your feet under the seats in front, so even taller passengers can stretch out.

Shoulder space is good enough to allow a third person to sit in the middle seat without too much trouble, but the cushion is raised so you feel rather perched, and the seatbelt comes in from the roof, which isn’t as comfortable as the usual seat-mounted option.

Storage is worse than the front, with no proper door bins, just a bottle-shaped cubby hole. There’s also a small storage space between the front seats, but that’s about it. Fold the centre armrest down and you reveal a couple more cupholders, but they’re not covered so they’re uncomfortable to rest your arm on when they’re empty. At least you get two USB-C slots for rear passengers to keep their devices charged.

Because of all that space, it’s easy to fit a child seat in the back of the e:Ny1. The doors open fairly wide to make access easy, but the ISOFIX mounting points sit quite deep within the seat, so it can be fiddly to attach them.

Boot space

In terms of capacity, the Honda e:Ny1 lags some way behind alternatives. At 361 litres it’s not far off the Volkswagen ID3’s 385-litre capacity, but everything else you might consider offers comfortably more, such as the Hyundai Kona Electric (466 litres) and Toyota bZ4X (452 litres).

If capacity is key, the more affordable Skoda Enyaq weighs in with 585 litres, and the bigger Nissan Ariya and Tesla Model Y – the latter of which also has a front boot, unlike the Honda – offer 466 litres and 854 litres.

It’s not all bad for the e:Ny1, though. The boot is a useful square shape, so it’s easy to make the most of the space on offer, and there’s not much of a lip to lift heavy items over. There’s also plenty of space under the floor if you want to keep items such as charging cables out of sight.

Fold the rear seats and there’s 1,176 litres to play with, though this is still around 300 litres less than you get in the likes of the Perugeot e-2008. At least with the seats folded there’s a flap that covers the gap between the seatbacks and the boot floor, so when you’re pushing longer items through they won’t get caught.

The Honda e:Ny1 looks cool inside and the infotainment system is well laid out, but it doesn’t feel as posh as the price suggests it should

Jump inside the Honda e:Ny1 and first impressions are good. The seats are really comfortable and the design is clean and modern. Materials are generally okay but, given the price, you would expect a few more squidgy plastics. It’s just not as fancy as the Kia EV6 or Peugeot e-2008.

It does have a big touchscreen infotainment display – though at 15.1 inches it’s almost too big. Fortunately it has a logical layout that makes it less intimidating to use than, say, the similarly portrait-orientated offering from Tesla. There are three sections – navigation or Apple CarPlay/Android Auto at the top, phone controls and EV settings in the middle, and climate at the bottom.

Segmenting the more commonly used features means there’s less faffing about in menus than is sometimes the case in modern cars, and the graphics are nice and sharp. It’s not perfect, because the fonts look a bit dated and it’s rather sluggish to respond to inputs, but it’s a big improvement on Honda infotainment of old.

Continuing the big screen theme is the digital instrument display. It’s home to loads of information, from the basics like your speed and state of charge, to the driver assistance systems and sat nav instructions.

Interior trim is similar whichever version you go for, with synthetic leather upholstery, piano black trim pieces and genuine leather for the steering wheel. The latter is only heated on higher-specification Advance models, though all versions have heated seats.

There’s just the one motor and battery combination available with the e:Ny1. The motor makes 204hp, which can take it from 0-62mph in a respectable 7.7 seconds.

The battery capacity is 68.8kWh and that provides a range of up to 256 miles, which is again respectable but far from best-in-class. For context, that’s more than the 250 miles you get in a Peugeot e-2008, but you can go up to 319 miles in the Hyundai Kona Electric and 317 miles in the Toyota bZ4X.

Unfortunately, the e:Ny1 doesn’t make up for its so-so range with lightning fast charging. Its maximum charge rate is 78kw, which is, again, fine but not ground-breaking. The e-2008 can only do a poor 50kW, while the Kona Electric charges at up to 100kW and the Volkswagen ID3 at 170kW in pricier trims. Stretch to a Kia EV6 and it’s capable of an incredible 350kW.

To maximise the range, you can keep the e:Ny1 in Eco mode for pretty much every driving situation. It delivers power more smoothly than the other modes but still has enough response to get you out of junctions sharpish. Put the car in Sport mode, and the e:Ny1 takes little encouragement to spin up its wheels, which can be annoying and will eat into your efficiency.

Being an electric vehicle means that the Honda e:Ny1 benefits from a really low company car tax rate of just 2%. It also means you won’t have to pay any road tax, and do not have to pay the extra for cars over £40,000.

The e:Ny1 has not yet been safety tested by Euro NCAP, but Honda has a reasonable record in recent years, scoring the full five stars with the Jazz and Civic, though only four for the HR-V and the Honda e electric hatchback.

You get all the same safety kit regardless of which trim you go for, so you don’t have to splash out for extra peace of mind. Standard equipment includes adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, whiplash-lessening headrests, and various systems to stop you drifting out of your lane on the motorway or off the Tarmac on smaller roads.

Honda has an excellent reputation for reliability, so although the e:Ny1 is a new model, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t continue this theme. Electric cars are also typically more reliable than petrol and diesel cars, too.

In case the worst does happen, all new Honda e:NY1s come with a five-year, 90,000-mile warranty, which is better than the more common three-year offerings. That said, Hyundai’s five-year warranty comes with unlimited mileage, while Toyota and Kia offer longer terms.