Honda e:Ny1 Review & Prices

The first hurdle with the Honda e:Ny1 is figuring out how to pronounce it - Honda says it’s ‘ee en why one’. Look past the silly name, and you’ll find Honda’s only fully electric car on sale has a few good qualities, but generally is pretty poor value compared to alternatives.

The biggest problem with the e:Ny1 is the sheer number of brilliant electric cars available for around the same price. The Skoda Elroq, Kia EV3, Renault Scenic E-Tech, Volvo EX30, MG S5 EV and Tesla Model 3 are all available for similar money or less - making the e:Ny1 feel a bit like an under-14’s rugby player facing off against all 15 of the All Blacks.

At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the e:Ny1 is just an electrified Honda HR-V, but despite their very similar appearance every single body panel is different. It’s not a bad-looking vehicle - though it hardly stands out in a crowd, the front end is a little less featureless than some alternatives, and the sloping tailgate and hidden rear door handles give it a bit of visual interest.

Honda e:Ny1: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 256 miles
Efficiency: 4.1mi/kWh
Battery size: 61.9kWh
Max charge speed: 78kW
Charge time AC: 8hrs 45 minutes (7kW)
Charge time DC: 45 mins 10-80% (78kW)
Charge port location: Front
Power outputs: 204hp

The same applies to the interior, where you won’t find much in the way of luxurious materials or handsome design touches - but what’s there does tend to work quite well. In stark contrast to Honda’s other cars, though, the e:Ny1 features a truly gigantic central touchscreen display which not only houses sat-nav, smartphone connectivity and the usual things but has the air conditioning and other vehicle controls on as well.

Compared with the super-simple interiors on other Hondas such as the Civic, Jazz and HR-V, this touchscreen system is a bit of a backwards step for usability, and it’s not as slick as the one you get in a Renault Scenic E-Tech or Kia EV3.

Passenger space is pretty good, though. While the driver’s seat doesn’t adjust quite as far as tall drivers would like, those in the rear seats get tons of kneeroom and headroom, plus space to stretch their feet under the seats in front.

The same capacious nature doesn’t extend to the boot, however, which at just 361 litres lags behind most alternatives.

The e:Ny1’s biggest problem is that its batteries, charge speed and driving dynamics aren’t up to snuff either. Honda claims that you can do 256 miles on a charge, but real-world range is significantly lower than that. The maximum charge rate is a slow 78kW, too, meaning a 10-80% charge from a public rapid charger will take a yawning 45 minutes.

And while it’s comfortable over bumps, the e:Ny1 has precious little grip from its front tyres, resulting in embarrassing wheelspin at junctions and a real lack of finesse in the driving experience.

You can get the best possible price on this car by checking out our latest Honda e:Ny1 deals. You can also see our best Honda e:Ny1 leasing deals, or find a used Honda e:Ny1 for sale. Why not browse other used Hondas for sale too, and remember that when the time comes to sell your old car Carwow can help there too.

The Honda e:Ny1 has had a significant price cut since it launched, but it still comes in at just over £40,000 - meaning it attracts the expensive car supplement on years two to six of its road tax bill. Alternatives at this price are many, varied, and talented - from the far cheaper Kia EV3 and MG S5 EV to the big and practical Skoda Elroq or Renault Scenic E-Tech.

At this price, even relatively generous standard equipment doesn’t make the e:Ny1 look like decent value. All versions do get heated front seats, keyless entry, a wireless phone charger and that mammoth 15.1-inch infotainment screen. Step up to the Advance grade and you add a power tailgate, twin sunroofs, heated steering wheel and 360-degree camera.

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

The e:Ny1 suffers the same fate as quite a few older electric cars do - it has too much power for the front tyres to handle, which means that even under gentle throttle inputs it’s too easy to spin your wheels. This isn’t such a problem around town, but on faster roads where you may need to get up to speed quickly or nip into tight gaps at roundabouts, it’s a real issue - you’re left floundering, with your wheels furiously spinning while the car doesn’t move much at all.

Even at higher speeds the tyres spin up without much provocation, such as when overtaking on a country lane. That’s enough of a problem to be a bit scary, and it translates to a general lack of traction for cornering, where you’ll tend to wash wide even at moderate speeds.

There’s also quite a lot of body lean when cornering, and the steering is very light and vague, which doesn’t inspire much confidence. If you want an EV in this price range that’s great to drive, look to the MG S5 EV or Tesla Model 3.

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.

Solidly built, but the design is uninspiring and the infotainment system difficult to use

The interior of the e:Ny1 is similar to the HR-V’s, but there’s one big difference - the huge touchscreen infotainment display in the centre. It’s portrait-mounted and 15.1 inches across, so it totally dominates the dashboard - if anything, it’s too big.

It’s also displaced the bank of physical climate controls you get on Honda’s other cars, which is a shame - the resulting touchscreen system is straightforward, but it’s not as easy to use on the move. It’s also permanently onscreen, so it’s not like you can use that real estate for anything else.

In fact, most of the systems you’d expect to benefit from such a large infotainment display - such as the sat-nav or smartphone mirroring - actually only use the top third of the screen. As slick as the system you get in a Tesla, it is not.

Thankfully the rest of the cabin makes a bit more sense, with a clear driver’s information display, plenty of easy-to-use buttons on the steering wheel and a handy brightness control so you don’t get dazzled at night.

Build quality feels as solid as in any Honda, with very few squeaks and rattles. Material quality is hardly luxurious, though, even in upper-trim models fitted with leather upholstery.

There are also a few really annoying touches. The driver’s display has no shroud over it, for example, so its glossy surface is susceptible to reflections. And while the front sunroof has a nice roller blind, as you’d expect, the rear sunroof has fixed blinds which need to be taken in and out manually and stored intact. They’re an absolute pain, and they look ugly when installed too.

There’s just one motor and battery combo available with the e:Ny1. It makes a pretty standard 204hp, which can take it from 0-62mph in 7.7 seconds - a respectable time, assuming the tyres can find enough grip to achieve it.

Honda says the e:Ny1’s range on a full charge is 256 miles. In the real world, we found this to be a rather disappointing 160-180 miles - and even less in the winter, as you don’t get an energy-saving heat pump even as an option.

An MG S5 EV will do around 240 miles in the real world, a Kia EV3 or Renault Scenic E-Tech over 300. And the e:Ny1 can’t even charge quickly to top up its measly mileage, either. The maximum rate is 78kW, which equates to a 10-80% charge in 45 minutes from a public charger. For all three aforementioned alternatives that time is more like half an hour.

At least, as a fully electric car, the e:Ny1 pays the lowest rate of road tax and company car tax, though both trim levels do attract the expensive car supplement on years two to six of ownership as they cost more than £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.