Honda e review
The Honda e features cool retro design and futuristic technology, but less stylish rivals beat it in the less glamorous but more useful areas of range and practicality
Pros
- Great to drive
- Packed with equipment
- Striking looks inside and out
Cons
- Expensive
- Short range
- Limited practicality
| Car type | Range | Wallbox charge time | Rapid charge time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric | 131-137 miles | 5hrs 15mins (0-100%, 7.4kW) | 36mins (10-80%, 100kW) |
Honda e verdict
The Honda e is an undeniably great-looking and original car, inside and out. We expect more than a few will go for the affordable little electric hatchback based on its retro styling alone, but it’s also fun to drive and packed full of technology; perfect for city or suburban life.
However, the Honda e’s short range, tiny amount of boot space and current starting price of nearly £37,000 means the achingly cool EV is left behind by its numerous, less expensive rivals like the Fiat 500, MINI Electric and more recently, the Ora Funky Cat.
Range details, specs and alternatives
Apart from the Civic Type R hot hatch, every model in Honda’s line-up is now electrified in some way. The Jazz supermini, HR-V compact SUV and Civic hatchback are all offered exclusively with hybrid powertrains, as is the CR-V family SUV though a new model with plug-in hybrid power is due to arrive in 2023. Finally, there’s the respected Japanese brand’s first and only electric car to date: the Honda e.
The retro-inspired styling of the Honda e was an instant hit when it first appeared as a motor show concept – and the production version that arrived in 2020 brought all that headline grabbing style into dealerships. Honda’s designers have cleverly worked the pleasing old-school charm of 1970s hatchbacks into a modern package – and the result is hard to resist.
The Honda e has potential rivals of various shapes and sizes, but its key competition comes from the similarly retro-inspired Fiat 500, MINI Electric and Ora Funky Cat – the latter being our Best Urban Electric Car for 2023. Other slightly less fashion-conscious hatchbacks the e rivals include the Peugeot e-208, Vauxhall Corsa Electric and Renault ZOE.
The Honda e is significantly more expensive than all of the cars mentioned above. In fact, with a starting price of nearly £37,000 at the time of writing, it’s more expensive than an entry-level Cupra Born or Kia Niro EV, which are both larger and offer about double the range of the Honda. The Honda e wasn’t always this pricey, though. When we first tested the e it had a starting price of around £27,000, but at that time the car was eligible for the government's plug-in car grant, which has since been axed.
For a time there were also three trim levels to choose from: a base model, the Honda e Advance and finally a Honda e Limited Edition. As of January 2023, however, you can only order the higher-spec Advance model. Its single electric motor produces 152bhp, compared to 134bhp in the base model, while range from the 35.5kWh battery stands at 131 miles.
At least for the money the Honda e Advance gets a generous amount of standard kit, including heated seats and steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, a rear-view camera display built into the rear-view mirror, automatic parking, LED headlights and 16-inch alloys.
Make sure to check out our triple test between the Honda e, MINI Electric and Fiat 500, or for a more detailed look at the Honda e, read on for the rest of our in-depth review...
