Honda e review

The all-electric Honda e is a bit like a reality TV celebrity. Under the bright lights at its concept reveal 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 even BMW i3.

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 handles 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.

It’s not often that production cars look like their prototypes, and neither does the Honda e – quite. It’s a damn close attempt as they go, though.

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 fine. The boot, though, is tiny – really only good enough for a weekend away, without folding the rear seats down.

The Honda e comes in two forms: the standard car with 136hp and a quicker Advance model with 154. Both, though, have the same motor and 35kWh battery and a modest range of 136 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 Honda e’s retro charm enough to forget its modest range and big price tag, head over to our Honda deals for the very best prices.