JOE LOVES    Driven: Honda E Electric Review

Electric cars are no longer a craze. They’re a big part of our motoring future, and almost every manufacturer has one, or is planning to build one. Many of them, so far, have been big, expensive and aimed at the luxury end of the sector. Few have aimed at the city car market, and most of those have simply re-engineered versions of regular petrol-powered cars. That’s where the Honda E feels unique. It’s designed to be an EV from the ground up. It’s also designed to be fun.

The small Honda EV was first teased in 2017 as the Urban EV Concept. It was a funky three-door that evoked classic Hondas without feeling like a pastiche. It was somehow modern and retro at the same time. Journalists and petrolheads alike went mad for the design and bugged Honda to build it.

Fast forward to 2019, and Honda unveiled the production version of the Urban EV — the Honda E. It had evolved into a five-door and lacked some of the wide and low stance we all loved about the concept, but it still had that modern yet retro design language and one of the coolest-looking interiors I’d ever seen on a small car.

Driving the Honda E

EVs are easy to drive, and the Honda E is no exception. You simply select D from the centre console, and away you go. No gears; just go. It’s also very silent inside, as you would expect, but outside, it makes a rather odd noise. All electric cars have to do this so pedestrians can hear you at low speeds. The Honda E approach is very sci-fi, and the noise is distinctive and cool. Just imagine R2D2 running a yoga class, and you’re halfway there.

Once up to normal speeds, the E is still very quiet. There is some road noise from the tyres, but it’s not intrusive, and thanks to great aerodynamics, there is almost no wind noise. Add this to the easy driving style and effortless steering, and it becomes a very relaxing place to be.

Although effortless, the steering is quite numb and provides little feedback. It’s nicely weighted, though and suits the personality of the car. On a fast B-road, it’s accurate and doesn’t detract from what is a surprisingly fun package. The E is rear-wheel-drive, and you can feel it. It’ll shift and slide a little on rough surfaces, allowing you to drive it more like a sports car on faster roads. It does lack a bit of front-end grip and therefore isn’t going to worry hot hatch owners, but it will put a bigger smile on your face than pretty much anything else in its class.

Performance-wise, the Honda E isn’t the fastest thing around. The new electric Mini has it licked for power, but don’t let that put you off. The version we drove was the more powerful Honda E Advanced. It has a 113kW motor which is around 154hp in old money. 62mph arrives in eight seconds, but somehow it feels faster. That’s a trick that almost all EVs seem to pull off. That instant surge of torque as soon as you push the accelerator ensures it feels fast enough around town and will make overtaking and accelerating onto a motorway a breeze. No, it doesn’t rip your face off, but it would be worse if it did.

Honda E Interior and Tech

If I like the outside of the E, then I love the interior. It’s simple yet stylish but far from perfect. Then why do you love it if it’s not perfect? Partly because I generally dislike things that are too good. They’re often dull and lack occasion. But mainly because the flaws that the E has don’t detract from the superb experience you get inside it.

The design is very simple, and yet it works so well. The long flat slab of fake wood reminds me of my Dad’s Technics record player he bought in the 1970s in just the best kind of way. The vents and climate controls are simple, creating an almost minimalist ambience. Then you have the juxtaposition of the massive bank of screens. I counted five in total, and they cover the entire interior width.

The two main screens display everything you could possibly want and quite a bit that you didn’t know you wanted. You can select two apps to have on screen at the same time. Want the nav and audio up at the same time? No worries. Want one closer to you? Swap them around with the touch of a virtual button. Want a calm interior space? Return to the home screen and choose from a range of wallpapers. The big issue comes when you want to select something from the other end of the display. It is simply too far away for you to reach without stopping the car. It’s annoying but certainly not a deal breaker.

The E also has you covered if you’re bored whilst waiting for it to charge or sat outside a shop waiting for your other half to return. You can either load the built-in virtual aquarium and customise it to create your perfect little fishy paradise, or plug a games console into the HDMI port under the dash and have a quick game of Mario Kart!

On either end of the dash, you have two digital wing mirrors that display feeds from cameras mounted on the front doors. This is not new, but the position and clarity of these cameras make them very natural to use. You can adjust them just like a traditional mirror too. Plus, whilst reversing, they angle and zoom in to give you the best possible view of your surroundings.

The interior is one of the best things about the Honda E and a breath of fresh air in a segment where interiors are getting fussy and over-complicated. The fit and finish is far better than some recent Hondas too. It feels premium without trying to be posh. The seats and materials are also pleasantly simple. I especially liked the use of grey fabric for the seats with brown contrast stitching and brown seatbelts.

Honda E Range and Practicality

This is the area where the Honda E might fall down for you. It doesn’t have the best range and isn’t hugely practical from the front seats back. But this isn’t an issue if you consider the point of this car. It is, after all, a city car.

Honda concedes that it could have made it bigger and added a bigger battery pack. But that would have made it heavier and cumbersome. That seems unacceptable to Honda. This car is designed for 90% of the journeys we make. Not the longer 10% (figures casually guessed by this reviewer).

The boot is also relatively small, and the back seats could be better for large adults. But again, this car isn’t meant for long journeys with five adults. It’s for your trip to the shops. Your journey to the local park. Picking up the kids from school and parking in the company car park.

If you need more than the official range of 125 miles or you need to be able to haul big items and lots of people, look elsewhere. The Honda E is a city car through and through. As a result, it seems entirely fit for purpose, and I can understand why Honda gets a little peeved when the range is brought up again and again.

The Honda E Conclusion

The Honda E is different. I like different. I think it looks great, but some people on my Facebook feed think it’s ugly. It is, therefore, divisive. Try and name a great car from history that didn’t have some degree of Marmite effect. As a result, the car is the opposite of ‘meh’ — it’s a little slice of fun in a segment that often isn’t. It’s also pretty great to drive and features one of the best interiors for some time. Even if it’s also a bit rubbish, too.

My only complaint is that it wasn’t available when I ordered my first electric car earlier this year. Had it been available, I might have spent my own hard-earned money on one.