CarBrandLogos archive · Honda · 2020

HondaHonda e

Charming, rear-driven and short of range: a city EV that sold almost entirely on looks.

Photo: © M 93 · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

The story

A defining chapter in Honda history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Honda e, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Concept cars are usually diluted on the way to production. This one was not. The Urban EV shown in 2017 reached showrooms in October 2020 with its proportions, flush surfaces and round lamps intact, drawn by Ken Sahara with an interior by Akinori Myoui built around a wide bank of screens and a wood-shelf dashboard.

Charging interface Honda e · Spielvogel For a gallery of some more of my uploaded pictures you may see: here. · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

The engineering choices were unusual for a small electric car. The motor sits at the rear and drives the rear wheels, which with no driveshafts at the front allowed a very tight turning circle, and the suspension is independent all round. Camera pods replaced door mirrors as standard. All of it was tuned for dense urban use rather than distance.

Dashboard Honda e · Spielvogel For a gallery of some more of my uploaded pictures you may see: here. · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

That was the problem. Honda fitted a deliberately small battery to keep weight and cost down, and the resulting range looked poor next to rivals that cost less, in a market where buyers compared numbers first. Sales stayed low and production ended in January 2024 after a little over three years, with the Super-One and Super-N taking over the role. It is already treated as a design object, which is not quite the same as having been a success.

Honda e Advance – h · © M 93 · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

At a glance