Honda e – taking the ‘retro and cute’ route

The new Honda e does not go unnoticed with its ‘retro and cute,’ but unique, urban design. It closely resembles the first-generation Civic, only with futuristic cues. This is coupled with a clean interior that fuses retro styling with space-age technology. The car drives really well too, with excellent balance, a tight turning circle, progressive suspension, and dynamic acceleration.

List prices of the Honda e are high but even at the base trim level, the model has adaptive cruise control, LED fog lights, lane assist, keyless entry, a panoramic roof, privacy glass and an innovative side-camera mirror system. The dashboard has a full suite of screens running from end to end, with the outer two screens displaying the side-camera feeds.

Honda’s first battery-electric vehicle (BEV) has a comparatively short range but is capable of fast charging on a 100kW DC charger, which will recharge the battery almost fully in just 30 minutes. Furthermore, owners can plug a games console into the dashboard screens and play whilst waiting for the car to charge. This just shows the type of customer that Honda is trying to attract.

The Honda e has some very stiff competition in the form of the Mini Electric, the new Peugeot e-208 (as well as its sister car, the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa-e), and the updated Renault Zoe. Incentives and the increasing supply of B-segment BEVs could negatively impact residual values unless demand improves.

Click here or on the image below to read Autovista Group’s benchmarking of the Honda e in France, Italy, Spain and the UK.

We present new prices, forecast residual values and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis.