Honda’s new electric small town car may not be a candidate for the most productive price for cash or the longer range, yet it is a technological marvel with many innovative innovations, while being the first in a new “little premium” logo category.
Honda has no plans to sell it in the United States lately.
When you consult the various data sources on the dashboard, which fills the entire space in front of the driver and front-seat passenger and is boarded by the TV monitors for the wing-mirror cameras, you might find some disturbing information. When I climbed aboard, the battery monitor said 97% full, while the range predictor said only 106 miles. The claimed range for the Honda e from the 35.5 kWh battery is 125 miles. This compares unfavorably with many other all-new electric cars in this price-bracket – in Britain the top of the range Honda e Advanced – is priced at 29,160 pounds after tax ($37,100), and after the government grant of £3,000 ($3,900).
Cars like the Renault Zoe (240 miles) and Peugeot 208 e (220 miles) are very close to the Honda and yet they are larger and have this huge double merit in diversity. Honda denies the argument that the internal quality of the “e” is in superior elegance and that the presented generation is also profitable. Honda says that for maximum travelers, the 125-mile diversity would be more than enough, while its fast charging is the first elegance. Honda says it can be recharged at 80% in 30 minutes.
Even the lowest electric cars in value diversity, such as the Volkswagen eUp and its derivatives, the electric SEAT Mii and the Skoda Citigo e, have a diversity of approximately 170 miles. SEAT, in Spain, and Skoda domiciled in the Czech Republic are subsidiaries of VW.
Viktor Irle, Stockholm, Sweden, analyst at ev-volume consulting firm, said the 3 electric cars would sell a total of approximately 27,000 in Europe this year, with the VW representing approximately 13,000, the Skoda 5000 and the rest of the SEAT. Like the Honda, none of those cars are on the road because they started generating severe bleeding at more than 65 mph.
“Honda sales will slowly grow to around 20,000 to 25,000 a year (worldwide) with top sales in the domestic (Japanese) market. They will sell around 1,500 in Europe this year and around 4,000 in 2021. Diversity is a bit mediocre and expensive. It will do better in Japan and some Asian markets,” Irle said.
Meanwhile, Honda said the “e” rear propulsion component of its plan to electrify all of its cars until 2025.
Honda said what he called minimalist interior designed to look like a living room.
“Clean surfaces also incorporate retractable door handles (such as Tesla) while the charging point port is built into the hood. This helps to drag and increase the overall power of the car,” Honda said.
The “e” includes what Honda calls an “industry first” camera formula for external mirrors, which are replaced through bullet-shaped cameras on each side, and small screens to the left and right of the board show the rear view. The “e” is supplied with a generation that, until recently, would only have been noticed in high-priced German vehicles. The “e” has formulas such as collision mitigation, which also detects endangered pedestrians, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping aids, and lane exit warning.
One of the high-tech features of the “e” is advanced voice control. If it says “OK Honda”, it will theoretically execute commands such as expanding regenerative braking or adjusting the radius. I’ve heard those statements several times over the years, and so far they’ve never worked for me. Neither does it, possibly with a little time for the formula to recognize your voice.
The 150 hp Honda e Advanced accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in less than 8 seconds with a more sensible speed of one hundred mph.
As a former European Automotive correspondent for Reuters, I’ve a spent a few years writing about the industry. I will penetrate the corporate hype and bluster and find
As a former European Automotive correspondent for Reuters, I’ve a spent a few years writing about the industry. I will penetrate the corporate hype and bluster and find out how these gigantic enterprises are really doing. I also love to drive their magnificent machines, and their more modest ones. I’ll be telling you if the technology works, too.