ROAD TEST
What’s new?
It may have come late to the party, but Honda now has its first fully electric new car on sale in New Zealand, the strangely familiar but distinctively named e:N1.
Strangely familiar because, at a glance, one might easily be forgiven for labelling the new e:N1 as the all-electric variant of the latest HR-V. But the e:N1 sits on a new pure-electric platform, and that’s what the "e:N" part of its name signals. The number "1", meanwhile, indicates that it’s the first model on this platform.
What comes as standard?
Standard features on the e:N1 include all-round LED lights, keyless entry, dual zone climate, an eight-way driver’s power seat, artificial leather upholstery, a six-speaker audio, wireless charge pad, front and rear parking cameras, a reversing camera and heated mirrors. There’s a fully digital main instrument cluster and the literal centre piece of the dashboard, a 38.3cm portrait-format touchscreen. Smartphone mirroring to the centre screen is provided, wireless for Apple devices and by cable for Android phones.
Ancap safety testing has not yet been carried out on the e:N1, but it is fairly well provisioned with passive and active safety equipment. Key items include adaptive radar cruise control, lane departure and collision warning and assist systems, auto-dipping headlights, rear cross traffic alert, blind spot monitoring and road departure warning.
What’s it like inside?
Up front, there are some visual similarities to the HR-V, but overall, the e:N1 goes its own way and departs from some Honda staples, including the traditional hooded instrument panel.
Though presenting as an impressively large single display, the centre touchscreen is in fact divided into three separate sub-screens, with the climate controls at the bottom, main menu and information displays (including battery use information) in the middle, and smartphone mirroring at the top (or an oversized clock when a device is not connected).
What’s it like to drive?
In how it drives the e:N1 feels purposefully designed to ease the transition to electric-vehicle motoring for those not yet experienced with such machines.
As a prime example, floor the accelerator from rest, and it gathers pace modestly, rather than with the shove-in-the-back force that is a common EV characteristic. Honda has intentionally engineered the e:N1 to behave in this way to mimic the accelerative feel of a petrol car, in part it says for reasons of passenger comfort.
That said, the car is no slouch, with a quoted 0-100kmh time of 7.6 seconds and, once off the mark, it picks up the pace in a typically responsive and linear EV way.
Whether round town or out on the highway, the e:N1 is an easy car to drive smoothly, and it is comfortable, quiet (aside from the whine of its electric motor) and generally quite refined. Ride quality tends to the firmer side for a vehicle of this type, meaning the e:N1 doesn’t sponge surface imperfections away as deftly as some of its rivals, but maintains balance better through medium-to-slow bends.
It’s great that a paddle-shift activated multi-mode regenerative braking system is fitted to the e:N1. It’s entertaining to use and can contribute usefully to economy, especially when activated in sport mode, which is the only way to make it hold the braking intensity you have chosen for more than a few seconds before reverting to the mildest setting. I’d love to see more difference in braking force between the modes, and a more aggressive "maximum regen" mode, which is something the likes of Kia does very well.
The matter of real world economy and ease of recharging is one that needs to be carefully traversed. The headline figure of "range up to 500km" that Honda quotes for the e:N1 is generous even beyond the optimism of the vehicle’s standard WLTP range figure of 412km; even that latter figure is only likely to be achievable in relatively mild weather urban driving, in a city that is reasonably flat.
When I picked up the test car with the battery fully charged, the range estimator was showing just over 300km available. At the same time, the trip computer revealed that this car’s first 739km of driving had been achieved with an efficiency of 3.7km/kWh. I’ll do the math for you and reveal that equates to range of around 230km from fully charged.
As Drivesouth has noted before, hilly terrain and cold weather dramatically increase energy use on any vehicle, and it’s patently obvious with EVs as their range is a point of focus.
Some careful assessment on test suggests a realistic real-world range on an extended highway haul will be in the order of 250-320km; that’s not stellar for an EV in 2025, but nor is it unusual for a vehicle of this approximate size with a standard rather than extended range battery pack.
A further point is that by the latest standards, the e:N1 is not a fast charger, being restricted to a maximum 78kW charge rate on a modern DC rapid charger. Some obvious rivals are similarly restricted, but the emerging standard — accessible with the rollout of superchargers across the country — is well over 100kW, and premium models can charge at double that. What this means is that when you use one of those faster chargers your e:N1 won’t be able to make use of its full potential; at best, it will take around 45 minutes to charge the battery from 10-80% of capacity.
Home charging, though, is industry-standard, at rates of around 7kW with a single phase wall box (which Honda is offering with the e:N1 at present). With this facility, overnight charging is all you’ll need unless venturing out of town. It’s both cheaper and easier on an EV’s battery than a commercial rapid charger, and most likely you’ll only need to hook the car up every few days.
Verdict
The new e:N1 is a solid first effort for Honda in this country, especially suited to those customers seeking a capable day-to-day urban EV with decent capacity to venture away from home when required.
[abridged]
By David Thomson
