Although still billed as a prototype, the Honda e is virtually ready for production mixing retro looks and modern tech.
Let’s hope that’s the finished article…
After previewing its first battery electric vehicle in concept form at the Geneva motor show last year, Honda is showing the next evolution at the same Swiss trade fair this week.
Although stilled billed as a prototype, the Honda e is virtually ready to hit showrooms later this year in this guise you see here in official pictures.
Like in the Urban EV concept car, the e Prototype features retro touches applied to the head and tail lamps, wheels and body stance.
Don’t think for a moment that those slim bits on the doors are merely for show (like how many past concept cars boast). They are cameras relaying exterior images on screens located on each side of the digitised interior console (similarly, if not exactly the same, as in the Audi e-tron SUV).
The cabin also has a touch of the past and houses fabric seats that appear as cosseting as your favourite armchair at home.
Kewl! What’s its power like?
The only thing Honda mentioned with the e Protoype’s technical credentials is an all-electric powertrain good for 200km of driving.
As is the latest norm among most carmakers, power in the e Prototype can be replenished to 80% in 30min via rapid charging point.
The e Prototype is built on an all-new platform dedicated for Honda’s future BEVS.
The rear-drive format should promise some driving fun which is why fans can expect a sportier variation to be next on the cards. In fact, Honda once showed it as the Sports EV concept car.
Will Honda really be able to price the car?
As BEV is a new thing, development and production costs for it should still remain relatively high. Which is why a modest battery and driving range have been chosen to prevent it from being unnecessarily expensive (and heavy).
Although the e Prototype is roughly the size of an A-segment Brio or B-sector Jazz, it probably won’t be priced anywhere (even if assembled locally) near those two combustion-engined hatchbacks.
If seen from a Thai perspective, an imported version of the Honda e would have to be priced at some 1.5-1.7 million baht, below the Hyundai Ioniq and Nissan Leaf.
With the help of Mini-esque appeal, the Honda e could easily be a second or third car in buyers’ garages. Both the Ioniq and Leaf lack that emotion needed to compensate for high retail prices (especially in Thailand).
