Comprehensive review of the Honda e, the smart, comfortable compact electric car from Japan with loads of amazing technology
2023 Honda e Electric Fun and exotic, with futuristic technology and brisk acceleration, there is never a dull moment in this cozy Japanese cocoon. Two years after it was released to the public. Still the most interesting electric vehicle on the market, the 2023 Honda e is a standout, and it offers something different. It offers something new in the industry.
Honda didn’t go the traditional SUV or sedan route that other manufacturers have taken. It has taken the compact car approach, delivering a dynamic and comfortable car that perfectly fits an urban lifestyle. The 2023 Honda e is full of surprises with its latest technology, comfortable interior, and unforgettable looks.
With a fresh design and an all-new platform, the 2023 Honda e leads Honda’s electrification strategy. Amidst a market full of diverse electric cars, some of them are affordable with more than 200 miles of WLTP-certified range. But it’s a city car for those who appreciate its design and are happy to pay more for a car they won’t be able to travel very far in.
The status of the 2023 Honda e
Honda’s dual-derivative lineup keeps it simple. We’d recommend those considering a more nimble and maneuverable Honda E stick with the slightly cheaper and less powerful base model (with its slender, economy-biased tires).
Those wishing to increase the vehicle’s design and technical appeal can simply opt for a high-spec vehicle with 16- or 17-inch wheels, a digital rear-view mirror, premium audio, heated windshield, and automatic parking, all as standard.
The exterior design of the Honda E 2023
The 2023 Honda e looks at us with a stunning exterior design. With the bolder shapes and perfect proportions of the Honda concept, it’s an impressive, distinctive and visually appealing design piece. It’s not Honda’s first electric car, and Honda has been more daring to fund an all-new dedicated electric car than to adapt any existing platform. Honda built a special all-steel frame that holds the lithium-ion battery under the cabin floor.
The platform enabled Honda to deliver a near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution, as confirmed by our test metrics, and I liked the rear-engined mechanical layout, as it provided more space inside a car less than 3.9m long. It also provides more space for the front wheels and has a total weight of 1535 kg.
The Honda e’s silhouette is simple and direct, with flush door handles to accentuate its clean electric-car silhouette, and of course, there’s no front grille. It was replaced by a black piano board that hides all sorts of sensors. With its cool and distinctive round headlights, the 2023 Honda e looks like it’s staring at you. All in all, its round and compact body gives it a modern look. The charging port was placed on the hood, below a square glass cover. in a logical place.
The most striking exterior feature of the 2023 Honda e are the side-view cameras. That makes it a futuristic car worthy of the name, and the Honda e showcases Honda’s latest technology with two cameras that replace traditional side-view mirrors. These details make it eye-catching.
Interior cabin design of the 2023 Honda e
Sleek design appeal is the hallmark of the 2023 Honda e’s interior. Slide yourself through the generously proportioned front door opening, and you’re greeted by an environment that’s visually enticing, robustly built and technologically advanced as well.
Honda e’s interior design sets it apart from other electric vehicles, capturing your attention from the moment you enter this cozy cocoon. It’s a quiet, relaxing space that really makes you feel as if you’re sitting in a modern living room thanks to the attention to detail that underscores Honda’s success in design and choice of materials.
The quality of materials in the interior of the 2023 Honda e
The dark gray and light gray contrasting color pattern creates a homely atmosphere. It is emphasized by contrasting wood elements such as the center console and dashboard. The center console is separated from the instrument panel and connected only to the seats, allowing more legroom.
Honda e 2023 dashboard
The dashboard extends across the width of the car and gives a similar profile to a TV stand in the living room. It is tilted slightly, which makes it impossible to use as a table for your coffee cup or your phone.
Honda didn’t sacrifice practicality, keeping some physical buttons for adjusting temperature or volume or activating parking assist for example, so you don’t have to dig through all the menus on the screen.
Honda e 2023 car seats
The comfortable seating uses a blend of wool fabric commonly found on sofas and fine furniture. An optional sunroof opens up the cabin, making it more spacious and airy. The rear seats accommodate two people, with a continuous, flat-floor seating area that helps compensate for the cramped space. It sits on wide, supple seats, but it lacks a bit of lateral support.
The spaciousness and spaciousness of the Honda E 2023
The seats are upholstered in elegant gray cloth, which extends over large areas of the door panels. Together with the wood trim on the dashboard and the contrasting brown seat belts, the Honda gives you a real sense of sophistication and desire when judging it against its peers.
Having a taller driver in position affects second-row legroom and compresses rear legroom, and our tape measure recorded a typical rear legroom figure of 660mm; But the rear area is not enough for an adult of average height to sit comfortably behind a tall front passenger, and they will experience slight pressure.
Storage space in the 2023 Honda E
There’s good adjustability at the base of the seat and steering column, and we thank Honda for keeping the physical controls for ventilation, rather than integrating them into the infotainment system. There is also plenty of storage in the cabin. Even the rear passengers get their own cup holders.
Honda e 2023 luggage compartment
Trunk space is slightly restricted at just 171 liters, and it’s very unfair to judge the 2023 Honda e by its trunk. It is a car that suits the fast pace and modern urban lifestyle, and you can lower the rear seats to create additional space. to open space up to 861 litres.
Hyundai infotainment system 2023
The crowning feature of the interior in the 2023 Honda e is the array of screens along the top of the dashboard. Starting with 5 screens occupying the dashboard display: two for the digital door mirrors, one for the instrument cluster and two for the infotainment system.
Honda has done well with its commitment to the digitization-intensive interior of the 2023 Honda e. The displays are impressively clear and responsive. The 8.8-inch TFT screen is clear and easy to read and can be configured to display charge level, trip information and other driving-related data.
Two 12.3-inch infotainment screens provide a whole new level of configuration and personalization. It’s a dual screen, and passengers can interact with the radio or satellite navigation and then ‘pass’ the screen to the driver at the touch of a button. It’s pretty cool, and while features like Apple CarPlay are included as standard, the system as a whole works much better than what we’ve seen from previous Hondas.
State-of-the-art tech behind the 2023 Honda E’s good old-fashioned look
The Honda e technology is equally attractive as the interior and complements it very well. The driver gets a fully digital 8-inch screen with all the driving data. It gives you basic info like speed and range, and you also get other convenient info like a traffic light reader for Japan models, which lets you know exactly how long it takes for a light to turn red or green. They operate in major Japanese cities and are useful when a large truck is blocking your view.
Next to you are two 12.3-inch screens that the driver and passenger can use. These two interconnected screens feature a unique new fish tank, which you can activate while you’re standing, featuring fish that can swim from one screen to another, and react to the digital food you give them.
There is also a set of 6-inch screens at either end of the dashboard, which displays an image from the side-view cameras, and replaces the traditional side-view mirrors. And Honda made these concept-like mirrors incredibly easy to use thanks to their ideal location. The displayed picture is clear and bright and you feel like you are watching an advertisement. With rain-repellent coating and bright image at night, the image is always clear.
Honda e 2023 engine
The Honda E’s single 152-horsepower electric motor gives it an official 0-62 mph sprint time of 8.3 seconds. It’s quite a bit slower than the Peugeot e-208 and arrives a second later than the Mini Electric. However, the Honda minivan is ideally suited to an urban orientation. And it still has a very quick and instant turn-on of speed when you need it.
Going from 30mph to 50mph takes just 3.0 seconds. While this isn’t exactly fast, it’s enough to make her seem very active in and around town and able to take any opportunity or fill in any gap in city traffic she’s likely to spot.
Honda e battery 2023 Honda e
The e batteries sit under the floor as low as possible, between the axles, helping the car with a 50:50 weight distribution. The batteries have a capacity of 35.5 kWh, which explains their short range of 137 miles, which is likely to vary depending on your driving style. You’ll find that highway driving tends to drain the battery much faster than city driving, and going uphill requires more energy.
Driving impressions of the 2023 Honda E
When it comes to driving, the Honda e delivers what you would expect from a compact electric car: it accelerates quickly and its range works perfectly for short trips to suit your daily commute. Dubbed the Honda e Advance, the engine of the performance version produces about 152 hp and 232 lb-ft of torque, and it’s faster.
Driving modes in the 2023 Honda E
Two drive modes—Normal and Sport—determine how well the E responds to throttle inputs. In normal mode, a fair amount of pedal travel is needed to wake the Honda into immediate life.
The way this rear-engined electric vehicle leans on its sides and front springs is more in line with the level of responsiveness you’d expect from a vehicle with an instantly available 232 lb-ft of torque. And when you hit the Sport mode selector you’ll find that the initially soft throttle response is dramatically honed.
Regenerative braking and braking in the 2023 Honda E
The E engine defaults to a relatively lower level of regenerative braking, however you can select the ‘single pedal’ drive mode by pressing the button directly behind the drive selector. The Energy Recovery settings can be changed by alternating the paddle shifters on either side of the steering wheel until you find your preferred level of regeneration.
The Honda E is never too aggressive, and engine regeneration works with the friction brake to give you a reasonable pedal feel for smooth stopping. On full emergency braking, the Honda stops from 70 mph in 44.5 metres, and the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires undoubtedly play a major role here.
The performance of the 2023 Honda E in the city
The city is where Honda excels. With its RWD design allowing for an incredibly small turning circle of just 14 feet, you’ve got all the technology to make driving around town so much more comfortable. Its handling is excellent, with smooth acceleration.
Next to the parking assist feature. Honda e offers a very powerful regeneration mode. To regain so much range when slowing down to signals, that in certain scenarios like downhill, you can easily regain half the power you expended driving up a hill.
Honda e 2023 performance on the highway
On the highway, the Honda e is incredibly fun, a surprisingly quiet ride, with very little wind and road noise. And the independent suspension provides mature stability and smoothness. In short, it offers everything you wouldn’t expect from a compact car. On winding mountain roads, the rear transmission and generous torque make it a joy to drive. With just the right amount of excitement when you feel like pushing the car a little more.
Steering in the 2023 Honda E
The relatively sluggish steering and suspension tuning sometimes makes tall compact cars seem unwieldy at low speeds. This isn’t quite the case with the Honda E. In town, it steers agile, precise and controls body roll, though I found the Honda to roll around roundabouts and junctions, and it had plenty of grip and dynamic agility.
The suspension of the 2023 Honda E
Those exhilarating urban vibes aren’t always replicated at higher speeds, as the suspension’s softness makes the body prone to rocking a bit on uneven surfaces. It bangs sideways with a “head-tossing” over nearby bumps, and it sways slightly through the bigger compressions, you sure the E’s driving position is a bit like driving a two-story townhouse from the front bedroom.
Handling and stability in the Honda E 2023
The car is stable enough at speed, though has a slight edge to grip, gently but persistently reduces control once you get there and is managed deftly and effectively by electronic stability control that can be reversed but won’t turn off completely. It rolls smartly while cornering faster—not in big corners, thankfully, but big enough to take the bite off the front tires in a non-negotiable way.
Noise and vibration in the Honda E 2023
Before making its way into the cabin the suspension noise created by secondary penetrations is convincingly muffled, the same effects cleverly approximated via a rubber tread not quite unlike a Volkswagen Polo in its effectiveness. At low speeds and on rough stretches, the car surrenders to a kind of body control and centers itself around the rear axle.
Overall, the E has a nice smoothness which is not uncommon for electric cars of a similar footprint. Honda claims to have experienced ride comfort and isolation, and the truth is, it offers a softer flavor than the rest of the electric cars, and since cameras replace traditional door mirrors, wind noise is kept to a minimum, and road noise doesn’t sound overbearing either.
Semi-autonomous driving in the 2023 Honda E
It’s clear that Honda has made an effort to improve the semi-autonomous driving technology in the Honda E. Although it lacks some functionality compared to other manufacturers’ systems, it does its part effectively and well. Speed Limit Detection will constantly recognize limits posted by traffic signs and will alert you when they are broken, but it will not automatically control vehicle cruise control to keep you legal.
Lane Keeping System also warns you if you’re about to pull over with a car in your blind spot, but it won’t automatically steer the car out if it’s safe, as others do. On winding roads, Lane Keeping will gently engage with steering as you approach the edge of your lane but won’t grapple with you to make sure you’re always precisely centered. In short, everything is employed to excite you and keep you involved in the driving process.
Honda e 2023 prices
The Honda E offers a WLTP-certified range of just 125 miles, it’s missing range and some practicality, but at £29,160 it’s an expensive car. By contrast, the latest Renault range offers the Zoe (239 miles, £30,995), the Peugeot e-208 GT (211 miles, £30,275) and even the flagship Mini Electric (140-141 miles, £30,900).
The fuel economy of the Honda E 2023
The E raises similar concerns with price and range, and when you factor in the pilot’s average economy rating of 3.1 MPH, the Honda’s real range seems closer to 110 miles, although versions on smaller wheels and sportier tires should add about 10% to This run. In short, the E is a short-haul traveler, generously equipped, elegant, comfortable, dynamically interesting and well-designed.
Honda e 2023 pricing
The Honda E doesn’t fit everyone’s needs. If you are looking for a car that can take you far, this is not your car, but if you need a compact city car that gets you easily in the city, then this is the right electric car for you. At a price of $36,000 to $40,000 in Japan, it’s not an affordable electric car. In general, all electric vehicles tend to come with a steep price tag.
The amount of technology you get in the Honda E sets it apart, from its slickly executed side-view cameras to its drive-assist technology, it gives you a quintessentially Japanese feel, which looks different from European or American cars, but the comfortable interior always feels welcoming. And its beautiful exterior design makes it hard not to fall in love with it.
Features of the Honda E 2023
- Don’t believe the side view cameras that seem so natural to use
- Warm and comfortable interior
- An ideal city car thanks to its size and small turning circle
- Smooth cruise control and a parking assist feature that really works
Hidden Honda E 2023
- Pricey for a compact car
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