Honda goes small with first all-electric car

Ok, smaller is better they believe but why is the price bigger too? Essentially you're buying a K-car on batteries with a Tesla model 3 price tag. I know which one I would buy

1,000 at home, where it will also introduce the model into its car-sharing fleet.

Would seem a sound idea considering the low rate of car ownership in the densely populated cities here.

Would seem a sound idea considering the low rate of car ownership in the densely populated cities here.

No brainer, when 40 percent of the work force is temp or part time coupled with the long list of taxes and expenditure that come with owning a car.

"THE FIRST HONDA E HITS LONDON - BUT IS IT ANY GOOD?"

"https://www.youtube.com/watch?edufilter=NULL&v=09LnkImug94"

It is illegal to operate a phone in a vehicle in most countries so this ev ain’t for me...

This article seems to me to be lazy reporting... So after having to go to a different website to read about The Honda e and to see an image of it (reminds me of the Mini Cooper) I decided I wouldn't buy one of these I would go for the real deal and actually get a Mini Cooper electric car seems to be about the same except for being mirrorless and also has a similar price.

With the Electric vehicles market domination of Tesla and other major companies, it’s quite interesting to see how it will turn out for Honda.

driving just 280 kilometers 

Plenty enough for a car this size. Why the unambitious sales figures?

Our 1 year old Subaru has super convenient physical dial and pushbutton knobs to control the air and other features, but our navigation/entertainment system is bogged down with layer upon layer of confusing menus. I miss the fader, base, treble, balance and volume all controlled via basic dials. I hope these buttons aren't on their way out the door. I know physical dials can break, but there's something to be said for ease of use in stressful situations and while cool looking, the displays above look very distracting for the driver.

Mirrorless, no way I believe in my own eyes. 5M yen for cheaply made car with a screen the size of a smart phone.

No, than you.

Wow talk about distractions with all those screens

Plenty enough for a car this size. Why the unambitious sales figures?

Because the price is 4.5 million yen. Compare that to a new Honda Fit at around 1.8 million yen (depending on 4W version, hybrid version, etc), and the choice for my pocket is easy. As James noted above, this article is short on details (such as what the car actually looks like on the outside, price in Japan, etc). But as I am in the market for a new car, and want a Honda, after reading this article I checked the reporting on other sites.

The 280 kilometre range is a best case situation, reports suggest around 140 km city driving.

Currently getting 580km to 650km on a tank of gasoline in my “mild-hybrid” Suzuki Stingray. Why on earth would I bother settling for less, for tiny, expensive pram?

Kinda looks like a home office.

Maybe if it were 2.5 million yen.

Have solar panels so I want an EV. Have no money so can’t have an EV.

Cool looking little car, all the rounding of the bodywork, and that dash is out there. Designwise its on a BMW Mini level. I've had an e-Golf as a loaner test drive for a couple of days, but that was like a regular car (dull) and this is way quirkier and cooler. I'm not a new car buyer, but if I had a windfall, "cool" would be a high priority, possibly the highest.

I don’t want a car that needs a phone to be integral to its operation...

@gogogo - Wow talk about distractions with all those screens

There is a Telematics Consortium that is pushing these at car makers and drives, including integrating car navis with infotainment, email/ call, social media, marketing, advertising, as well as supposedly 100% separate car and engine management systems.

There is now starting to be resistance, as the menus and controls are found to be very distracting, taking time to scroll through menus, and fingers hitting the wrong touch screen areas as cars go over bumps!

There are no side mirrors but the camera connected to the “interior displays” sticks out about the same as a mirror would; maybe a bit less, so the

Side mirrors have been replaced with interior displays to avoid bumps and scrapes during parking.

is hogwash, mostly. Plus, do you all routinely bump and scrap your side mirrors while parking? I never have.

More expensive, smaller, less range than its competitor; hmm. Sounds guaranteed not to succeed.

Most of the working Japanese population lives in apartments. So how/where do we charge the battery?

" Honda expects annual sales of only around 10,000 in Europe, and 1,000 at home"

That's very low expectation.

@Borscht

To get past one column in our own home parking space, we have to routinely close the driver's side mirror to prevent lobbing it off.

Last week I was driving out of Hossawa falls parking lot in Hinohara and there was a line of cars waiting their turn for a spot and I had to close my mirror to avoid knocking the mirrors of a couple cars. On the same trip, Google took us on one of their wonderful short cuts down a very narrow , but two way country road. At one point, I was driving with my mirrors closed. So, no I would say in some parts of Japan, having no mirrors would be quite useful.

Nice Mini-like design if cute is your main priority, but not convinced at all. Honda should be doing much better than this. Nissan LEAF is far superior in performance and price. 280km per charge is simply not good enough for the big price. Hondas engineers need to produce something better I'm afraid.

Yeah, if I had the cash I'd buy one of these as a town car. Nice.

Although I think that wooden dashboard would probably leave a dent in the forehead.

Scaling production is the most difficult past. You can't just wake up and decide to compete against Tesla

The "Pregnant Roller Skate" rides again...

The batteries will last 3 years max. Making it a very bad investment. Where you are getting 500 km for 3000 yen worth of fuel and a 5 year warranty from a K-car. The K-car still is a way better option.