Should you buy one?

The Honda e feels like the kind of futuristic electric car we’ve been waiting for. It looks like a concept car, it has the neat design details that have made it through to production from the original concept car, but it still functions as a normal EV without feeling intimidating to use or too ahead of its time.

If you already know the claimed range of 125-137 miles isn’t good enough for you, you won’t be considering this as an option as the real-world range is more like 100.

If, however, the range doesn’t pose any problems, we’d recommend looking at a Honda e. The core of its buyers will already know they can get away with that range as most driving will be around town where it can then be charged again either at home overnight or via a charger somewhere.

What we like

The Honda e is one of the best small electric cars to drive – with a maturity and sophistication that reminds us of the BMW i3. In its natural habitat around town, it is a supreme urban runabout yet it also copes well on the open road (so long as you are not planning to drive too far).

It’s reasonably roomy for four adults and one of its ace cards is the digital-first cabin: it might look gimmicky in the photos, but we are quite smitten by the screens and logic of the infotainment.

What we don’t like

The fact it costs a significant amount more than an equivalent Fiat 500 Electric (which has a much better range) can be a little jarring if you just want an electric runaround and it’s a shame that the RRP has leapt so high in just a couple of years… Blame Japanese yen currency fluctuations, Brexit and the general chaos of the pandemic period.

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