Photo: Honda
Alongside the Porsche Taycan, Honda's e is one of this year's most exciting new electric cars. Whereas the Taycan impresses by the way in which it managed to transfer the Porsche DNA to Evs, the e is a lovable cute little toy that should have created a new segment.
Judging by its size and the rather small range, one could say there's no reason for the price of the e being very high. One would be wrong.
In mainland Europe, the Honda e will retail starting from €29,470 in Germany (£26,160 UK), and first deliveries are expected to be made next summer. That's the price for the entry-level version, which develops 136 ps. The more powerful variant, rated at 154 ps, is called Advance and will sell from €32,470, (£28,660).
The trick behind these numbers is they include government subsidies, which in Germany for instance is valued at €4,000. That means the price of the e is above the €30,000 threshold everyone is trying to avoid.
Putting things into perspective, people planning to buy an e only had to pay a non-binding €800 deposit to get in line. It remains to be seen how many (if any) of the 40,000 people that have done so already find the price too steep.
The problem is not with the price itself, but with what the car has to offer for it. The 35.5 kWh battery of the vehicle is good for just 200 km (136 miles), and effectively turns it into more of a niche car than it should have been.
Even so, chances are we'll see a lot of e on the road in the years ahead. Design-wise, the Japanese have created a pearl, and crammed it with so much great ideas and technologies that it's hard to believe it's going to fail.
If only it was cheaper.
In mainland Europe, the Honda e will retail starting from €29,470 in Germany (£26,160 UK), and first deliveries are expected to be made next summer. That's the price for the entry-level version, which develops 136 ps. The more powerful variant, rated at 154 ps, is called Advance and will sell from €32,470, (£28,660).
The trick behind these numbers is they include government subsidies, which in Germany for instance is valued at €4,000. That means the price of the e is above the €30,000 threshold everyone is trying to avoid.
Putting things into perspective, people planning to buy an e only had to pay a non-binding €800 deposit to get in line. It remains to be seen how many (if any) of the 40,000 people that have done so already find the price too steep.
The problem is not with the price itself, but with what the car has to offer for it. The 35.5 kWh battery of the vehicle is good for just 200 km (136 miles), and effectively turns it into more of a niche car than it should have been.
Even so, chances are we'll see a lot of e on the road in the years ahead. Design-wise, the Japanese have created a pearl, and crammed it with so much great ideas and technologies that it's hard to believe it's going to fail.
If only it was cheaper.
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