Photo: Stefan Baldauf / Guido ten Brink
Starting later this year, car buyers across the world will have another item on their shopping list: the Honda EV. To give them all a taste of things to come, a preview of that car, the Honda E Prototype, is currently on the floor of the Geneva Motor Show.
Visually, the concept clearly stands out from the crowd of electric vehicles as a blend of high-tech functionality and retro cues. The exterior lines are a nod to older Hondas, while the drawing of the optical blocks and the use of cameras instead of the exterior mirrors is a preview of future ones.
But it’s the minimalist interior of the E Prototype that captures the eye the most, with its ultra-high-tech screens, five of them, positioned above a dashboard with wood inserts. Beneath that dashboard, the air vents are there to remind us of how the Japanese built their cars decades ago.
The screens that stretch from side to side fulfill various roles. The leftmost and rightmost ones act as exterior mirrors, showing images captured by the cameras. The one in front of the driver is the instrument cluster, and the other two are waypoints to the functions of the car and its infotainment system.
Powering the Honda E Prototype is an electric drivetrain comprising a battery and an electric motor. The battery is powerful enough to give it a range of 200 km (124 miles). Recharging the battery to 80 percent capacity takes 30 minutes when using a fast charging solution.
As for what the car is capable of on the road, Honda promises “fun and emotive experience.”
The first electric Honda based on this prototype will roll off assembly lines by the end of this year. Hopefully, it will retain most of the features now displayed in Geneva.
The Honda EV is the first in a long line of electric models. The Japanese carmaker committed to having two-thirds of its European fleet electrified by the year 2025.
But it’s the minimalist interior of the E Prototype that captures the eye the most, with its ultra-high-tech screens, five of them, positioned above a dashboard with wood inserts. Beneath that dashboard, the air vents are there to remind us of how the Japanese built their cars decades ago.
The screens that stretch from side to side fulfill various roles. The leftmost and rightmost ones act as exterior mirrors, showing images captured by the cameras. The one in front of the driver is the instrument cluster, and the other two are waypoints to the functions of the car and its infotainment system.
Powering the Honda E Prototype is an electric drivetrain comprising a battery and an electric motor. The battery is powerful enough to give it a range of 200 km (124 miles). Recharging the battery to 80 percent capacity takes 30 minutes when using a fast charging solution.
As for what the car is capable of on the road, Honda promises “fun and emotive experience.”
The first electric Honda based on this prototype will roll off assembly lines by the end of this year. Hopefully, it will retain most of the features now displayed in Geneva.
The Honda EV is the first in a long line of electric models. The Japanese carmaker committed to having two-thirds of its European fleet electrified by the year 2025.
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