Why the Honda E's Range Is Letting Down an Otherwise Great EV

This range, coupled with a very high price tag, lets down what is otherwise a great EV. Few others on the market offer looks that are as good as the Honda e’s, and with the Honda, you also get a great performing car with a sensational interior. It is just a shame that it is let down in one or two crucial areas.

The Honda e Has Way Less Than 200 Miles Of Range

The biggest problem with the Honda e is its range. According to the carmaker, the e has a maximum range of 137 miles or 220 kilometers. Although the advanced trim knocks that down further thanks to the 17-inch/43 cm wheels – to 131 miles (210 kilometers). Whichever way you look at it, that is not good mileage. And all this for a car that will cost around $46,450, £37,395 in the UK, or some €42,598 in t Europe.

To put that into some context, Renault is launching the Renault 5 EV in 2024. It too is a city car/supermini like the Honda e. But that car’s flagship specification will offer 250 miles or just over 400 kilometers of range. All for roughly $26,000/£21,000/€23,900. Whichever way you look at it, that is a much, much better price. Also, the Renault 5 sports similar retro styling to the Honda e, and images of the prototype indicate that it should look pretty incredible. So why would consumers pay upwards of $10,000 - 20,000 more for a car with over 100 miles less range?

What The Honda e Does Well

Since we're talking so much about the e, we have to also mention what it does well. For starters, it does look fantastic. It’s a gorgeous little EV, with a design that harks back to the very first Civics from all those years ago. As a city car, it is perfect. It's smaller than many other cars on the market, and it's an agile little car too, one that fits in many spaces and feels great through the corners. The suspension on the e is very well set up, and the cabin is incredibly quiet. It is a very comfortable EV to travel in, overall.

Even little things like its tight turning circle help make it an absolutely brilliant city car. Features like that are perhaps not so noticeable initially, but they eventually stand out. Oh, and the rearward position of the electric motors is pretty clever too. The interior is the real party piece here, with high-quality fabric and stitching making it feel more premium than it is. The wood effect dashboard and center console look and feel great. And there are six screens, two of which are for the digital wing mirrors. Every screen, including the mirrors, is crisp and clear. The infotainment system is brilliant, and even the aquarium feature is a standout, as is the rear-view mirror, another one of those six screens.

The Honda e Is More Than Quick Enough For A City Car

Something else the Honda e does well is offer plenty of performance. Its 35.5 kWh battery can provide either 134 hp or 152 hp (136 or 154 ps). Top speed is limited to 90 mph (144 km/h), with 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) times 9.0 and 8.3 seconds, respectively, for the two power levels. While 90 mph (144 km/h) isn’t going to trouble a Civic Type R, it is still plenty of performance for daily driving in and around the city.

All of this is great. But why is it so hard to move past the high price tag and the low range for the Honda e? As great as the car actually is to drive, as great as the interior and everything else is, that low range is a deal breaker for a lot of people. Especially since we still live in the world of range anxiety.

The Honda e Needs More Range To Appeal To More Customers

In the end, Honda have developed a brilliant city car. It's cute, the interior is perfect, and as an A to B type of vehicle, it is also perfect. But even if you don't travel great distances on a daily basis, those 137 miles (or 210 kilometers) of range (potentially less in the real world) are just not enough. Certainly not enough to justify that price tag. However, if the Japanese brand was to squeeze more range out of the e, similar to what you'll get in a Renault 5, well, then the Honda e might just become irresistible.