In autumn, Honda will present the production version of its e-car e, which will be rolled out to dealers next year. Now the Stromer has proven his dynamic talents in advance.
Although Honda has been researching electrified cars for decades, Hybrid and Stromer did not really get on with the Japanese. With the Clarity Honda was indeed in the forefront of hydrogen, but the fuel cell cars are still more field test instead of production model. Otherwise, the offer is limited to Doppelherz models, as once Jazz, Insight or currently the CR-V. That will soon change fundamentally: starting from 2025 all new models are to come also in an electrified version on the market - and some even only as Stromer. The make also the beginning: In China Honda will go this year with the VE-1 at the start, with us follows 2020 the briefly Honda e called small electric car. And it has something to it: The heart of the first concept car at the IAA 2017 has already flown to it, and the nearly series-ready prototype has not lost any of its cute retro charm.
That's a good thing, because the looks of the first Civic with Kuller eyes, as well as round rear lights and a distinctive C-pillar should be one of the best selling points. After all, the Japanese want for the production version, which will be presented at this year's IAA in the fall in Frankfurt, in no case less than 30.000 Euro; the final prices are not fixed yet. This is not exaggeratedly expensive for an electric car per se, but for a 3,90 meter-long small car with just 200 WLTP kilometers range but a self-confident statement. Honda hopes to arouse similar desires with the retro look as Mini creates; The limited availability certainly contributes to this: Only around 1.500 Honda e are to reach Germany in the first year of sale. If you want to play it safe, you can even reserve one for a down payment of 800 Euro.
Of course, you don't just get a chic small car for your money: the Honda e also scores with high-tech. The infotainment system extends almost over the entire dashboard and can be used by the driver and front passenger alike. In addition, there are the digital mirrors: Honda does without classic exterior mirrors as standard and installs a small camera on the left and right, which not only reduce air resistance, but also have a smaller blind spot. They display their picture on displays on the A-pillars, which are positioned much more visually than, for example, the mirror screens in the doors of the Audi E-Tron. Also digital: the rearview mirror. As in the latest Jaguar and Land Rover models, you can use the anti-glare lever to switch between a camera view and a real mirror: The latter also allows a view of the rear, among other things, the camera on the other hand shows a wider picture and enables it Looking back even when the rear seat is fully loaded. It remains to be seen how often guests sit there: Naturally, a small car in the back seat is a little tight and at least in the prototype the back of the sofa-like armchair is quite steep.
The front seats, on the other hand, offer sufficient comfort and good lateral support even in the Honda-e test vehicle, which is overproduced too much over 90 percent. This is also important, because the engineers have done a lot to train the little Stromer dynamic driving talent. The Japanese could now demonstrate for the first time on short test rounds. Of course, the developers of the electric car architecture played into the hands: The 110 kW / 150 PS powerful electric motor in the rear provides its 300 Newtonmeter immediately available and pushes powerful, and the battery with 36 kWh capacity slumbers in the vehicle floor between the axes. This ensures a low center of gravity and allows 50: 50 weight distribution, both of which ensures stable road holding and lets the Honda nimble through the curve course and wagging along the slalom track.
The optional Sport mode, which adjusts the throttle response more directly, the responsive steering and the rear-wheel drive contribute to the rest of a dynamic gait, and that the Honda e weigh about 1,5 tons, you do not really notice. Not even when braking: The stoppers grasp bravely and bring the small car safely to a standstill. At the touch of a button you can leave alone in the day-to-day the delay energy recovery, in the one-pedal model, the Honda recuperation when releasing the accelerator so strong that the mechanical brake must be used rarely. So it can only be hoped that the customers will not step on the shopping brake in view of the high price.
