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It’s more than three years since Honda launched its first pure-electric model in the UK, the pint-sized e. Now the firm has ambitious electrification plans, and the push to zero-emissions motoring will really kick in with this new crossover, the Honda e:Ny1. It’s due on sale this summer, probably priced from around £45,000.
Pronounced “e-en-why-one”, the complex badge will adorn a model with a relatively simple mission statement, because the e:Ny1 is clearly designed to pull customers of the conventional Civic hatchback and HR-V SUV, particularly younger families, into all-electric motoring. It has typical Honda design cues, albeit with a flush front grille that houses the centrally mounted charging port and a new EV-specific badge treatment that has the Honda logo in white.
The new model is based on a new all-electric platform that sits within the Honda range in parallel with the underpinnings of the HR-V, and it shares that car’s wheelbase, at 2,610mm. The overall length is 4,390mm, making the e:Ny1 a few centimetres longer overall than Peugeot’s e-2008. The boot capacity is 346 litres, around 10 per cent larger than the current HR-V’s load bay.
Under the skin, the e:Ny1 is front-wheel drive and has a single spec of motor, with 201bhp and 310Nm of torque. Honda says the usable battery capacity is 62kWh, and that the e:Ny1 can use this to travel more than 249 miles between recharges.
Charging speeds look relatively modest by modern standards, with a maximum DC rate of 78kW. Honda claims that’s enough to take the battery from 10 to 80 per cent of charge in 45 minutes, or to add 100km (62 miles) in 11 minutes. Subtle lighting, hidden beneath the leading edge of the bonnet, will sweep left to right to indicate charging, flash if there’s a charging fault and then ‘wink’ goodbye when the cable is removed.
Inside, there’s far more technology on show than you’ll find in Honda’s combustion-powered offerings. The Honda e’s full-width widescreen display isn’t present, though; it’s replaced by a 10.25-inch digital instrument panel and a portrait-layout 15.1-inch touchscreen system that has three distinct zones within its interface. The top section is for navigation and smartphone systems, the centre is for audio and EV-specific functions, and the bottom area contains heating and ventilation controls.
The system supports wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto, and users can also interact with the car through their smartphone, including scheduling charging and activating the climate control, via the My Honda+ app.
The e:Ny1 is due on sale in late summer, with the first deliveries expected just before the end of the year. There’s no word yet on the range structure or pricing, but based on the positioning and battery capacity of the existing Honda e, the new arrival is likely to be noticeably more expensive. It should enter the increasingly busy all-electric SUV market with a starting figure of around £45,000.
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