Honda e:Ny1 review

Quick review

Honda markets the e:Ny1 as the “ideal car” for first-time EV drivers, and we can see why plenty of existing Honda customers may be intrigued by the familiar styling and tech-filled interior. However, in an incredibly competitive part of the market, this car falls short; an unpolished driving experience, unremarkable charging speeds and middling practicality mean rivals have more compelling offers on the table.

Honda e:Ny1: price, specs and rivals

We’re still some way off price parity when it comes to electric cars. Zero-emission models, on the whole, cost significantly more to buy than their petrol equivalents, but the gap is closing. The Honda e:Ny1 serves as a useful case study in falling EV prices and market forces because when it launched in the UK towards the latter stages of 2023, Honda wanted £45,000 for the base model. Our response to the idea of paying that kind of money for a Honda compact SUV was lukewarm, at best, but by April 2024, Honda had knocked the opening price down to just under £40,000, and things were looking altogether rosier in the e:Ny1 garden.     

It is a little difficult to identify which EV rivals go up against the Honda e:Ny1, though. At 4,387mm-long, it straddles the B and C-SUV segments – longer than a Peugeot e-2008 in the supermini sized SUV class, but shorter than a proper mid-size SUV model like the Volkswagen ID.4. At around 1,750kg, the Honda is about average for weight, too. Other rivals include the Alfa Romeo Junior, Jeep Avenger, and Volvo EX30.

The e:Ny1 is Honda’s second electric car, but it takes a far more sober approach than the fun and funky Honda e city car sold from 2020 to 2024. The design borrows heavily from other Honda SUVs, particularly the HR-V, and the platform underneath is also a development of tech used in internal combustion engine models. That platform is known as e:N Architecture F, a name almost as unfathomable as e:Ny1 itself, which is meant to be an approximation of the word ‘anyone’, in case you hadn’t noticed.   

The e:Ny1 has a relatively big battery for its size, at 68.8kWh (62kWh usable), but its advertised range is no better than average compared to rivals. Nor is its 78kW peak charging speed particularly impressive – a 10-80 per cent DC charge will take 45 minutes, according to Honda. 

On the plus side, the Honda e:Ny1 is loaded with equipment. Base Elegance cars have a huge 15.1-inch portrait touchscreen, 18-inch alloy wheels, synthetic leather seats, dual-zone climate control and a rear-view camera. Top spec Advance models bring a panoramic roof, a particularly good uprated stereo, a heated steering wheel and extra parking sensors.

The Honda e:Ny1 has the well-judged control weights we expect from a Honda, but the electric motor’s refinement and calibration aren’t up to scratch. Immediately after moving away, you notice the intrusive whine from the electric motor – manoeuvring at low speeds in an EV should be a peaceful affair, but the e:Ny1’s setup somehow manages to drown out the pedestrian warning sound, which itself is hardly subtle.

Then you pick up on the jittery low-speed ride. It improves as your speed builds, but on particularly broken urban surfaces, the Honda struggles to settle – this was only emphasised by our photographer’s camera kit rattling about in the boot. The 18” wheels - the standard size on all models - also contributed to the fidgeting we experienced at motorway speeds.  

The Eco driving mode shows the car in its best light. We found it challenging to rein-in the power of the single 201bhp front-mounted motor in Normal or Sport modes, with hard acceleration away from junctions resulting in a surprising degree of torque steer. Rear-driven rivals seem more adept at transferring drive to the road – indeed, you’ll not suffer the same sort of wheel spin in the (much more affordable) MG4. 

Once you’re up and running though, body control is well contained and the e:Ny1 handles rather neatly. The steering is precise but light enough for easy urban driving and the brake pedal offers a seamless transition between the regenerative braking system and the physical one. We’d like a little more force from the regenerative braking system, however – especially as it’s so intuitively controlled via the paddles behind the steering wheel. There’s barely any tangible difference in the various levels; those who prefer the one-pedal style of driving will need to look elsewhere because no setting is strong enough to slow the car sufficiently. 

Engines, 0-60 acceleration and top speed

There’s only one powertrain option with the Honda e:Ny1. Power from the battery under the floor drives a single electric motor on the front axle, making the e:NY1 front-wheel drive. The 201bhp power output and 310Nm of torque of the e:Ny1 are much greater than a Peugeot e-2008, but the 1,750kg Honda can struggle to put its power down efficiently. If you can manage the power without turning the tyres into smoke, a 0-62mph time of 7.6 seconds is better than a traditional petrol or diesel SUV, but not quite up there with the best EVs. The top speed is 99mph.  

All Honda e:Ny1s have the same powertrain built around a 68.8kWh battery with a 62kWh usable capacity. The charging port is concealed behind the big panel carrying the Honda badge in the car’s nose, so you can easily park head-on or side-on to chargers. You can see the car’s charge status at a glance – either by looking at the app or the clever pulsing lights above the car’s charge port.

Electric range, battery life and charge time

The maximum charging speed for the e:Ny1 is 78kW, which is similar to key rivals but lower than the Volkswagen ID.4, which can charge at up to 135kW. This means that a 10 to 80 per cent charge from a public rapid charger will take 45 minutes. There’s also an 11kW AC charger on board to facilitate charging from a typical home wall box charger, where you’re looking at 8 to 9 hours for a full charge.  

During our extensive testing of the Honda e:Ny1, we found the car to be admirably efficient in good conditions. The trip computer showed 4.1 miles per kWh during our initial drive, which puts the car within two miles of its official 256-mile range – even over a varied test route. This was in the car’s Eco mode, which optimises the electrical systems and powertrain to maximise efficiency and makes for a more relaxing drive by taking the edge off the power delivery. 

However, our second drive of the e:Ny1 was in very cold weather, and we could only average 2.4m/kWh, equating to a range of 165 miles. Activating the heater also greatly impacted the predicted range, cutting an indicated 181 miles to just 134 miles. The e:Ny1 does not have a heat pump, making it particularly susceptible to range drops in cold weather. By comparison, on the same cold weather test, a heat pump-equipped Hyundai Kona Electric only saw a 5-mile indicated range drop when the heater was turned on.  

Tax

The Honda e:Ny1 presently isn’t charged a yearly VED rate because it is a zero-emissions vehicle, and it also can be driven into the congestion charge zone for free – at least until 2025.

Company car drivers will pay the lowest 2% rate of Benefit in Kind company car tax, but from 2025, this will increase 1% per year until 2028. However, it’s still very affordable compared to petrol and diesel models for business users. 

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Insurance groups

The Honda eNy1 is in insurance groups 39 to 40. That’s 39E for the entry-level Elegance models and 40E for the Advance trim level. The E means the cars ‘exceed’ the car security requirement. Compare the insurance groups to those of rival models, and the Volvo EX30 will be slightly cheaper to insure, sitting in groups 35 to 37 for the Single Motor models. The Hyundai Kona Electric with the 65kWh battery sits in groups 31 to 33.   

Depreciation

Our car market data experts predict that the Honda e:Ny1 will hold onto around 56 per cent of its value after three years and 36,000 miles. That’s a fairly good depreciation performance when you look at the Volvo EX30 (51 to 54 per cent), the Hyundai Kona (39 to 51 per cent) and the Volkswagen ID.4 (56 per cent).   

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The Honda e:Ny1 has been designed to conform visually with the rest of its SUV line-up. In that sense, it’s not an EV that tries to remind everyone that it’s running on battery power.  You’ve got the body-coloured panel (that can be specified in black plastic as an option) hiding the charging port at the front in place of a traditional grille, and that’s the main clue to this being an EV. The shape has much in common with a traditional SUV, although the sloping rear window and roof spoiler give a slight coupe-SUV flavour. 

Up front, things feel premium in most places; you’ll find some scratchier plastics on the very top of the dash and lower down on the doors, but everything you touch regularly is covered in soft materials. Build quality seems generally robust. 

The two trim levels start with Elegance. It’s very well appointed for an entry-level car with wireless smartphone charging, heated front seats, keyless entry, keyless start, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera are all included. The second option is the plusher Advance specification that adds a panoramic sunroof, a powered tailgate, a heated steering wheel, side parking sensors and an upgraded stereo, among other features. While those are nice features to have, we think that the Elegance trim will make sense for most buyers, and it saves you over £2,000 compared with the top-of-the-range Advance model.

Optional extras are limited to the cosmetic, so it’ll come down to personal taste. There are six paint colours to choose from, four different 18-inch wheel designs, and the option to have the front panel (including the charging door) painted black.

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment 

The vast 15.1-inch portrait display screen in the Honda e:Ny1 stands out in the class. However, get over the impressive size, and things aren’t so brilliant. It might look like a single touchscreen unit, but it functions like three separate screens. The top section is for navigation and smartphone connectivity, the middle is for the main menu tiles, and the bottom area is for heating and ventilation. It means that although the screen is large, it doesn’t really make full use of all the real estate.

The screen is responsive and looks fantastic, but the mapping area is relatively small, and many on-screen keys are fiddly, while both of the upper sections have their own row of shortcut keys for ‘back’ and ‘home’, which can be confusing at first glance. We also had constant issues trying to connect our smartphone to Android Auto. The Premium Audio upgrade you get with the Advance model delivers fantastic sound quality. 

Practicality in the Honda e:Ny1 is a bit of a mixed bag. The boot is down on most rivals, but the back seats are big enough for adults. We weren’t convinced by the flagship Advance car’s pop-out sunshades for the glass roof, which are fiddly to use, but otherwise, the interior of the car is fairly sensible.

Storage space is plentiful, with a big glovebox and two deep cup holders for the front seat occupants. The wireless charging space is big enough for even the largest smartphones, and there’s a bin beneath the central armrest to keep items out of sight. The door bins in the front are small, and in the back, there’s no storage in the doors at all. 

Dimensions and size 

The Honda e:Ny1 is 4,387mm long, 1,866mm wide and 1,584mm high. It sits between the small SUV and mid-size SUV classes in terms of size, and is significantly longer than rivals like the Jeep Avenger(4,084mm). The Volvo EX30 is nearer in size at 4,233mm long and 1,940mm wide, while the Hyundai Kona Electric is a close match at 4,355mm and 1,825mm, respectively. A Volkswagen ID.4 is 4,584mm by 1,852mm.  

Seats, leg room, head room & passenger space

The Honda’s cabin feels slightly more enclosed than some EVs that aim for a lighter, airy ambience, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The seats are comfortable and supportive, although the rear seat bases are pretty low to the floor, forcing you to bunch your knees up a little.  

Our headroom and legroom measurements for the back seats show excellent space for passengers' lower limbs, but headroom isn’t such a strong point. The e:Ny1 has between 700mm and 935mm of legroom, depending on the position of the front seat, while the Kona Electric only manages 627mm to 882mm. The Kona has 958mm of headroom, compared to the Honda’s sloping roofline, which reduces the amount of space to 884mm.   

Boot space

The Honda eNy1’s boot space is 361 litres with the rear seats up and 1,176 litres with the seats folded down. Top-spec Advance models have slightly less space at 344 and 1,136 litres, respectively. It’s not a huge boot either way, with the electric Jeep Avenger offering 355 litres and the Hyundai Kona offering 466 litres. 

Our measurements put the boot area at 755mm long, 71mm shorter than the Kona’s. The loading lip height of 680mm is also 21mm higher. The load space is a little irregular, with the floor area tucking around the wheel arches.

There’s been no Euro NCAP crash test of the Honda e:Ny1 at the time of writing, but Honda’s recent results have been solid. The HR-V and ZR-V SUVs both got four starts in 2022 and 2023 respectively, while the Civic took home a 5-star rating in 2022. 

The car itself is too new to have appeared in our Driver Power customer satisfaction survey but Honda has a good reputation for reliability, and in 2023, the brand placed 18th out of 32 manufacturers included in the poll. Only 15% of Honda owners had any kind of fault with their cars in the first year of ownership, ranking it near the top of the pile. 

There are very few optional extras, so most safety kit is standard. That means all models have features like Forward Collision Warning, which scans the road ahead and warns of potential obstacles; Lane Keeping Assist, which nudges you back into your lane if you start to drift without indicating; Traffic Jam Assist, which lets the car automatically creep along in traffic; and Traffic Sign Recognition, which keeps you abreast of the speed limit. Advance trim adds side parking sensors to the ones at the front and rear as standard.

Warranty 

The Honda e:Ny1 has a five-year/90,000-mile warranty and five years of roadside assistance as standard. A few brands, notably Kia and Toyota, offer longer packages of cover, and others have higher mileage limits but Honda’s is competitive. Lots of brands - such as Volkswagen - still have the industry standard three-year warranty. There’s also eight years or 100,000 miles of cover for the battery, and that’s fully transferable to future owners.  

Servicing

Honda is selling the e:Ny1 with a servicing package that includes five free services. However, this car has to be serviced every 12 months or 7,700 miles, whichever comes first. That’s a low mileage limit, and higher-mileage drivers could easily use up those five services within three or four years.

Should you buy a Honda e:Ny1?

A big part of the Honda e: Ny1's appeal lies in its familiarity with existing Honda owners. It slots neatly into the brand’s range with the HR-V, ZR-V and CR-V petrol SUVs, offering a competent all-electric alternative that doesn't rock the boat with its design. The e:Ny1’s problem is its competitiveness next to all the other compact electric SUV choices - not least the Hyundai Kona Electric, our 2023 Car of the Year. The e:Ny1 doesn’t do much to stand out in terms of its design, technology or capabilities, and as newer rivals arrive on the scene, Honda’s effort is likely to go down the pecking order rather than holding its own. 

The e:Ny1 is reasonably practical, the designers having favoured rear passenger space over boot capacity in a move that will suit some buyers more than others. The equipment levels on the entry level e:Ny1 Elegance model are very generous - to the point that this base car is our pick of the range - but we particularly loved the upgraded audio system in the more expensive Advance. It’s amongst the best you’ll find in any small SUV. The driving experience is also mixed with steering and brakes working much better than the sometimes unruly electric powertrain.