The motor industry is rife with rumours, and we as the public are particularly adept at changing our views on what we like en masse
One rather perplexing rumour suggested that the city car was dead, and the public wanted compact SUVs instead.
Of course, such things are never as abrupt and final as they seem. As long as we have cities with ever-increasing pollutant restrictions, there will surely always be a place for a city car, or supermini.
Sustaina-C Concept Vehicle
This year, Honda took the Sustaina-C concept vehicle to the recent Tokyo Motor Show, now called the Japan Mobility Show.
Aside from the rather impressive Honda Prelude Concept which Honda was also proudly showing off, the Sustaina-C offers a curious mix of nifty, city-style supermini abilities – and a pop out electric bike, for when it maybe just gets a bit too crowded.
Sustania-C Sustainability
The Sustaina-C is, naturally enough, a sustainable vehicle.
The Sustaina features recycled acrylic resin for the body, allowing Honda to consider limited availability for resources as the future heads towards us.
For those in the know, acrylic can be very inflexible and can break under stress, so Honda has developed a more flexible resin along with the Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation for use in their vehicles.
What Honda has done with the Sustaina-C is to not deviate from its path too much, and a quick glance to the – maybe slightly expensive for what it is – Honda e shows that both share striking similarities.
Takeki Tanaka
Though crucially with the Sustaina-C, Development Project Leader, Takeki Tanaka, says that the concept is based on an EV that is easy for customers to obtain, including price.
Tanaka was also a fan of the Honda City from the eighties.
Electric City Car With Pocket Electric Scooter
Honda appears to have designed an electric vehicle that might be perfect for central London; an electric city car, or supermini EV, that gets you as far as it can, then unleashes an electric mini-scooter, the Pocket Concept, that gets you even further into a congested city zone.
Mini Electric Scooter – Pocket Concept
While the Pocket Concept looks aligned with the Sustaina-C, it does follow on from Honda’s reveal of a new Motocompacto scooter, which in all honesty looks like you are riding a portable hard-drive – it’s practical, but not attractive.
Honda Motocompacto Scooter can reach up to 15mph
The Motocompacto is a modern reimagining of Honda’s 1981 Motocompo – which the Pocket Concept does look more akin to.
So you see, Honda has some history with such curiosities, which makes the potential idea of such concepts actually entering the Honda production line far more likely.
There’s no indication on range or power for the Pocket Concept, but the Motocompacto can reach up to 15mph and weighs in at around 41 pounds and features a 250-watt motor with a range of around 12 miles.
Honda Electric City Car Sustaina-C Like Honda e?
The Honda Sustaina-C could perhaps quite easily take on board the existing capabilities of the Honda e.
This would give it a range of around 130 miles, with top speed limited to around 90mph from the single, rear mounted motor. 0-62mph would therefore be around 8 seconds, with torque at 315Nm.
Just how inconvenient it might be to have to charge your EV 3 times more often than a standard electric vehicle remains to be seen, but it is after all a city car and not meant for long traverses.
My first reaction to the Honda Sustaina-C was that it instantly reminded me of Thunderbird 2, with its ability to pop out that bright yellow little Thunderbird 4.
Yet, with Honda’s already proven ability to provide us with curious mini electric scooters, the whole idea of the Sustaina-C and a mini EV scooter seems wholly more plausible.
Keeping Up With Electric Car News
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