10 Cool Things About The Honda e

The Honda e is probably the quirkiest car we’ll see this year

The future is here and even though it’s a little overpriced, it’s very exciting! The Honda e has been making waves as the new, quirky, all-electric kid on the block and even with the hefty price tag, reviewers have been saying nothing but positive things. It’s geeky, it’s sophisticated and it’s very practical, but most importantly, the Honda e is packed full of cool little novelties and quirks. Here are the top 10:

10. A ridiculously small turning circle

If you find yourself driving around town a lot, there’s no better car to tackle the urban jungle than the all-electric Honda e. Firstly, as just stated, it’s an electric vehicle meaning you won’t have to worry about awful fuel consumption around town. In fact, electric cars are most efficient in urban environments and will get the most mileage when stopping and starting!

But more impressively, the Honda e has one of the smallest turning circles ever. At just 4.3 metres, this car’s turning circle will allow drivers to turn on a dime. To put it into perspective, the turning circle of the Fiat 500 is around 9 metres and the Mini Cooper’s is around 10.8 metres! That’s more than double that of the Honda e, making it ridiculously agile compared to anything else on the road.

9. The side mirrors

A huge and instantly recognisable thing for the Honda e is the lack of side mirrors. Replacing the conventional mirror hubs are two, much smaller and more aerodynamic, camera ‘bulges’. These little nubs have small cameras with anti-fog and anti-rain coatings that feed live footage to screens inside of the car.

8. Eight cameras

The Honda e gives off a very ‘techy’ vibe and for a good reason. In total, there are 8 cameras dotted all around the car. Each side ‘mirror’ has two cameras each, there are two more cameras on the back of the car and the last two are on the front of the car.

The cameras help make up the 360° view that helps drivers park and navigate tight spaces, as well as provide side-mirror footage and one last thing which is seen on…

7. The rear-view mirror

That’s right, one of the eight cameras on the car is for the rear-view mirror. The mirror is both a screen and a conventional mirror at the same time. If you prefer to view what’s behind you with an actual reflective mirror, you can simply flip a switch and change the mirror from screen mode to mirror mode.

Otherwise, the rear view ‘mirror’ isn’t a mirror at all, but rather a screen that shows live feed video of a rear-mounted camera, giving you a better view of what’s behind.

6. The suspension

4-wheel independent suspension is not something you would expect on an affordable hatchback, yet it is found in the Honda e. This setup offers superior stability in all kinds of conditions as well as excellent handling to make this heavy car feel lighter on its feet and less like a car that’s carrying a massive battery.

5. The handling

Despite the Honda e not really being marketed as a car for enthusiasts, it has already received high praise for handling like a dream. Thanks to 50:50 weight distribution, a low centre of gravity (as is natural in pretty much all EVs) and the 4-wheel independent suspension, this little hatchback Honda carries the heritage and philosophy of the company’s performance cars such as the Civic Type R and NSX.

Adding to this, the e is rear-wheel-drive and the electric motor found at the rear uses torque vectoring for smoother driving and superior handling in corners. Although it’s certainly no track demon, all of these elements add up to a car that’s perfect for whizzing around town in and really making city driving an enjoyable experience.

4. The modular centre storage bin

It may not be the deciding factor for potential purchasers, but the Honda e’s central storage bin has a divider in it which can be moved. You can adjust the size and openness of the bin by moving the divider up or down, or removing it completely in the case that you just want to lay larger items down such as a litre bottle of water.

It may sound simple, but can you name any other car that has this practical feature?

3. Five screens

The Honda e is techy and geeky but at the same time, it’s sophisticated and mature. Sitting inside of one feels like you’re in a luxurious lounge and you should be having an espresso whilst listening to classical music. On the other hand, the interior is ultra-modern and technologically advanced, because in front of you is an array of display screens, five in total, spanning the entire length of the dashboard from door to door.

There are two screens at either end which are your virtual side mirrors. Where the gauge cluster would be, there’s another screen displaying all the driving information such as speed, drive mode, battery status, outside temperature and more. And finally, in the middle of the car two larger screens span across the rest of the dashboard which will display the infotainment system. Moving onto the next cool thing, the Honda e can also display more than just car information on the screen…

2. The HDMI port

That’s right, the Honda e has a HDMI port so you can watch anything you like on the large, expansive screens in the cabin of the e. Not only can you play your favourite movies and videos, but you can also decide which screen you want it on depending on if the driver is watching (whilst parked, of course) or the video will be for the passenger’s entertainment.

1. The ceiling spotlights

Now, this may seem like another small and trivial thing, but the Honda e features ceiling spotlights in the rear of the car, much like you would expect to find in a modern kitchen. It’s very quirky and unusual which works well with the rest of the Honda e’s unconventional design, but also seems much more practical than the usual dim lighting you find in the back of cars.

Even though we’ve given you ten very cool things, there’s plenty more of this car to be appreciated. Let us know what you think of the Honda e in the comments!

If you enjoyed this, you may also like to read about the even more over-priced Audi e-tron 50.