HONDA’S CATCH OF THE DAY
THERE’S something fishy about the cute and zippy new Honda e electric city car, which arrives in UK showrooms in June at less than £30,000.
It comes with its own on-board virtual aquarium with which you can relax while watching marine life glide by. It is just one of a number of electronic ‘wallpaper’ options.
The fish and their aquatic abode appear on two linked 12.3-in LCD infotainment touch-screens dominating the dashboard, which houses a panoramic vista of five digital screens in all.
But the virtual aquarium turns off when driving so as not to be distracting, says Honda. In motion, the driver’s main focus is on the 8.8 in screen behind the steering wheel.
But the driver can also select one centre screen for, say, navigation while the front passenger selects music playlists. Is it a gimmick? No, says Honda, which intends the interior to be as familiar and comfortable as your own home, with soft-touch fabrics.
Another innovation is that it swaps bulky wing mirrors for slim, rear-facing cameras which project what they see on screens on the left and right corners of the dashboard. Honda says the cameras offer a wider view, better vision in bad weather, and less reflective glare at night.
There are two trim levels. The base model with a 100kW electric motor costs from £26,100 after the £3,500 Government ‘plug-in car grant is taken off. But Honda reckons more than nine in ten sales will be for the more powerful, higher- specified 113kW Advance grade costing from £28,660 after the subsidy.
And what’s really tempting is monthly finance from £299.
It’s practical, too — the rear seats fold down to add boot space. With a claimed 125-mile range, the rear-wheel drive runaround has a compact, watercooled 35.5Kw lithium ion battery which can be charged up to 80 per cent capacity in 30 minutes using a DC rapid boost charger, with the charging point in the front of the bonnet.
Rest to 62 mph takes about 8.5 seconds up to a top speed of 90 mph. Honda aims to have all its cars with a degree of electrification by 2025.