“it’s rather like having a slightly hyper active puppy on a lead. It wants to be everybody’s friend and most of its traits make you smile”
If the old saying of; ‘good things come in little packages’ has any truth to it, then maybe Honda has nailed it with the recently launched Super N. After having spent a week behind the wheel of what has possibly been the smallest car I have ever reviewed, I’m still smiling now some weeks after reluctantly handing the keys back. Firstly, the Super N is a replacement for the slow selling Honda E and comes in the one trim level. It also makes no bones about the fact that it’s mainly a city or commuting vehicle, the kind of car some families would operate as a second vehicle. With a 29.6KWh battery the Super N only claims to have a range of around 199 miles of city driving that falls down to around 128 miles of mixed road driving.
Some of the reviews make a big fuss about this range. I say this – the Super N is a City car or a vehicle ideal for inter-urban commuting which has price and lightness on its side. Weighing little over one tonne, it certainly feels nimble on its toes and despite having a power output of 47KW, it feels a lot nipper than you’d think. Jab the little boost button on the steering wheel and the power ups to 70KW making the Super N feel really perky. Also when in boost mode you’ll find a simulated seven speed transmission effect and a rorty engine note pumped through the stereo speaker that reminded me of an old Audi five cylinder soundtrack – I loved that.
The Honda is an easy EV car to acclimatise yourself to. Familiar buttons and switches are there along with a simple to use heating and ventilation system. Front seats with a jolly multi coloured fabric are comfortable and even remain so after a longer journey. Sadly though, the front seats are the only lift to what is a fairly dull interior which is at odds with the funky and lovely looking exterior. Staying on the subject of the interior, the clever magic rear seats whereby the seat cushion folds upwards akin to being at the cinema come standard. This makes the square and boxy body shape the perfect companion when it comes to practicality. Shifting odd sized loads and other clutter will be no problem with the Honda.
Boot space with the seats up is rather small with just over 160 litres of available space, but knock the seats down and you gain a floor that’s flatter than Norfolk rising to almost 970 litres. So far as passengers are catered for, there is plenty of head and leg room thanks to an interior that almost emulates a TARDIS. However, the narrow design of the car means shoulder room is a little light and overall only seats four. Storage space for loose items is reasonable with a sprinkling of cup holders and door bins along with a fairly commodious glove box. One thing I did notice was the tray on the floor between the seats was okay for placing a mobile phone or loose change but doesn’t have any form of rubberised bottom to stop things sliding about – rather annoying
In terms of driving ability, the Super N is a hoot around town thanks to quick steering, sharp brakes and excellent all round visibility. When driving in boost mode you can really point and fire, almost turning you into some kind of urban torreador. A quick exit left from a side street can easily bring you a little chirp of protest from the front wheels – once again, I liked this and overall I found the Super N took years off me and made me smile with every mile that went past. The ride comfort around town seems pretty sympathetic with only the deepest of ruts knocking you off course. High speed or motorway driving again is fairly decent too but undulating road surfaces soon has the car bobbing and nodding a little bit as the dampers struggle to bring things to order.
In terms of range, I found the Super N to be not far off the mark in terms of the WLTP range of 128 miles but motorway driving at speed really kills the range. Thankfully though, using a quick charger gets the range from 10% to 80% in around thirty minutes. Charging via 13A DC socket took around four hours to full capacity in just over four hours. So, to conclude, Honda have created a happy, jolly fun to drive car, it’s rather like having a slightly hyper active puppy on a lead. It wants to be everybody’s friend and most of its traits make you smile and there’s little to make you frown. All it needs is a dash of colour inside to match the fun looking exterior and I would be awarding top marks. It really does offer a huge level of feel good factor – well done Honda!
Final Thoughts:
Some rivals may be slightly cheaper but with the Honda you know you are investing a good quality product. Every journey brings a smile and a number of bystanders were keen to ask about it. Small children would walk past and raise a comment too. Overall, a really enjoyable city car that can take a longer journey in its stride but motorway speeds really hammer the range.
Superb equipment, a good warranty and impressive build quality are all the usual Honda traits we have come to expect. It’s been quite a while since I have driven a car that gives you such a feel good factor. If you are looking for a city car that can still tickle your chuckle buds…. you Honda dealer is waiting for you.
A cracking little car to live with- and practical too.
THE STATS:
Model Tested: Honda Super N Advance Two Tone
Price: £19,295
Power Unit: 63bhp synchronous motor (94bhp when boost selected) 29.6KWh battery
Performance: 0-60 in 14.5 or 9 seconds with a limited top speed of 84mph*
Range: 128miles WLTP or up to 199 miles in city driving* (115 miles mixed driving on test)
Warranty: 3 years / 90,000 miles with service activated warranty of 8 years / 100,000 miles
Insurance Grouping: 27
WHAT’S GREAT?
- Cute styling and some good design touches to the exterior
- Good value for money
- Very enjoyable to drive
- Surprisingly comfortable on longer journeys
- Very well equipped
- Good overall build quality
- Great eight speaker BOSE audio
- Very practical and makes use of every inch of space
- Tidy entertaining handling and good overall ride around town
WHAT GRATES?
- Insurance grouping higher than rivals
- Interior presentation not as effective as the exterior
- Notable lack of soft touch materials on the inside
- If you do a lot of motorway work, it may not be the car for you
- Ride can a little choppy at speed on undulating surfaces
For more information on the Super N or the Honda range CLICK HERE
