In the midst of various electric cars on the market, Honda Malaysia has stepped in by offering their electric car, the Honda e:N1. With a design that can be said to resemble the Honda H-RV, this is Honda Malaysia's second attempt to offer an electric car, after the Honda e which was first offered a few years ago but may have been too early, and has not been seen much on the road.
With the arrival of the Honda e:N1, can Honda challenge the local electric car market which is currently being pioneered by brands from China? I had the opportunity to join the media convoy featuring the e:N1 along with the HRV and CRV, both in the RS eHEV version from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh.
Similar to the HRV, Different from the HRV
In terms of design, the Honda e:N1 does indeed look like an HRV loaded with batteries, but with several design elements that distinguish the petrol HRV and the electric 'HRV'. On the front behind the Honda logo is a charging plug that can be opened automatically with a button on the outside.
As soon as you see this charging plug, the Honda lettering will appear in the design used on their electric car series. There is also a light that will light up when charging is being done.
In terms of lights and sides, there is really not much difference between the e:N1 and HRV. Only the front and rear of this car feature the Honda brand lettering in a different writing style, symbolizing the electric nature of it. It has a luggage space of 344 liters and no frunk at the front.
In terms of interior design, it has a 15-inch driving display and a fairly large and significant infotainment display, featuring battery status, Apple CarPlay or Android Auto tethering, and also air conditioning controls. This separation of information allows electrical power information to always be displayed for the driver.
The steering wheel is not much different from other Honda SUVs, and if you have ever used the hybrid version of Honda's SUV, the RS e:HEV, you will definitely be familiar with the use of levers / paddle shifters to change the level of regenerative braking.
Capable of Chasing a Fast Convoy
For this media convoy event, I had the opportunity to drive the Honda e:N1 for about 100km on the North-South Expressway. Although the distance traveled seems short, it can be said that the acceleration power provided by the Honda e:N1 is quite good. With a power of 150 kW and 310Nm of maximum torque, providing acceleration from 0-100 km/h in 7.7 seconds, it is able to accelerate and follow the HRV and CRV easily, but is hampered by its speed limit of 160 km/h.
At this speed limit, I felt the same when I reviewed the Mercedes Benz EQB 250 which also has a maximum speed limit of 160 km/h because for an electric vehicle, this maximum speed can be reached quickly, then it felt like the car could not accelerate any faster.
With three driving modes, I could feel the difference in acceleration for each mode, as well as the regenerative braking that is set accordingly. However, with the paddle shifters, it also gives the driver more control in setting the braking they want.
Energy Information Display That Is Different From Others
In terms of information display, this 15-inch display provides about 35% space for electric driving information. You can see the status of energy consumption, how much distance is left to travel, the status and flow of electric energy, and much more. If you are a user of your existing Honda hybrid series, this display will be familiar to you, where you can see if you are using electric energy or regenerating energy with it also clearly displayed in the graph.
More interestingly, it also displays additional range based on your driving patterns if you turn off the air conditioning. This is a function rarely seen in other electric cars, but can usually be launched when the battery capacity is low.
In terms of energy consumption, the Honda e:N1 uses km/kWh calculation and the figures I got are
At 50% battery, the remaining travel distance is 177km with an average convoy speed of around 110 km/h
Upon arrival in Ipoh, the remaining battery was 33% with a remaining travel distance of 111km with the travel distance from Kuala Lumpur being 211.8km
The average energy consumption is 5.2 km/kWh or equivalent to 19.2 kWh/100 km
On the return trip from Ipoh to Kuala Lumpur, I managed to use this car for around 100km +, with an average energy consumption of 5.6 km/kWh or equivalent to 17.9 kWh/100 km
For the trip from KL to Ipoh, the car changed hands between the media, and through different road conditions, namely the highway, the federal road from Tanjung Malim to Gopeng, and also the city road of Ipoh, I drove it. For the return trip from Ipoh to KL, the car that I and my media friends used traveled on the North-South Highway. At an energy consumption rate of 17.9-18.9 kWh / 100km, it can be said that it was driven quite fast compared to normal driving patterns, but we were not far behind or felt the annoyance of charging.
The Honda e:N1, which has a 68.8 kWh battery, has a travel range of around 412 WLTP. In that calculation, it is close to various other electric cars including the Proton e.MAS 7, Leapmotor C10, and Smart #1 Brabus. For that distance, I feel that this electric car is probably more suitable for use in the city, but is still capable of being used for intercity travel as long as there is a charger on the way. The 78kW DC fast charging allows for a 10-80% charge in 45 minutes, but during this driving session I didn’t get a chance to try it out.
At RM149,900, the Honda e:N1 is arguably more premium priced, and it’s also the only Honda currently imported from overseas (CBU) compared to Honda’s other Malaysian-assembled (CKD) offerings. It comes with a warranty of 8 years or 160,000KM mileage, whichever comes first.