Honda Super-N Review & Prices

Honda’s electric-car record has been a bit patchy so far. The Honda e was charming, clever and great fun to drive, but it cost far too much for a car with such a short range. The eNy:1, meanwhile, was hard to recommend for rather more straightforward reasons - it wasn’t very good. The Honda Super-N is here to give the brand a much-needed reset: a tiny electric hatchback with a sensible price, a surprisingly roomy cabin and a proper sense of fun. The catch is that it cannot travel very far between charges.

It is a bit like owning a holiday home. In short bursts, it can feel absolutely brilliant, but try to use it for everything and the compromises soon become obvious - unless your lifestyle happens to suit it perfectly.

That matters, because the Super-N is arriving just as the affordable electric-car market is getting much more interesting. The Renault Twingo and Cupra Raval both look promising, while the Citroen e-C3, Hyundai Inster, Dacia Spring and Fiat Grande Panda are already available if you want a small EV without spending a fortune.

The Super-N is based on a Japanese kei car, which means it comes from a class of tiny cars designed to meet strict size rules and qualify for tax benefits in Japan. You can see that immediately in its tall, narrow shape. It is short, upright and boxy, with its wheels pushed right out towards the corners and a high roofline to make the most of its compact footprint. It also looks properly endearing, helped by round, expressive headlights and chunky wheelarches that give it the attitude of a furious little terrier. Factory stripes, spoilers and a bold purple paint option add even more character.

Honda Super-N: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 128 miles
Efficiency: 4.3 miles per kWh
Battery size: 29.6kWh
Max charge speed: 50kW
Charge time AC: 4hrs 15 mins, 0-100%, 7kW
Charge time DC: 30 mins, 15-80%, 50kW
Charge port location: Front
Power outputs: 95hp

Inside, things are a little less dramatic. The front seats do stand out, with an asymmetric design, a blue stripe and upholstery made using recycled Honda factory uniforms. That is a lovely touch. The rest of the cabin, though, is more honest about the Super-N’s affordable roots, with plenty of hard plastics and a fairly simple dashboard layout.

You get the same infotainment system found in cars such as the Civic and Jazz. It is usable rather than brilliant. The screen is a sensible size and you get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but Honda’s own menus are more fiddly than they need to be. Some functions, including switching off the speed-limit warning, require too much prodding around in submenus.

The Super-N is impressively spacious for something so small. Its tall shape means very little room is wasted, so four six-foot adults can fit inside far more comfortably than you might expect. The boot is tiny at 162 litres, but Honda’s clever Magic Seats give the car a useful second trick. The rear seats can fold flat into the floor to open up more luggage space, or their bases can flip upwards so you can carry taller items in the back-seat area.

There is only one powertrain available. The Super-N uses a small 29.6kWh battery, giving it an official range of 128 miles. In real-world driving, we managed to get very close to that figure, so Honda’s estimate does not feel wildly optimistic. Even so, 128 miles is not much if you regularly leave town or need to make occasional longer journeys, and all of its closest alternatives can go further on a charge.

That limited range is especially frustrating because the Super-N is enormous fun to drive. In normal use, you get just 64hp, but press the Boost button on the steering wheel and output rises to 95hp. Better still, there is a virtual seven-speed gearbox and a sound generator, and the whole thing is far more entertaining than it has any right to be. Think of it as a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N with the volume turned down to about 30%.

In its more sensible modes, it is still a brilliant little town car. There is enough instant electric shove to dart away from junctions, and the big windows give you a great view out. It can feel a bit bouncy over larger bumps, but not to the point of being uncomfortable.

Find a twisty road and the Super-N becomes even more likeable. The steering is quick and accurate, the suspension is nicely judged and it feels far more engaging than most tiny EVs. Motorways are not really its natural habitat, though. There is a fair bit of wind noise at higher speeds, and given the short range, you probably will not be planning many long-distance slogs up the M1 anyway.

Verdict

The Honda Super-N is a cracking small EV if your life fits around it. It is fun, characterful, surprisingly roomy and brilliant in town, but its short range makes it difficult to recommend as an only car. For second-car duties with home charging, it could be spot on.

You can check out Honda Super-N deals right here on Carwow, or see how much it’d cost you to lease a Honda Super-N. Check out our used Hondas for sale, and remember that Carwow can even help you to sell your old car when the time comes.

Buying a Super-N is simplicity itself, because there’s just one powertrain and trim level, so there’s just one price - £18,995. For another £300 you can get two-tone paint, and there are optional stripe decals available too.

Standard equipment is generous, with heated seats and steering wheel, all-round parking sensors, a reversing camera, 15-inch alloy wheels, ambient lighting, adaptive cruise control and a Bose sound system all standard. You’d have to spend quite a lot more on this car’s alternatives to get that level of kit.

Perfect for the city and surprisingly good fun on a country road, but the Super-N is noisy on the motorway

In town

Just one look at the Honda Super-N and you know it’s going to be absolutely perfect for city slickers. It has a short wheelbase, a tall body with glass all round, and square dimensions that make it a doddle judging where the corners are. In fact, while all-round parking sensors and a reversing camera are standard, the Super-N is one of very few modern cars where you don’t really need them.

In the Super-N’s normal drive modes you get just 64hp which is absolutely fine for cruising around town - it’s about the same power as most petrol city cars, but with no gearbox to worry about and the electric motor’s instant response it feels quite a bit nippier than a Kia Picanto. The short wheelbase and small wheels mean it can feel quite bouncy over bigger bumps, but it doesn’t thud or clatter, nor is it so soft that the body keeps moving after you’ve passed a pothole. It’s perfectly judged.

On the motorway

The Super-N’s 64hp is a bit limited for motorway use, but you can always slip into ‘Boost’ mode to unlock the car’s full 95hp for overtakes or short sliproads. Once underway, it can feel a bit outclassed and blown about by big lorries or crosswinds, but the bigger issue is the range - as you can only fast charge up to 80%, you’ll get less than 100 miles between top-ups, which means a lot of stopping and starting. Expect less in winter, too.

On a twisty road

You might think a tiny city car with so little power is going to be rubbish on a twisting country road, but you’d be dead wrong. Put it into Boost mode, lock the virtual gearbox into its ‘manual’ setting and you’ve got a car that does a passable impression of a warm hatchback, akin to a Volkswagen Up GTI of old. It’s super fun.

Despite the car’s high bodywork, the battery and motor are low down so it doesn’t feel all roly-poly in the bends, and the steering has a perfect weight to it. The suspension copes well with bumps mid-corner and the whole package is just great, even if there’s not much grunt in reserve for overtakes.

The Super-N has loads of passenger space and a clever boot, but with four on board there’s not much room for luggage

The Honda Super-N’s front seats are roomy and comfortable, with plenty of support thanks to prominent bolstering - it hugs you nicely in the corners, and your back won’t hurt after a long (ish) drive. There’s enough space for tall drivers, and the lack of a centre console means that if you’re parked tight up to a wall or another car you can easily slide over to the other side.

Storage spaces are a bit limited. The glovebox is very small, and the centre console isn’t covered so you can’t keep items out of sight in there. There’s one cupholder in the middle and another to the right of the steering wheel, while the door bins consist only of small bottle holders. What’s really lacking is a convenient place to keep your phone, because while there is a wide shelf spanning the dashboard it’s made of hard plastic so it’s very slippery.

Space in the back seats

The Super-N’s rear doors open nice and wide and because the roofline is so tall you don’t need to duck your head when entering like you do with most small cars - you can easily step in. Once back there, things are basic but roomy - there’s enough legroom for a six-foot passenger to sit behind a driver of the same size, which is impressive with such a short wheelbase.

The seats themselves are quite flat and unsupportive but they’re fine for short journeys, and Honda’s wisely avoided trying to squeeze three seatbelts in so the Super-N is a strict four-seater.

Boot space

The Honda Super-N has just 162 litres of boot space, which is smaller than all of its key alternatives. The Renault Twingo E-Tech, Hyundai Inster, Fiat Grande Panda Electric and even the Fiat 500 Electric all have more room, with the Grande Panda’s 361-litre space topping the charts among small EVs.

The Honda has some practical touches that make things a lot better, though. For a start, the tailgate is huge - it opens right down to the rear bumper, so loading heavy items is easy. Honda’s ‘magic seats’ are also present, and they’re brilliant - they fold right away into the floor so you get a flat load area with loads of room and no obstructions.

Or, if you have tall items to carry, like a pot plant, you can fold the seat bases upwards and lock them in place. It’s a brilliant touch. The only problem - apart from the overall carrying capacity - is that there’s nowhere tidy to store your charging cables.

The Super-N’s interior feels well built, but the materials are clearly budget in origin and the touchscreen is only just okay

The Super-N’s interior has clearly been built down to a price, which isn’t surprising in a car that costs less than £20,000. The plastics feel sturdy but far from luxurious, and some areas like the paper-thin door cards do betray its price tag.

But while it lacks some of the charm of other cheap cars such as the Renault Twingo E-Tech, there are plenty of good points. The minimalist layout means it feels very spacious, and there’s plenty of physical switchgear including a full panel of climate controls. It also feels extremely well screwed-together, with no creaks or rattles, which is a Honda trademark.

The infotainment system is the same as you get in other Honda cars, which means it’s not the best. The screen is a sensible size, responsive and sited within easy reach on the dashboard, but the interface feels quite old-fashioned and is not very attractive. There are a lot of sub-menus and not all the functions make total sense, particularly turning off the safety features - some of which you can only do while the car’s in Park.

At least there’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but with no wireless phone charging you’ll need your phone to be plugged in most of the time anyway.

The sticking point with the Honda Super-N is its range. You get an official 128 miles between charges, which is less than the 140 miles you get from a Dacia Spring, the 163 miles from a Renault Twingo E-Tech or the 199 miles from a Citroen e-C3. In fact, barring some electric vans, it’s actually the lowest-range EV on sale.

In our testing we did at least manage to come very close to that figure, with a range just over 120 miles between charges - and that was motorway driving, so you can expect to beat the official figure if you’re just nipping around town. But regardless, you won’t be going very far in the Honda Super-N.

Charging speeds aren’t fantastic either, though they are on par with the Twingo and faster than the Dacia Spring. At a max rate of 50kW you can top up from 15-80% in around half an hour. Still, a larger EV will have the Super-N soundly licked for both charge speed and range - a Vauxhall Corsa Electric costs around the same with Carwow discounts and will cover close to 200 miles on a charge.

At least the Super-N should prove cheap to run, with company car costs and first-year road tax as low as it’s possible to get.

The Honda Super-N hasn’t been assessed by Euro NCAP and it’s likely that it won’t be, as Honda doesn’t expect to sell it in great volumes or anywhere in Europe outside of the UK just yet.

It gets Honda’s usual suite of safety aids, including lane-keeping assist, autonomous emergency braking and even adaptive cruise control, which is nice. It’s a shame that to turn off the more annoying safety systems though - like the speed limit warning - you need to dive through several menus in the centre touchscreen, which are locked out unless you’re in Park so even your front passenger can’t do it for you.

Honda’s cars are typically very safe, with all of its current model range scoring four or five stars.

The Super-N gets a service-activated warranty that covers you for up to eight years and 100,000 miles, provided you keep servicing your car at a Honda main dealer. That’s excellent and the best among small EVs right now.

Honda’s reliability record is also truly excellent, with a long history of very dependable small cars. The Super-N being even simpler than most Hondas by virtue of being an EV should mean it’s even more reliable still, but time will tell.