Honda N-ONE e Is a Micro EV That Sells for Under $18,500 in Japan
The N-ONE e is Honda’s first electric kei car, and it’s going on sale with a roomy interior and about 155 miles of range.
Honda is launching the N-ONE e, an electric kei car for the Japanese market.
The tiny EV’s base price is equal to about $18,300, but the higher trim pictured here is priced at around $22K.
The N-ONE e’s underfloor battery delivers an estimated 155 miles of range, and a DC fast-charger can take it to 80 percent in 30 minutes.
If you’re looking for a pint-sized electric car like the new Honda N-ONE e, you’ll need to live outside of the United States. For those living in Japan, Honda’s first electric kei car is going on sale with a similarly small starting price that’s equivalent to about $18,300.
For most Americans, the Japanese car market is like the names of anime characters—they don’t know jack about it. But Honda’s gas-powered N-ONE is one of the country’s bestselling models, and its boxy retro styling influences the new “e” version. The latter has a distinct face with round headlights that make it look cute. Behind the front bezel, which is made from recycled materials, are either one or two charge ports, depending on the spec.
Honda
Plugging the N-ONE e into a Level 2 charger should refill the underfloor battery in 4.5 hours, but if it’s connected to a DC fast-charger with the optional second port, Honda claims it’ll bring the battery to 80 percent in about 30 minutes. A full battery is estimated to provide about 155 miles of range. The EV can also be used as a portable power bank with its available exterior power outlet that delivers up to 1500 watts.
Inside, the N-ONE e has a simplistic layout, with physical controls for the HVAC system and a push-button setup for the gear selector. The driver faces a digital gauge cluster, and the familiar Honda steering wheel comes wrapped in leather on the higher-spec trim. The latter also features a 9.0-inch center touchscreen, which you don’t get on the base model. The silver lining is that the entry trim rolls on 14-inch steelies (if you’re into that kind of thing).
Honda
Stepping up to the fancier version of the Honda N-ONE e boosts the price to about $22K, which makes it seem like less of a sweet deal. Still, the electric kei car has a host of standard active safety features, such as adaptive cruise control, automatic high-beams, lane-keeping assist, and an interesting system called “Sudden Acceleration Prevention.” With the new N-ONE e entering the Japanese new-car market, it provides a competitor for the similarly sized Nissan Sakura.
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Eric Stafford
Managing Editor, News
Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si.
