Should I buy one?

[Dorothee]

I only recently came across the Honda e and instantly fell in love with it. I want to get one, just because it’s so cute, not because I need a one. It probably will replace my Fiat 500. I do about 20K kms a year with it.
I’ve been following the forum for a couple of moths now and where there are mainly very positive reviews, it seems this is changing lately . I’ve noticed forum members getting rid of their e because of problems.
I wonder, should I better stay away?
Prices are dropping and they still don’t sell. Very weird. You can pick one up with 10-15K kms for 22-23K euro now.
This is still a bit high for my budget but I’d wait until they fall below 20K.
On the other hand, i don’t want to loose a ton of money either if I decide to sell it in a couple of years.
IOW would you buy it again?

[MaXPainT]

Prior to the E I was driving Fiat 500 2014 for several years. Had to replace the door handles on that so I was not a stranger to door handle issues and the E didn't got me by surprise If the range is good for you, you can handle the handles not always retracting during winter months, some rattle in the cabin and potential 12v battery issues every 3 years or so, you will be happy with your E. The driving dynamics compared to the 500 are miles away. I was considering the 500e before getting the E. If you are concerned about the reliability let me assure you the worst japanese car will still be better than an italian car I had many issues with my 500 and 0 real issues with the E so far. For me there is nothing better on the market at the moment regardless the price so I would get the E again in a beat. The fact that there are not many of them and Honda is not willing to sell them either makes it even more special and desirable in my eyes. Take an E to a test drive, you won't want to get back to the 500

[EEEE]

I think the problem is the value proposition isn't great. It's a small car that doesn't go very far and it's a bit pricey. That means it has to work really hard to earn its keep.

20k is a fair chunk of mileage. If you plan to charge away from home, the range might start to grate on you.

I only do about 8k a year , my commute is small, and easily doable so I don't have to charge every night. Long journeys are left to the other cars. If you are spontaneous or unplanned in your mileage, then you really need to see if public charging is for you.

Where are you based? I'm sure someone local would be happy to show off their e.

[Dorothee]

I’m in Belgium. Not many around here, I’ve never seen one on the road even.

[iHansz]

Hi Dorothee, Dutch e owner here. Not many e's have been sold here in the Netherlands either. It is not even available here anymore, but if it was still available, it would be more expensive than the cheapest Tesla here. Would definitely still buy the e, could have had slightly larger battery from me. Was hoping for a version 2.0. Have been on holiday with it to Norway anyway and next year to Wales. Is all good to go. I don't mind squeezing maximum kilometres out of the battery. I drive as always have laced and always charge it to 100%. Should I need to do longer trips, I charge at fast chargers. Is all doable in the Netherlands. Car likes it well, packed with special tech, hence the high price, which you don't always use (and sometimes only once), but I like it.

[Verone]

I'd buy again, 100%

I feel like I'm one of the rare few who's had basically zero issues with their car so far (got it brand new in May, have covered 7,000km).
I'll be interested to see how it handles the Icelandic winters, but as of now, it's -5°c and everything's been fine, without issue.
It can be a little bit tail happy when it's icy, but you just have to learn to adjust your pedal inputs given the instant torque from an EV.

My only real negative points about the car so far have been:

- Door pockets are genuinely tiny on all four doors. I don't know what the fuck Honda expects you to put in them. You can't fit anything but a slim 330ml soda can in them, so don't try to drop a bottle of water in there.
- Lack of internet connectivity, but this is just down to my territory not supporting Honda's app. My dealer has said as they sell more cars that use it Honda will apparently be offering support in 2024.
- In heavy snowfall the flat front end of the car with no grille is a magnet for ice and snow, so sometimes if you're driving in heavy snow the front radar and sonar will shut off if there's a heavy build up of snow at the front.

Not really a negative, as it's sorted now, but storage space in the cabin is a little limited too. I fitted the optional driver's seat armrest and that gives a lot more space for storing things like a wallet, or charging cable, etc.

Outside that, the only thing that really limits the car is its range, but given the charging infrastructure is so good here in Iceland, it doesn't bother me in the slightest.
I average about 250km/week, generally zipping around town, with a little bit of highway driving mixed in too. I've been averaging about 190-210km per charge in the summer.
Now that it's winter and the temperature has dropped, I'm looking at around 150-160km per charge.
Both these figures are with preconditioning configured for an 07:00 home departure and a 15:30 work departure, Monday to Friday.
I also often use the preconditioning button on the remote if I know I'm going to be leaving the house in 30 or so.

For the best part, I'm typically charging when I'm at work or home, through a 7.7kw single phase Type 2 charger. It usually takes around 5 hours, which is perfect for a workday.
I plug in when arrive at work, and I'm at 100% when I'm ready to go home. It's just become part of the routine the same as charging my cell phone.
Generally I've gotten into the routine of charging on a Friday before I leave work so that I'm topped up for the weekend, and on a Monday or Tuesday whenever I need it.
I also often finding myself plugging in whenever I go somewhere and there's charging available, so I'm never really in need of power. Again though, this is down to the accessibility of local charging infrastructure.

The only time I have seen an issue with the car, it resolved itself within about 30 seconds.
This was when I was jet washing the car for the first time during the summer. I had it powered on while I was washing it so I could listen to music and when I got back in, basically every warning I know of in the car was on the dash.
Parking sensors disabled, sonar offline, radar offline, parking pilot disabled, LKAS offline, the whole works. The dash was lit up like a Christmas tree.
Being an engineer (lol), I powered the car off and back on again, and when it self checked at startup, everything went green again and was enabled.
I assume it was just from the jet washing messing with the sonar sensors in the bumpers and the radar system behind the front panel.

Outside that, the car has been an absolute joy to own so far. It's smooth to drive around town, but nippy enough to dart through traffic when you need it, and on longer trips I actually find the limited range helps.
If I ever take longer trips I find myself taking a break every couple of hours for a quick squirt of CCS power, which gives me time to grab a drink, take a break, and stretch my legs.
It's most certainly a city car first though, so I still maintain an old beater of a 2007 Subaru Legacy wagon as a cargo hauler. Given the size of it you could probably park the e in the footprint of its rear end when the seats are down.