Prospective buyer here - would welcome advice

[Distant]

I picked up a 20 version but would go for a 21. I had an annoying rattle from the dash area and it took Honda a fair while to sort out. Thankfully it was resolved. However based on driving the loan E which was a 21 it was whisper quiet (or just lucky) cameras are OK. However find them frustrating as they are low res and the top down version where they stitch the 360 is way below most 360 camera images on other cars.

Enjoy the car but thankful I only bought 2nd hand. Will definitely trade in later down the line but for now for short journeys etc it works fine and most importantly the kids love it. Definitely more heart over head... Good luck!

[5thcivic]

First time I’ve heard comments about the app of a negative nature.

You haven't read the forum much!

[MrM83]

I test drove one and saw another today.

In short I loved the drive, I had a smile on my face which I haven’t had in a car for a while. Loved hustling it around.

The drive was the highlight….

Thanks for the tips I was given before. Neither car had damage to the a pillar (from windows sticking). Both cars had paint missing from the bonnet where the wipers would have been lifted up. Both had quite a few marks/scratches etc, including some on the black plastic which I’m guessing might be harder to touch up? A bit disappointed to see a low ish condition of car offered for quite strong money.

Usual marks in alloys, interestingly one with 17s had near perfect condition face on the diamond cut piece but flaking black paint on the inner dished face which I thought was a bit odd. Not sure how that area gets exposed to damage.

Other observations. One of the door handles of one of the cars didn’t work at all, door wouldn’t open from the outside. I voiced concern to salesman about handles prior to even seeing the car so was quite funny in an unfunny way. The mechanism is certainly loud as mentioned here before

I quite liked the side cameras, found my right hand obscured the right one but imagine would get used to it. I managed to turn on the heated seats inadvertently as I’ve seen mentioned in reviews.

The centre screens were a bit odd. The resolution on some of the display seems a bit “fuzzy”. Text went from being quite clear to fuzzy, assume this isn’t normal? Doesn’t bother me massively but screen wasn’t the sharpest. The bolt upright angle of the screens was also a little strange, I think it would have felt more natural if they were at a slight angle?

Braking at very slow speed was quite noisy and felt abrasive. Less noticeable at higher speeds. Curious if this is normal?
Seats were comfy enough. There were no surprises given everything people had mentioned here.

I’m keen on one but would be nice to find one in a little better nick than this pair.

[EEEE]

The black parts of the car are not painted, they are just plastic. You can probably polish it out to an extent but might be hard work to not make it look worse.

The paint has been noticed to be quite thin and easily chipped - a few have commented as such.

My wheels , the diamond cut face is fine, but the aluminium centre caps are very badly corroded - I enquired at the dealer about a replacement under warranty but they weren't interested in helping. over 200quid for a set of 4...

I find front leg room a little cramped - we are all quite tall at work, so most of my passengers tend to bang knees on the dash, including the heated seat button.

Screens are not the highest resolution, and different applications have different fonts and aliasing, so there is an inconsistency in how some things look. The position of the screens is easy to get used to. On my first test drive I too thought they were close, but now I never even think of that.

The braking noise isn't normal - it's most likely from lack of use if sat on a dealer forecourt, the discs will have rusted up on the edges. A few miles journey should have sorted it out however. The brakes are very boring and shouldn't even be noticeable. I wish they were a bit sharper but I guess the car is a bit lardy so it makes sense to keep the weight of the controls similar.

[E-Honda]

Amazing car if you look at it a little bit like having a difficult pet, but you just love it anyway. If you love it enough, the things that are annoying are kinda part of of life and you have the energy and love to make it work easily.

Yes, get it:
So much fun to have. It’s always a pleasure seeing the car, stepping into and driving off. A real pleasure.
It’s comfortable, has a spacious interior in the front that makes it feel much larger than it is.
Pretty darn good sound system.
Handling it brilliant along with the acceleration and electric feel. I mean- BRILLIANT.
The interior is top class.
Fits a lot in if you are two people (trunk + foldable back seat).
Ingenious for the city and short trips. Turning radius.
The car is a head turner (still, 3 years later)

Na, don’t get it:
Range anxiety.
Small trunk.
Back seats don’t fold independently (only as one piece, so picking up two people from airport with luggage = nono).
Issues with entertainment system / car play :
Sluggish navigation and occasionally no audio comes through for music and painfully few updates addressing issues.
Back seats not very comfortable. Not a road trip car.
Super annoying parking sensors that yell at you about absolutely everything.

All in all. Best car I’ve ever driven and had a connection with. It’s a work of art… maybe that’s why it has some major snags, as it’s really kind of a concept car.

[Dorothee]

Well after pondering about it for over 2 months I’ve decided not to buy the e. Range anxiety, parts anxiety, battery anxiety and too expensive for it’s size.
Decided to get an EQE 350. This has a 300 mile range so no range anxiety. Still being produced so no parts anxiety. 300 mile range at 1000 estimated charge cycles means the battery is good for 300.000 miles so no battery anxiety.
I payed 53K for a ‘nearly new mercedes’ at the dealer. 2 years full warranty. Car is a 2022 with 11K kms (7K miles). Invoice originally was 91K. I also got a brandnew set of winter wheels in the deal, worth 2.7K.
For an e with that mileage i’d have to pay at least 25K. Add the set of winter wheels and I’m exactly at 50% of the EQE’s price. I feel that’s a way better deal. No disrespect intended.

[MattHero]

It's amazing what you can get if you're prepared to spend twice the amount. That's a sort of lesson I guess.

[MrM83]

Thanks again for the comments. I’m still looking for a car. A few competitively priced lower mileage examples have sold and more 2020 cars with higher mileage are coming up. Still nothing that’s ticked my boxes yet.

Can confirm an EQE 350 is not for me and doesn’t fit the criteria I’m looking for in a 3rd car. Looks nice though.

Parts anxiety is an interesting one. Surely there must be other marque’s, produced in low volumes that get discontinued? I’ve never really heard of it being a problem. What parts are of most concern?

[EEEE]

Well after pondering about it for over 2 months I’ve decided not to buy the e. Range anxiety, parts anxiety, battery anxiety and too expensive for it’s size.
Decided to get an EQE 350. This has a 300 mile range so no range anxiety. Still being produced so no parts anxiety. 300 mile range at 1000 estimated charge cycles means the battery is good for 300.000 miles so no battery anxiety.
I payed 53K for a ‘nearly new mercedes’ at the dealer. 2 years full warranty. Car is a 2022 with 11K kms (7K miles). Invoice originally was 91K. I also got a brandnew set of winter wheels in the deal, worth 2.7K.
For an e with that mileage I’d have to pay at least 25K. Add the set of winter wheels and I’m exactly at 50% of the EQE’s price. I feel that’s a way better deal. No disrespect intended.

I think you've hit the nail on the head - the car is just too expensive for the utility it provides. For some who don't need to do mega miles or don't need it to be a big car, its fine (hence why its some people 2nd or 3rd car).

I think that is why we are also not seeing many electric cars in the small car segment. The economies of scale don't add up yet, so most EVs tend to be in the larger/SUV class. Who wants to pay 25k to do 100 miles max?

I wouldn't worry too much about parts availability - Honda are pretty decent in this regard, but time will tell, it is a low production vehicle afterall. I can still get a fair number of parts for my 97-01 Prelude from Honda with only some obscure/large/trim parts now starting to be no longer available, but that was a 5year production run, and closer to 100k units, and shares engine parts with other lines etc etc.

I suspect that parts availability for newer electric cars is probably equally as bad between all the marques - it's not unheard of for people with their shiny new cars stuck at dealers waiting months for parts...

[s2ke]

I have a launch car. Needed a new 12v, sometimes won't play with certain chargers but I really like it

It's like a dodgem. I can't part with it currently.

Characterful and mine has been reliable, no handle probs

I still have a couple of S2000s, one boosted. Brilliant cars