Honda has been drip-feeding us with nuggets of information about the Honda e electric city car for nearly two years now. We've seen the concept car. We've seen the electric skateboard chassis. We've seen the funky digital mirror-cameras. We've seen the wide digital dash and interior. We've even seen some of the pre-sales figures.
Now, Honda is putting us out of our misery with some actual specifications for this thing. Not that it really needed to, the e is set to be a huge success simply based on its adorably humble looks. It's a tiny little electric urban runabout that's so mercilessly, relentlessly, heart-rendingly cute that I may personally start burning things down if it doesn't get a Hello Kitty edition and optional eyelashes for the headlights.
Here are the numbers: you can get 100 or 113-kilowatt versions (134 or 152 horsepower), and both versions will enjoy a peak torque of 315 Nm (232 lb-ft). It'll feel zippy, but not quite as zippy as a Nissan Leaf, taking around 8 seconds to "I think I can, I think I can" its way to 100 km/h (62 mph).
You'll get just 35.5 kWh of battery, but Honda claims that'll be good for up to 220 km (137 miles), and nobody's pretending this thing is a tourer. You'll use it around town, plug it in at home or at the office, and probably never need to use its ability to fast charge from 0-80 percent in 30 minutes.
There'll be "OK Honda" voice controls, which the company says will result in "natural conversations" and access to a range of online services. If you can't bear being away from it, there's a Honda e phone app that gives you a condition report, security and location monitoring, and the ability to heat and cool your car remotely. It's basically a ride-on Tamagotchi. Your phone is also your car key.
The Honda e will make its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and we feel there's really only one other piece of information we'll need: does the horn make a happy little "beep beep" sound? It better. Stay tuned, we'll ask the tough questions and get to the bottom of this.
Source: Honda
