Discussion
I know that customer cars are still a month or 3 away from being delivered, but has anyone had a test drive yet?
I stumbled across a video, and have now watched maybe a dozen of them. Mostly youtubers in purple press cars.
Something about it is really appealing to me - I love quirky cars. Not in the standard purple though.
Boxy and tiny, not that practical, but very cheap. Old-school baby hot hatch performance (I've owned a few over the years). Loved my last one - Picanto turbo.
I'm concerned about the fake engine noise and fake gearbox. Hopefully you can have boost mode without the fakery?
I stumbled across a video, and have now watched maybe a dozen of them. Mostly youtubers in purple press cars.
Something about it is really appealing to me - I love quirky cars. Not in the standard purple though.
Boxy and tiny, not that practical, but very cheap. Old-school baby hot hatch performance (I've owned a few over the years). Loved my last one - Picanto turbo.
I'm concerned about the fake engine noise and fake gearbox. Hopefully you can have boost mode without the fakery?
clockworks said:
I know that customer cars are still a month or 3 away from being delivered, but has anyone had a test drive yet?
I stumbled across a video, and have now watched maybe a dozen of them. Mostly youtubers in purple press cars.
Something about it is really appealing to me - I love quirky cars. Not in the standard purple though.
Boxy and tiny, not that practical, but very cheap. Old-school baby hot hatch performance (I've owned a few over the years). Loved my last one - Picanto turbo.
I'm concerned about the fake engine noise and fake gearbox. Hopefully you can have boost mode without the fakery?
Not driven one but saw one last week at Honda Leicester. Funny looking thing. I couldn’t have one myself.I stumbled across a video, and have now watched maybe a dozen of them. Mostly youtubers in purple press cars.
Something about it is really appealing to me - I love quirky cars. Not in the standard purple though.
Boxy and tiny, not that practical, but very cheap. Old-school baby hot hatch performance (I've owned a few over the years). Loved my last one - Picanto turbo.
I'm concerned about the fake engine noise and fake gearbox. Hopefully you can have boost mode without the fakery?
Copied from the other thread
Test drove one today
Marmite cars, I get why people don t like them
But what a fking hoot to drive, slow, plasticky and looks like a cross between a Honda e and a Renault Twizzy. And drives like that combo too, hilarious
The want is huge, but I just bought a Hyundai Kona recently ffs
Test drove one today
Marmite cars, I get why people don t like them
But what a fking hoot to drive, slow, plasticky and looks like a cross between a Honda e and a Renault Twizzy. And drives like that combo too, hilarious
The want is huge, but I just bought a Hyundai Kona recently ffs
What Car? give it 4/5:
https://www.whatcar.com/honda/super-n/city-car/rev...
I like small cars a lot, I've had various Fiat / Suzuki / Hyundai over the years. But I'm not sold on how it looks, unlike the Honda E which was fabulous, although it had pitiful range.
https://www.whatcar.com/honda/super-n/city-car/rev...
I like small cars a lot, I've had various Fiat / Suzuki / Hyundai over the years. But I'm not sold on how it looks, unlike the Honda E which was fabulous, although it had pitiful range.
sixor8 said:
What Car? give it 4/5:
https://www.whatcar.com/honda/super-n/city-car/rev...
I like small cars a lot, I've had various Fiat / Suzuki / Hyundai over the years. But I'm not sold on how it looks, unlike the Honda E which was fabulous, although it had pitiful range.
Good to finally see a proper video review, comparing the Super N to other small cars.https://www.whatcar.com/honda/super-n/city-car/rev...
I like small cars a lot, I've had various Fiat / Suzuki / Hyundai over the years. But I'm not sold on how it looks, unlike the Honda E which was fabulous, although it had pitiful range.
Everything I've read or watched so far is very positive, just marking down the range, boot space with the rear seats in place, and the budget interior plastics. All fair points.
The only one that worries me is the interior quality.
Looking back over the 18 months that I've owned my EV3, I haven't driven more than 90 miles. The back seat has been used 3 times, and I've dropped the rear seats twice. I really don't need a "big" car these days, and we've always got her Inster to fall back on if we need longer range or a bit more space.
hidetheelephants said:
There's plenty of the non-barryed version on goo net; I prefer it and the prices are quite attractive.
Looks to cost about £13k to £14k with shipping and VAT.No "boost" feature on these though, so just 63bhp.
I prefer the "Barry boy" looks as well.
Given the choice, I'd happily pay the extra £5k to £6k for a UK-specific, brand new, Super N.
Or, give it 6 months and buy an ex-demo for £15k-ish.
clockworks said:
hidetheelephants said:
There's plenty of the non-barryed version on goo net; I prefer it and the prices are quite attractive.
Looks to cost about £13k to £14k with shipping and VAT.No "boost" feature on these though, so just 63bhp.
I prefer the "Barry boy" looks as well.
Given the choice, I'd happily pay the extra £5k to £6k for a UK-specific, brand new, Super N.
Or, give it 6 months and buy an ex-demo for £15k-ish.
Frimley111R said:
In theory it is great but it'll be relatively expensive against competitors and few people in the UK at least buy these really small cars.
Is it expensive for the spec?ICE competitors are the baby Hyundai/Kia models and maybe the Aygo, £21k in top spec
EV competitors are the Spring and Twingo, plus some pretty nasty Stellantis/Leapmotor stuff and unproven Chinese models.
Super N at £19k seems reasonably priced against the competition, taking into account the spec and the 8 year (as long as you stick with dealer servicing) warranty.
The Spring does stand out as being very cheap admittedly, if all you want is "a car".
It is pretty niche, but to me that's the appeal.
clockworks said:
Good to finally see a proper video review, comparing the Super N to other small cars.
Everything I've read or watched so far is very positive, just marking down the range, boot space with the rear seats in place, and the budget interior plastics. All fair points.
The only one that worries me is the interior quality.
Looking back over the 18 months that I've owned my EV3, I haven't driven more than 90 miles. The back seat has been used 3 times, and I've dropped the rear seats twice. I really don't need a "big" car these days, and we've always got her Inster to fall back on if we need longer range or a bit more space.
I wouldn't worry about the interior quality. At least I didn't when I looked at one and test drove it. Yes it's hard plastics, but so what. It all looked well-built to me. I noticed the same movement in the drive selector as in the Whatcar video, but it doesn't look like it's going to fall apart. I bet it will look better in 5 years than the BYD or Citroën that they tested it against. After all, it's a Honda. Everything I've read or watched so far is very positive, just marking down the range, boot space with the rear seats in place, and the budget interior plastics. All fair points.
The only one that worries me is the interior quality.
Looking back over the 18 months that I've owned my EV3, I haven't driven more than 90 miles. The back seat has been used 3 times, and I've dropped the rear seats twice. I really don't need a "big" car these days, and we've always got her Inster to fall back on if we need longer range or a bit more space.
Some information that I posted on yhe earlier review thread...
"I test drove one of these today. A purple one. I do not like the colour, but do like them in the other colours available, especially white. Not a fan of the two tone option either. Thinking of it as a second car to go with my Toyota GR86.
Anyway, more about the way it drove and how it felt. I have to point out that this is the first ev I have ever driven, but it felt very simple and easy to drive within a couple of minutes.
Negative points first. Bad wind noise at 60-70mph. Noticeably bad at 70. Because it is a narrow car, I hit my elbow on the door / door handle ledge during some spirited cornering a number of times. The steering was lighter than I was expecting and not really any feel from it. I guess all negatives that you can put towards it being a cheap, small and modern (re. Electric power steering) car, but none where real deal breakers for me when considering what I'd use it for.
Now the good bits. The test drive was in Dorchester and then out on a combination of fast A roads, dual carriageway and country roads to Milton Abbas and back. It was a good laugh. It had plenty of power in boost mode on these roads. Kept up with all traffic that i came up against and felt held back by some. Suspension felt well controlled and damped for UK roads, a bit like my old Suzuki Swift Sport zc32s. It felt small and easy to place.
I played with the fake manual gears in boost mode and it was a laugh, but I feel a bit of a novelty and the fake engine noise was a bit crap. If I lived with it, I'd probably never use the fake gears after the initial go, as whilst I like (love) a manual gearbox, I kind of don't see the point in an ev car. I'd rather have an authentic petrol manual and an authentic ev direct drive car if you know what I mean.
I did 30 miles. It was on 100% when I got in and 66% when I got back. 30°C weather with a/c on, so say about a 90 mile range. This was mostly in boost mode having some fun. It recorded 3m/kWh when in boost mode, then after about 25 miles I put it in city mode, reset the meter and just kept with the flow of the traffic. Low speed only up to 40mph, stop / start and mostly in town. This recorded 5m/kWh over the last 5 miles, so I think you could easily beat the 128 mile range once you got used to it and weren't being a loon. It felt fast enough to keep with most traffic in the lower power modes. Buy the way, Carwow Mat had tested the 0-60 in boost mode at 8.5 seconds and I can well believe it. It did feel old school hot hatch fast up to 60 and had enough torque low down to unsettle the tyres / grip levels.
I'm 6ft and had great space front and back. You really could get four 6ft people in it with room to spare, so long as none are too wide, especially in front due to the side bolstering of the seats. Small boot, but big enough for my needs and massive when you put the seats down with a really low lip. I feel two people could sit in it and have a picnic. Plus the rear magic seats are a great feature.
I liked it and thought it was a fun car and could live with it as part of a two car setup. However, some things are preventing me. The £727 insurance cost when I can insure a Mazda mx5 nd3 2.0 Homura for £230 on the same terms. And the future eVED at 3p per mile. Maybe the insurance is high due to only just being released, but it holds me back for sure.
Other cars that I'm considering are another SSS zc32s or a newer zc33s (either original turbo, or revised mild hybrid turbo), or Mazda mx5 nd3 1.5 or 2.0. I know this looks like I'm cross shopping completely different cars, but I don't really need a second car, just fancy having something else to split my annual mileage with that gives me something that the GR86 doesn't. Anyway, I hope this helps anyone thinking of one."
I'm so not interested in any of its competitors at its price point. Closest EV I'd perhaps consider is a secondhand Abarth 500E. Still thinking things over and will probably make a decision on what I want in the next month or so.
"I test drove one of these today. A purple one. I do not like the colour, but do like them in the other colours available, especially white. Not a fan of the two tone option either. Thinking of it as a second car to go with my Toyota GR86.
Anyway, more about the way it drove and how it felt. I have to point out that this is the first ev I have ever driven, but it felt very simple and easy to drive within a couple of minutes.
Negative points first. Bad wind noise at 60-70mph. Noticeably bad at 70. Because it is a narrow car, I hit my elbow on the door / door handle ledge during some spirited cornering a number of times. The steering was lighter than I was expecting and not really any feel from it. I guess all negatives that you can put towards it being a cheap, small and modern (re. Electric power steering) car, but none where real deal breakers for me when considering what I'd use it for.
Now the good bits. The test drive was in Dorchester and then out on a combination of fast A roads, dual carriageway and country roads to Milton Abbas and back. It was a good laugh. It had plenty of power in boost mode on these roads. Kept up with all traffic that i came up against and felt held back by some. Suspension felt well controlled and damped for UK roads, a bit like my old Suzuki Swift Sport zc32s. It felt small and easy to place.
I played with the fake manual gears in boost mode and it was a laugh, but I feel a bit of a novelty and the fake engine noise was a bit crap. If I lived with it, I'd probably never use the fake gears after the initial go, as whilst I like (love) a manual gearbox, I kind of don't see the point in an ev car. I'd rather have an authentic petrol manual and an authentic ev direct drive car if you know what I mean.
I did 30 miles. It was on 100% when I got in and 66% when I got back. 30°C weather with a/c on, so say about a 90 mile range. This was mostly in boost mode having some fun. It recorded 3m/kWh when in boost mode, then after about 25 miles I put it in city mode, reset the meter and just kept with the flow of the traffic. Low speed only up to 40mph, stop / start and mostly in town. This recorded 5m/kWh over the last 5 miles, so I think you could easily beat the 128 mile range once you got used to it and weren't being a loon. It felt fast enough to keep with most traffic in the lower power modes. Buy the way, Carwow Mat had tested the 0-60 in boost mode at 8.5 seconds and I can well believe it. It did feel old school hot hatch fast up to 60 and had enough torque low down to unsettle the tyres / grip levels.
I'm 6ft and had great space front and back. You really could get four 6ft people in it with room to spare, so long as none are too wide, especially in front due to the side bolstering of the seats. Small boot, but big enough for my needs and massive when you put the seats down with a really low lip. I feel two people could sit in it and have a picnic. Plus the rear magic seats are a great feature.
I liked it and thought it was a fun car and could live with it as part of a two car setup. However, some things are preventing me. The £727 insurance cost when I can insure a Mazda mx5 nd3 2.0 Homura for £230 on the same terms. And the future eVED at 3p per mile. Maybe the insurance is high due to only just being released, but it holds me back for sure.
Other cars that I'm considering are another SSS zc32s or a newer zc33s (either original turbo, or revised mild hybrid turbo), or Mazda mx5 nd3 1.5 or 2.0. I know this looks like I'm cross shopping completely different cars, but I don't really need a second car, just fancy having something else to split my annual mileage with that gives me something that the GR86 doesn't. Anyway, I hope this helps anyone thinking of one."
I'm so not interested in any of its competitors at its price point. Closest EV I'd perhaps consider is a secondhand Abarth 500E. Still thinking things over and will probably make a decision on what I want in the next month or so.
clockworks said:
sixor8 said:
What Car? give it 4/5:
https://www.whatcar.com/honda/super-n/city-car/rev...
I like small cars a lot, I've had various Fiat / Suzuki / Hyundai over the years. But I'm not sold on how it looks, unlike the Honda E which was fabulous, although it had pitiful range.
Good to finally see a proper video review, comparing the Super N to other small cars.https://www.whatcar.com/honda/super-n/city-car/rev...
I like small cars a lot, I've had various Fiat / Suzuki / Hyundai over the years. But I'm not sold on how it looks, unlike the Honda E which was fabulous, although it had pitiful range.
Everything I've read or watched so far is very positive, just marking down the range, boot space with the rear seats in place, and the budget interior plastics. All fair points.
The only one that worries me is the interior quality.
Looking back over the 18 months that I've owned my EV3, I haven't driven more than 90 miles. The back seat has been used 3 times, and I've dropped the rear seats twice. I really don't need a "big" car these days, and we've always got her Inster to fall back on if we need longer range or a bit more space.
Yeah there is lots of scratchy plastics but the overall feel is decent quality, I was pleasantly surprised
I really like them and I am glad they exist but it wouldn't work for my situation. I have a Renault 5 and that is about the minimum range I would entertain for an electric car. 2-3x a week it does a 125 mile round trip and every couple of weeks I do 300 mile round trip days. Higher use case but it's a none starter for me. As a second car I love the idea of it, but for the money a second car would have to be something petrol and fun. I have a DC5 Type R in my case! I am hoping to see a few of them on the road. The only EV I liked until the Renault 5 came out was the Honda E. If they could have given me that with the R5 range I would have bought one years ago.
Goatwidcoat said:
I really like them and I am glad they exist but it wouldn't work for my situation. I have a Renault 5 and that is about the minimum range I would entertain for an electric car. 2-3x a week it does a 125 mile round trip and every couple of weeks I do 300 mile round trip days. Higher use case but it's a none starter for me. As a second car I love the idea of it, but for the money a second car would have to be something petrol and fun. I have a DC5 Type R in my case! I am hoping to see a few of them on the road. The only EV I liked until the Renault 5 came out was the Honda E. If they could have given me that with the R5 range I would have bought one years ago.
All the more reason that Honda should also import the non-Fandango N One E, as it has a range of 183 miles.Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff