2023 Honda e:Ny1 Prototype: price, specs, release date

- Honda e:Ny1 Prototype previews new SUV
- Will offer more space and longer range than Honda e
- Expected to go on sale in 2023, priced from around £30,000
Honda used the launch of the new hybrid Civic to tease an electric SUV – called the Honda e:Ny1 Prototype. It'll be the second pure-electric in Honda's lineup and will look to appeal to a broader spectrum of buyers than the Honda e hatchback – Honda's first EV which has been criticised for its tight interior and low range – when it goes on sale in 2023.
2023 Honda e:Ny1 Prototype: price and release date
The Honda Honda e:Ny1 Prototype previews a new Honda SUV that is set to go on sale next year and will be the second EV in Honda's line-up slotting in on top of the Honda e hatchback. The new SUV will be around the size of cars like the Hyundai Kona EV and Vauxhall Mokka-e. As a result, you can expect it to be priced from about £30,000.

Honda e:Ny1 Prototype exterior and interior
The Honda e:Ny1 Prototype previews an SUV that's designed to appeal to families more than the tiny Honda e hatchback EV. The new crossover is expected to be a similar size to the Honda Jazz.
In styling terms, though, it looks closer to the HR-V with a blunt nose and a tall roofline. The early images shared by Honda show a car with raised suspension and chunky wheel arch trims that should see off errant shopping trolleys in the supermarket car park. The only other feature of note in these early designs is the rear light bar that injects an EVness into the car's appearance at night.
The e:Ny1's short bonnet is made possible by its small electric motor while you can expect it to have aerodynamic-friendly features like a bluff nose, flat underside and a boot-mounted spoiler to improve efficiency.
While the e:Ny1's exterior has similarities to Hondas currently on sale, expect the interior to feel quite different with a flat floor and a floating centre console that makes it feel light and air from inside.
Honda is likely to give its new crossover a huge 15-inch centre infotainment screen that means the interior won't be awash with buttons, while behind the steering wheel another display will take the place of conventional dials.
Expect the e:Ny1 Prototype-based SUV to have room for tall adults in the front and the back, and to be packed full of Honda's family-friendly features including its famous Magic Seats – rear-seat squabs that fold up like cinema chairs allowing you to carry tall items (like a bicycle) in the footwell.

Honda e:Ny1 Prototype: battery and performance
The new Honda SUV that'll be based on the e:Ny1 Prototype will use a lengthened version of the platform that underpins the Honda e hatchback. As a result, you can expect it to have a 68.8kWh battery that would give it a range of more than 300 miles on a single charge – more than double the Honda e's range. Performance, meanwhile, is likely to be similar with the new SUV getting from 0-62mph in less than nine seconds.
While the new SUV will be capable of long-distance driving – and you can expect it to come with a full suite of autonomous driving modes to help – it'll feel most at home in the city where it's single gear means it will drive like an automatic. Factor in the EV's regenerative brakes, which slow the car automatically when you take your foot off the accelerator pedal, and silent running, and you'll struggle to find a conventional SUV that's as relaxing to drive in town.
The Honda e: Ny1 is expected to cost around £30,000 when it goes on sale next year.
The Honda e is the only electric car Honda currently sells, although it will soon be joined by a production version of the Honda e:Ny1 Prototype, which will be the company's second EV.
The production version of the Honda e:Ny1 Prototype is expected to have a range of up to 310 miles.
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