According to Honda, the e:N1 is their first fully electric car to launch in New Zealand, designed the “Honda Way,” – car first, EV second. While “the platform is new, the renowned Honda dynamic remains – a driver experience that is engaging, joyful and fun”.
We spent a week and 500 km behind the wheel in the real world to see how it lives up to these claims.
What We Like and Dislike About The 2025 Honda e:N1
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Great to drive Well-built Spacious Design Honda Sensing Rear load cover | Hidden start/stop button Range uncertainty No 360-degree camera Rear camera image quality Ventilation controls via the screen No charge cable Infortainment warning Energy consumption |
What’s In The 2025 Honda e:N1 Range?
Strictly speaking, it is a single-car range, but it is related to the hybrid HR-V Sport we reviewed last year. Almost uniquely, in New Zealand it is labelled the e:N1 where in much of the rest of the world it is e:Ny1, which seems to fit with the abbreviation being used locally, the salesperson calling it the “Anyone”.
2025 Honda e:N1 Colour Range
The colour range is limited, with a choice of just two:
- Aqua Topaz Metallic (the colour of our car)
- Platinum White Pearl
There is no extra charge for either colour.
For a full list of specs and options available for the 2024 Honda HR-V Sport, head on over to Honda New Zealand’s website.
How Does The 2025 Honda e:N1 Compare To Its Competition?
This area of the market is surprisingly quite busy, with a good number of vehicles from across the car market to select from. Being electric, the performance and range are perhaps more similar than they once were. It then comes down to how competently the entire package has been designed and works.
| Make/ Model | Battery Capacity kW-hr | Power/ Torque kW/Nm | 0-100km/h seconds | Range (WLTP), km | Boot Space, litres | Price, $ |
| Subaru Solterra | 71.4 | 160/337 | 6.9 | 414 | 410 | 75,000 |
| Volvo EX30 | 69 | 200/343 | 5.3 | 462 | 318 | 63,990 |
| Toyota bZ4X Pure FWD | 71.4 | 150/266 | 7.5 | 432 | 441 | 57.990 |
| BYD Atto 3 Superior | 60.5 | 150/310 | 7.3 | 420 | 440 | 55,990 |
| Mini Countryman Electric | 66.5 | 150/250 | 8.6 | 462 | 460 | 55,990 |
| Kia EV3 Light SR | 58.3 | 1503283 | 7.5 | 436 | 460 | 55,520 |
| Nissan Ariya Engage | 64 | 160/300 | 7.5 | 398 | 466 | 54,990 |
| Leapmotor C10 | 69.9 | 160/320 | 7.5 | 420 | 581 | 54,990 |
| Honda e:N1 | 68.8 | 150/310 | 7.7 | 412 | 348 | 52,000 |
| Geely EX5 Complete | 62 | 160/320 | 6.9 | 430 | 410 | 51,990 |
| Mini Aceman E | 38.5 | 135/290 | 7.9 | 310 | 300 | 51,990 |
| MG S5 EV Excite 62 | 62 | 125/250 | 8.2 | 430 | 453 | 50,990 |
| Omoda E5 EX | 61 | 150/340 | 7.6 | 430 | 450 | 44,990 |
Please note that DriveLife does its best to ensure the information above is correct at the time of publication; however, prices, specifications, and models can change over time. Please bear that in mind when comparing models in the comparison table.
First Impressions Of The 2025 Honda e:N1
My first impressions were very favourable. The e:N1 is an all-new model for Honda and the first 100% EV they have launched in New Zealand. Visually, the body is very similar in form and proportions to the HR-V, however, it sits on a unique EV platform called the e:N Architecture F.
A design feature on the rear doors has the exterior door handles disguised, located where you would often expect a small quarter-glass window. From the front three-quarter angle, you could almost see it as a two-door? Once familiar with its location, it is a non-issue, and in appearance, it leaves the rear quarter very clean.
What’s The Interior Like In The 2025 Honda e:N1?
Inside, the driver is greeted by a large 15.3” central infotainment screen, a nod perhaps to the Tesla-led “expectations” of what makes an EV. The screen minimises the need for actual buttons and knobs, resulting in a clean and uncluttered interior.
While it might appear minimalist, it is, however, well-appointed. It comes with a comprehensive set of tech, including Honda Sensing we are familiar with, much of which simply makes ownership easy. Features like keyless entry, mirrors that fold away on parking, power adjustment of the driver’s seat, wifi charging pad for a cell phone, and phone integration. They are all there.
The ivory-coloured headlining helps create a feeling of spaciousness, a contrast that works well with the largely dark trim of the seats, dash, door cards, and carpet.
The “Sports leather-appointed seats” are very comfortable and supportive, looking good with their white and blue stitching highlights. The driver’s seat has 8-way electric adjustment, something I am always a fan of, as it provides so much finer control of your seating position.
The driver has a conventional set of controls on the steering wheel for phone and sound system, menus for display options on the dash, and cruise control settings. The dash behind it is a simple and clear freestanding digital screen.
Immediately behind the wheel are a couple of paddles to modify the amount of regenerative braking. To the left side of the dash, a simple +/- button is used to adjust the light levels of the screens and the interior LED strip lighting.
The central infotainment touchscreen displays three distinct sections of information. The top section is used for navigation, offering built-in maps, or it can be connected to your phone wirelessly for Apple CarPlay, or via a cable connection for Android Auto. A simplified set of navigation instructions is also presented on the dash, for example, a right-turn arrow with a distance to the intersection decreasing as you approach it.
The middle section of the infotainment screen is where the main vehicle-related apps and system settings can be displayed and adjusted. One setting shows an animation of power flow to and from the main battery, while another is for fine adjustments to the audio sound. Other functions include options for modifying the preset button presses on the remote key, for example, to control the opening/closing of windows.
The bottom section of the screen is dedicated to the ventilation system controls, complete with a visualisation of the chosen air flow. Along the bottom of the touchscreen is a consistent set of ventilation functions. In the centre of these is a physical hazard lights button, and to the extreme driver’s side are two small “real” buttons to provide quick keys to the important safety ventilation controls for clearing the windscreen, back window, and side mirrors. Good call, Honda.
Distributed evenly across the dashboard are four air vents there to direct air to your face. The two outer ones have an additional rotary knob that can direct air either through the conventional adjustable vent or via an outer slot, sending a diffused air stream up and away from you.
Beneath the infotainment screen on the lower centre console is a single Qi wireless charging pad, and alongside is a USB-A socket for data (Android Auto connection) and power, a USB-C power socket, and a 12-volt power outlet – good for the dash cam.
Immediately behind are the control buttons for gear selection, and next come a couple of cup holders located towards the passenger, while on the driver’s side are the controls for drive modes and the handbrake.
Storage options in the front of the car are OK, but not generous. On the passenger’s side of the dash is the usual glove box, which is largely taken up with the owner’s manual. Both front passengers have door pockets with space for a drink bottle and a little more beside, and a small storage bin is provided under the centre armrest.
The back seats are sufficiently comfortable for two adults, but three would be cosy. There are a couple of air vents in the back of the centre console, and two USB-C power outlets. The centre seat back has the usual fold-down armrest, complete with two cup holders. There are two further cup holders integrated into the armrest on the doors.
The rear load cover is conveniently attached to the back door, so when opened, it allows clear access. Within the load area, the centre section floor can be set both flush with the opening lip or slightly lower to increase the load capacity. The two side pockets have load restraining straps. The car is supplied with a tyre repair kit and pump, stored beneath the boot floor.
What’s The 2025 Honda e:N1 Like To Drive?
Driving away from picking up the car (from Honda Wellington), the in-built navigation told me I was driving the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. Disappointingly, I was still in Wellington, the car being good for transportation, not teleportation. Shame.
I enjoyed my time with the e:N1, it drives and handles very competently in a way that you quickly feel right at home, as if you’d been living with it for ages.
The handling, cornering, and grip are well sorted, while steering is nicely weighted and communicative. The calibration of the “Normal” drive mode matched my expectations for performance and responsiveness. I was pleasantly surprised by just how “light and agile” Honda has managed to make this car feel, all the more impressive for an EV with a heavy battery pack.
Sport mode offers sharper responsiveness and is magic for more spirited driving or simply a quick maneuvers like overtaking. Left in Sport, it could at times be all too easy to gather too much speed, the quietness not giving you the usual cues of speed. The Eco drive mode is, as you’d expect, the least responsive, but still adequately measured to deliver a satisfactory driving experience, so much so that I used it for most of my commuting. For me, this is another example that illustrates Honda understands the pleasures of driving.
Two paddles behind the steering wheel allow you to increase or decrease the amount of regenerative braking through three levels. In practice, these don’t have much influence; when selecting the highest level, you could feel its slowing presence, just not as much as I was looking for. And, when using this, it didn’t remain selected for long, quickly being canceled. I simply reverted to using the brake pedal as in a regular automatic car.
Honda’s Sensing safety systems have been around a while now, and they’re just so polished and with no surprises. There is no errant lane steering; the system operates very much in the background, only taking action when you have deviated beyond the lane. Adaptive cruise control works similarly well, complete with stop/start functionality. It also offers a handy note on the dash to let you know when the car in front of you has moved, but only when your reaction time has been slower than you would consider reasonable.
Information presented on the driver’s dash is clear, but without a binnacle, it can be prone to reflections at times. There is a lot of useful information, and for someone new to the car, you can find yourself searching around the screen for specific information. With time, you do get familiar with where to look.
On one cold morning, the car displayed an “ice warning” snowflake, which flashed up as soon as I started the car. Curiously, it was orange-red, and at about 20 mm in diameter, it sure got my attention. I am more familiar with these being blue, small, and located beside the temperature reading. The warning did not last long, just a matter of seconds, and oddly, there was no residual reminder that icy conditions prevailed, despite the temperature reading -4 degrees.
Another impact of the cold morning was that it led to further warning notices advising that some of the “driver assist” systems could not operate due to either poor visibility or informing me that the windscreen “required cleaning” (which it didn’t). I put it down to condensation between the sensor in the rear-view mirror housing and the windscreen.
One warning notice quickly became rather annoying, and if there is a way to cancel it, I didn’t find it. Every time I started the car, on the infotainment screen, I needed to acknowledge a warning notice: “the driver is responsible for the safe operation of the car, and to only use the screen when safe to do so”. Only after pressing “OK” could I then see and use any of the navigation or vehicle systems controls. Without accepting this, only the ventilation system controls were displayed. I don’t mind acknowledging this ONCE, but every time, really?
The e:N1 comes with many well-considered features that make living with it easy. To highlight some of these, in the settings, you can choose for the car to lock itself as you walk away with the key. It chirps to let you know it’s locked, and you can also add to this the option to auto-fold the mirrors. I especially like this as it both protects the mirrors while giving visual confirmation that the car is locked with the mirrors folded.
Another smart thinking option is to have the headlights come on if the wipers are activated, so you are more visible to others when the weather turns bad enough for wipers. The auto high beam works well, dipping for any vehicles within sight, responding equally well to traffic ahead of you, whether simply in front or oncoming.
The air-con heater function clears the windows and heats the car quickly. It was surprising not to have heated seats or steering wheel, as these are more energy-efficient than running the AC.
Unfortunately, not everything was as rosy. On the not-so-good side, the reverse camera was one feature that appeared rather low-tech, and at odds with the rest of the vehicle. The image quality is not good. It does offer some alternative view angles, but due to the poor image, I would not rely on it when maneuvering in tight spaces. There is no 360-degree view option.
It was disappointing to find that while Apple CarPlay can wirelessly connect your phone to the car, Android Auto requires a cable connection. Really? Having to connect via a cable negates the benefit of having a wireless charging pad.
Over my week in the car, I covered nearly 500km. I’d seen claims of its range from 450 km up to 500km, and this is consistent with its 68.8 kWh-sized battery.
Unfortunately, there is a “however” here, too. When I collected the car, it was not full (43%), and over the week, I ended up fully charging it twice. At 100% it indicated a range of 372km, much lower than I expected, but still a useful range for a regular around-town car.
One significant drain on the battery turned out to be the air conditioner (AC). On average, using it would reduce the predicted range by around 30%. This applied even if only the fan was on, but with the AC off. A good reason for the more-efficient heated seats or a heated steering wheel. (For those less familiar with EVs, using the AC in our Nissan Leaf reduces the range by 7 to 8%.)
I also found the range prediction could be inconsistent with the distance travelled, and I became rather nervous about its “real” range. At the end of one day, the predicted range read 161km. Restarting and moving the car, the range fell to 146km. Moving the car a second time, the range fell to 136km. The next morning, simply turning it on, it read 126km.
I was all the more nervous about the range, because the car had no charge cable for me to top it up at home. It was not clear if this was just missing from the test car or if it was the standard specification.
I did question if the car was so new that it simply hadn’t gathered enough driving data to make more accurate predictions. A quick internet search dispelled this, suggesting this can be the case up to perhaps 500km. The car, having travelled more than 1400km, it should have sufficient data for accurate predictions of range.
So, how economical is the Honda e:N1? On the dash, it showed the consumption to range from 3.2 to 3.4 km/kWh (converts to 31.5 to 29.4 kWh/100km). This is around twice what I would have expected. By comparison, our 40kWh battery Leaf achieves 6.8 to 7.0 km/kWh (14.7 to 14.3 kWh/100km). We did experience some frosty mornings, and cold temperatures will affect the range of an EV. But this alone does not fully explain the high consumption rate. Over the second half of my week with the car, I had driven it in Eco mode; however, that didn’t appear to have made much improvement.
READ ON TO CHECK OUT OUR SUMMARY OF THE YEAR 2025 HONDA e:N1.
2025 Honda e:N1 – Specifications
| Vehicle Type | 5-door, compact Electric SUV |
| Starting Price | $52,000 |
| Price as Tested | $52,000 |
| Engine | Electric |
| Power, Torque kW/Nm | 150/310 |
| Transmission | – |
| Spare Wheel | n/a – tyre repair kit |
| Kerb Weight, Kg | 1,662 |
| Length x Width x Height mm | 4380 x 1790 x 1592 |
| Boot Space / Cargo Capacity, Litres (seats up/seats down) | 348/1,176 |
| Battery capacity, kWh | 68.8 |
| Energy Economy, kWh/100km | Advertised Spec – Combined – 18.2 Real-World Test – Combined – ~30 Low Usage: 6-10 / Medium Usage 11-19 / High Usage 19+ |
| Towing Capacity Kg, unbraked/braked | Not rated |
| Turning circle metres | 11.4 Small: 6-10m / Medium 10-12m / Large 12m+ |
| Warranty | 5 years – unlimited km Warranty 8 years or 160,000km, Battery warranty, whichever comes first 5 years – Honda Roadside assist – |
| Safety information | ANCAP Rating – not rated Rightcar.govt.nz – 5 Stars – RCY415 |
Have you enjoyed this review? Be sure to join our monthly email newsletter list so you don’t miss a single car review!
