Why we’re running it: To find out if the brand’s first electric SUV can impress in a crowded class
Month 1 - Specs
Life with a Honda e:Ny1: Month 1
Welcoming the Honda to the fleet - 6 March 2023
The big issue, then: have we decided how to say 'Honda e:Ny1' yet? I mean, it's not a name that trips off the tongue.
Are we supposed to just spell out each letter, making it E-N-Y-1? That's a bit of a mouthful. Is it 'En-Y-1'?
Or perhaps Enny-one? Anyone? Okay, I'm overthinking this, but I've had cause to: the Honda SUV-shaped space outside my house after waving goodbye to a ZR-V has been filled by an e:Ny1, and I've been struggling to explain what it is to people.
The e:Ny1 isn't a common sight in the UK, so I've had a few people ask me what 1t 1s - and the model name offers precious few clues, usually prompting a shrug of vague incomprehension in response.
So what is the eNyl? Well, at its simplest, it's an electric equivalent of the HR-V hybrid crossover, except that Honda's marketing people don't want to call it an HR-V EV, because they want to market their electric cars as separate offerings that are part of a distinct e-branded line-up.
Then again, Honda clearly is marketing them as siblings: it has made much of offering the two on finance deals with matching monthly payments, so all you need to do is pick whether a hybrid or an electric powertrain suits you best. Maybe I'm not the only one overthinking this...
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Oh dear. First a stupid name followed by a stupid price, lukewarm press reviews and now, surprise a £5k price realignment. Where Honda once was at the forefront of innovation and quality, it now seems commited to me-too EVs without any design direction and a hit and miss approach to its products. And I am an enthusiast of the brand, or at least used to be!
Does the company not have a Product Planning department?
"Just look at the E, which melts hearts everywhere it goes."
And just take a look at the Honda E owners forums - it apparently kills its 12V battery and fancy door handles too. And required an update to stop itself getting fried by some Tesla superchargers. Let's hope the e:Ny1 has undergone some better real-world testing.
You just cannot take a car seriously when it has such a stupid name, to think some sort of group took weeks and got paid thousands to come up with E:NY1