Honda e:Ny1 is Jeep Avenger rival with 256-mile range

The new Honda e:Ny1 begins a bold push by the Japanese manufacturer to become a volume player in one of Europe's most important segments.

Previewed in prototype form in 2022, it's one of three crucial new electrified SUVs that Honda will launch in Europe this year, joining the new CR-V and ZR-V hybrid crossovers.  

When it's launched in the coming months, at a starting price of roughly £30,000, it will serve as a direct rival to the likes of the Hyundai Kona Electric, Jeep Avenger and Peugeot e-2008.

Completely unrelated to the Honda E in terms of its positioning, technical make-up and design, the e:Ny1 is the first of a family of new-era EVs with which Honda is aiming to capture a significant proportion of the family EV market in Europe.

It's essentially an electric equivalent to the HR-V crossover launched in 2021 and looks very similar, but it's all-new inside and underneath and will be marketed as a completely bespoke model.

Underpinning the crossover is Honda's new e:N Architecture F, a front-wheel-drive, pure-electric platform designed to offer "the dynamic performance, exceptional comfort and refinement drivers will expect from Honda's latest EV".

Honda has also used high-tensile steel for 47% of the e:Ny1's body in a bid to markedly improve torsional rigidity and points to the EV's low centre of gravity and optimised underbody aerodynamic elements as facilitators of improved handling.

Here, the platform hosts a single motor on the front axle with 201bhp and 229lb ft (significantly more than the short-range E supermini), which is expected to give it a 0-62mph time of around 8.0sec.

Outright pace wasn't the priority for Honda's engineers, however, with "smooth and comfortable acceleration and deceleration" touted as the powertrain's defining characteristic.

Its 68.8kWh battery pack is good for a competitive 256-mile range on the WLTP cycle - roughly in line with rivals' and almost double that of the E.