Honda reveals SUV e:prototype concept

Well, that’s when it goes on sale in China. There’s no word so far on UK sales, but to our eyes it looks too good not to reach British Honda dealers. From the little information and single image so far released, it comes across as an electric version of the Honda HR-V.

That’s the very latest HR-V which arrives here at the end of this year, not the one we are used to seeing. As we reported in February, Honda has given its compact, coupe-style SUV a radical restyling and it appears the SUV e:prototype shares the same smooth and restrained looks. What the actual relationship is between the cars is however unknown; since the new HR-V range is hybrid only, any electric version likely sits on a different platform made for battery power only. 

Honda is not saying, for the moment at least. What it is saying is that it will introduce 10 all-electric models within five years. The battery onslaught  commences next spring with the SUV e:prototype in markets – like China – that do not already enjoy  the cute charms of the Honda e. 

Honda says the electric SUV prototype has been designed for “dynamic, yet smooth acceleration” and an abundance of the “joy of driving”. Maybe, but a few facts to back it up wouldn’t go amiss. 

And while we are thinking of the joy of driving, where’s the electric Honda Sports EV they tempted us with back in 2017? The Sports EV came out at the same time as the Urban EV, the concept that went on largely unchanged to become the Honda e. We haven’t heard of the Sports EV since, but we do hope it is there being worked on as one of those coming new electric models.

The marketing department might say SUV, but a lot of enthusiasts around the world would surely go for a compact affordable electric sportscar with an H on its nose.