Honda’s Urban EV throwback hatch will debut at Geneva, though under a new name, “e Prototype.” And despite the name, we’re pretty sure this thing is almost production-ready.
This is the first time we get to see the interior of the car, and it looks excellent.
The steering wheel is small and features a dainty horn button; the seats look to be made of comfortable cloth; and a beautiful piece of wood stretches across the dashboard, beneath a full-width array of display screens.
The range for the e Prototype will be somewhere near 200 km, although Honda has not released battery size or power. We imagine the car will be quite sporty, what with the instant electric torque headed to the rear wheels and moving one very light hatchback.
On the outside, the overall shape has become a little softer; the giant wheels have obviously been swapped out for some more sensible ones. It still retains the great styling that throws back to Honda’s original Civic of the early 1970s, except with two more doors.
Yes, the number of doors has grown from two to four, but the proportions have been kept mostly intact, with the rear opening coming off almost as a half-door, in the same vein as the old Mazda RX-8.
Honda has engineered the e Prototype for European standards and is part of its vision for Europe, which means it probably won’t make its way to North America.
The e Prototype will be on display at the Geneva auto show, and is expected to start production later this year.