Honda e:Ny1

The second fully electric model from Honda (after the E city car) is a small SUV with a 256-mile official range On sale Now Price from £44,995

- Dan Jones

AT FIRST GLANCE, you'd be forgiven for assuming the new e:Nyl is just an electrified version of Honda's existing hybrid small SUV, the HR-V. Dig deeper, though, and you quickly find that's not the case. You see, despite the familiar styling, the e:Ny1 is actually the first Honda to be built on underpinnings designed specifically for electric cars.

With an electric motor sending a healthy 201bhp through the front wheels, the e:Ny1 can sprint from 0-62mph in 7.6sec. That's about the same as the times for rivals such as the BYD Atto 3 and Kia Niro EV, but slower than the more powerful Smart #1.

The e:Nyl doesn't leap off the line, metering out its power in a reserved fashion until you reach around 10mph. Honda says this is to prevent your passengers from feeling any motion sickness. From then on, though, the e:Nyl feels really nippy, accelerating with such urgency that joining motorways and overtaking slower cars are a doddle.

You'll want to be in Normal or Sport driving mode to take full advantage of that oomph, but even in Eco (which reduces the power on offer and dulls the accelerator's response), you'll have more than enough punch to get around town.

That's also the mode you'll want to use to get the most out of the e:Nyl's battery, which, with a usable capacity of 61.9kWh, is big enough for a 256-mile official range. That means the e:Ny1 is competitive with the Atto 3 (260 miles) but is unlikely to go as far between charges as the Niro EV (285 miles) or #1 (273 miles).