Video: Honda Super-N previews electric city car due in 2026

On Sale July 2026 | Price £20,000 (est)

How do you get young car buyers to queue up at your showroom door? Well, Honda reckons the key is to make it fun and make it cheap, and that’s the thought behind the new Honda Super N. It heralds Honda’s long-awaited return to the small electric car market in the UK, and it could be well worth waiting for.

As a quick history lesson, the Super N’s name recalls Honda’s first family car – the N360 of the 1960s. N stood for Norimono, Japanese for vehicle, or conveyance, separating the N360 from the motorbikes that Honda was famous for at the time.  Name aside, though, the Super N is very much for the here and now. 

Honda Super-N video preview

There are plenty of visual references to the N360 in the Super N, and you might also see a bit of the Honda E in it; but it’s definitely – 100% – not a replacement for that model, which was discontinued in 2023. We loved the Honda E for how it drove and the way it looked, inside and out, but we hated its short range and its huge price tag.

The Super N looks just as cute as the E, but it’s a much less pricey proposition. Honda says it’ll start at less than £20,000, undercutting the cheapest Fiat 500e. If you want a cheaper electric car, you’re looking at a BYD Dolphin Surf, Dacia Spring, a Leapmotor T03 or the new Renault Twingo. That rival could be a serious thorn in the Super N’s side, with its cutesy looks and a price that’s likely to undercut it substantially.

But no matter how well the Super N does cheap, what about the fun side of the bargain? Compared with the Japanese market-only N One:e it’s based on, it looks far more muscular. The wheels are spaced farther apart, with the aim of improving stability on a twisty road and there are air intakes to cool the motor and brakes. What you can’t see is the specially tuned suspension.

In many ways, the N One:e makes a strong foundation for a miniature hot hatch. It’s very small – roughly the size of a Fiat 500e, and even in bulked-up Super N form, it’s more than 100kg lighter than the Fiat. And a lot of that weight is in the battery, which is mounted under the floor for a low centre of gravity. That should help to keep it nice and level through the corners.

And adding to the fun is boost mode which opens up the Super N’s single electric motor from the usual 63bhp to 94bhp – a decent figure for such a tiny car. There are also paddles behind the steering wheel that simulate a seven-speed automatic gearbox, regulating the power delivery and acceleration just as if you were changing gear yourself. There’s even an Active Sound Control system that recreates an exhaust note to suit. 

We’ve not yet tried this tech out in the Super N, but we like the gearbox concept, indeed a similar system in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N scooped our Technology Award in 2025.

There’s also a 9.0in infotainment system with Android Auto and Wireless Apple CarPlay, and if you’d rather bring your own soundtrack than listen to that synthesised engine noise, there’s a nine-speaker BOSE sound system with a subwoofer. On top of all that, in boost mode, the ambient interior lighting turns from blue to purple. 

Another way that the Super N beats the old Honda E is in its practicality. Honda hasn’t released official capacity figures yet, but the boot is a surprisingly useful, square shape given the car’s diminutive dimensions, and the floor is low and unencumbered by a chunky lip. And as well as folding down in a 60/40 split, the rear seats also incorporate the “Magic” folding function that makes the bigger Honda Jazz so useful; you can fold the rear seat cushions upwards to accommodate tall items vertically in lieu of passengers.

We found that a pair of six-footers can sit behind another pair up front in relative comfort, and the five-door layout means rear-seat passengers will have an easier time getting in and out than they will in a Fiat 500e. 

A tall driver won’t have to fold themself up like origami to fit behind the steering wheel, either, and the heavily bolstered sports seats promise support when cornering with vigour. The driving position is a bit sit-up-and-beg, though. 

Catches? Well, Honda quotes a combined range figure of just 128 miles from its 29.6kWh battery. That just about beats the cheapest 500e, but it’s not as far as the Spring or Dolphin Surf promise to take you. We’re not looking at a long-distance cruiser here, but for the daily commute, local trips or the odd country-road blast, that might well be enough – especially if you can charge at home. And Honda says that almost 200 miles is possible if you keep it in the city. No details about charging times have yet been released.

We do know, though, that you’ll be able to make your Super N your own, thanks to the customisation options. There’s a choice of five colours, including this gloriously rich Boost Violet Pearl, plus a two-tone option and an array of body graphics – in time-honoured 1980s pocket-rocket style.

The Super N is due in showrooms in July this year, and we look forward to putting it through its paces with a full review when it arrives. It’s one of seven new EVs that Honda is planning to release in the coming years, with  another 13 new hybrid models due by 2030.

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