Unusually, for a car that’s sold outside of Japan, it’s based on the Japanese ‘kei’ (short for kei-jidōsha, which means ‘light vehicle’) car class. Despite it being one of the smallest city cars you can buy in the UK, it’s actually too wide and long to be officially classed as a kei car in Japan.
Honda is hoping to attract a new audience with the Super-N. Will it be good enough to appeal? I've driven it to find out.
: See the compact EVs that performed best in our tough testsHonda Super-N: key manufacturer specs
Driving characteristics
With only 63hp in most driving modes, the Super-N is one of the least powerful new cars you can buy new. However, as it weighs 1,097kg (very light for any car, let alone an electric one) it accelerates quickly at low speeds.
There can sometimes be a slight delay to power being generated by the electric motor, but this is rarely noticeable.
Five driving modes are available: Econ (for long-distance travel), City (for urban areas), Normal (for general out-of-town driving), Sport (for faster acceleration than the Normal mode) and Boost (for winding roads).
At higher speeds, the extra 31hp of the Boost driving mode (activated by pressing a button on the steering wheel) becomes more useful as acceleration is much slower above 40mph without it. In fact, I’d recommend avoiding the Econ driving mode outside of urban areas as acceleration is even slower than the City and Normal driving modes.
I particularly liked the City driving mode as it’s the only one to offer one-pedal braking, allowing the car to come to a complete stop without having to use the brake pedal.
In the Sport and Boost modes the paddles are used to simulate gearshifts and are accompanied by engine noises. I actually thought the gearshifts were a bit pointless – for me, one of the main advantages of an EV is that they’re super smooth and you don’t hear intrusive engine noises.
That said, the engine noises do sound more realistic than in other cars with a similar system.
I found that when driving around corners, the Super-N’s tall design means that the car’s body rolls a lot. Corner too quickly and the tyres can squeal as they struggle to grip the road. This is also noticeable when you accelerate quickly.
Under 30mph, the steering feels vague and light, regardless what driving mode you’re using. It becomes more direct (meaning you have to turn the steering wheel less to manoeuvre) when you pick up speed.
Despite Honda saying that the suspension has been updated based on testing in the UK, I found it uncomfortable at higher speeds. I also noticed the car’s body moving a lot on country roads and you’ll feel road imperfections quite clearly in the cabin. It’s more comfortable at lower speeds, though.
The Super-N’s electric motor is very quiet. Road and wind noises in the cabin are also kept to a minimum at most speeds, but they become more prominent on the motorway.
Overall visibility is good as the position of the front of the car is easy to judge, while the exterior mirrors are a good size. The Super-N’s large windows mean side visibility is good and the rear headrests don’t really affect your ability to see out of the rear windscreen.
Like most new cars, the rear pillars are quite wide and can restrict your view to the rear.
Interior space and overall quality
The interior is very spacious for a city car, and there was easily enough space for me to sit up front (I’m 6ft 2in). It didn't personally bother me, but the fact that the steering wheel doesn’t adjust for reach may not suit all drivers. The narrow cabin and dark plastics also make it feel very cramped when you’ve got a passenger in the front.
Rear space is good and I was able to sit behind the driver’s seat, even when positioned for me. Headroom is more limited, but just about adequate front and back; the rear seats recline individually, allowing you to create more headroom.
For a car that costs under £20,000, the Super-N’s interior materials are good and although hard plastics make up nearly all of the cabin trim, they don’t feel cheap. The roof lining is soft to touch, along with the sun visors. Build quality is also good, but I noticed that one of the seals of the front passenger door wasn’t aligned correctly.
With very wide door openings and seats that aren’t too low to the ground, the Super-N is very easy to get in and out of.
While the front seat base is too short for my long legs and the seat backs are slightly lacking in shoulder support, the front seats are otherwise extremely comfortable for a city car and are well-shaped. The rear seats are much more basic and are unlikely to be comfortable on long journeys.
The Super-N’s large bootlid could pose an issue if you park in a tight space, however it does make it easy to load luggage. It’s also very low to the ground, meaning you don’t have to lift heavy items far off the ground to get them into the boot.
The rear seats nearly fold flat when they aren’t used and there isn’t a gap between them and the boot floor. Like the Jazz and HR-V models, Honda has fitted the Super-N with ‘magic seats’, allowing each rear seat to be flipped up to create storage for bulky items.
Tech and safety equipment
There are plenty of physical (if rather small) climate controls, driving mode and direction selectors.
However, I found it odd that the button for the heated steering wheel is located away from the other climate controls and is next to the headlight alignment dial as there’s space for it between the heated seat buttons.
Compared to other Honda cars, the touchscreen is impressively easy to use and features more modern graphics, while the digital instrument display is much less cluttered.
Despite its relatively low price, Honda hasn’t skimped on safety equipment. Adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning detection, traffic-jam technology and lane-keep assist are all fitted as standard. It hasn’t been crash-tested by Euro NCAP – given the UK is the only European market that the Super-N will be sold in, it might never be tested.
: our expert guide explains how tech is used to protect you and your passengersHonda Super-N: final thoughts
The Super-N is very spacious for a city car, has an easy-to-load boot and accelerates very quickly in town.
It’s not as composed to drive as I expected, though, while ride comfort and high-speed acceleration aren’t great. I do wonder whether Honda is missing something by not offering a cheaper, entry-level version of this car without the simulated gearchanges, front sports seats and Boost mode.
Its official 128 mile range is very limited for a modern EV, too, while it has few cabin storage spaces.
It’s certainly full of character, but whether character is what UK drivers want is another question altogether.
: whatever car you're looking for, make sure it's a Which? Best Buysource https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/honda-super-n-compact-ev-with-dose-of-jazz-magic-aAfAD9p0tsg7