Honda rewrites the small EV playbook with its 80s-inspired Super-N, a cult car in the making

The Honda Super-N is a mish-mash of design influences. Perhaps someone at Honda thought it would be amusing to make an electric car, shaped and styled like a retro games console and call it the ‘Super-N’. How they haven’t had ‘cease and desists’ from Nintendo’s famously litigious legal team, I don’t know, but I’m here for it.

While some brands – *cough* Renault – have been leaning into more literal reimagining and namesake recreations of ‘80s icons, Honda has chosen to take some small inspiration from its 1983 City Turbo II and make something completely new-tendo instead.

Based on the company’s beloved Kei car platform, the Super-N draws on Honda’s extensive experience in this segment but pushes beyond strict Kei car dimensions. Seeking better handling performance and more aesthetic creativity, large project leader at Honda R&D, Hidetomo Horita-san says, ‘With Kei cars, automatically, the design becomes boxy and not very beautiful.

‘In order to appeal to a European market, not that the car was designed for Europe, but as Europe is one of the leading regions when it comes to design, we were happy to go beyond the Kei car boundaries because that gave us a lot of possibilities and a degree of freedom in terms of the design.’

A wider track and longer body balance the practicality and sporty dynamics the team was looking for. Its Kei car roots are a refreshing reminder that small cars can be just as practical, if not more, than modern SUVs – forget the sloping roofs, porthole rear windows and shoe box boots.

As seen in the Honda Jazz, the Super-N is given the ‘magic seats’ treatment in the rear. This allows the back seats to fold completely flat or the seat bases lift up so you can use the rear floor space for taller items. As someone who uses a three door Polo like a van, this speaks to my Facebook marketplace soul.

Normally, practical means boring but Honda is bringing back the hot hatch vibe with a vibrant purple colour scheme inside and out. Boost Violet Pearl is the new paint colour which sounds like a power-up in Mario Kart but was actually inspired by the haiku-worthy phenomenon of lightning rising up from the earth in stunning bolts of purple energy, a fitting visualisation for a sporty little EV.

In keeping with Kei car regulations, in its normal modes, the Super-N’s power output is limited to 47kW but press the ‘boost’ button on the steering wheel and it delivers 70kW. Unlike boost buttons in the likes of the Genesis GV60, this isn’t a short-term burst for overtaking, if so inclined, you can drive around in boost mode all the time, like electric NOS that won’t blow up your engine.

Inside, the ambient blue lighting switches to purple, the dash display is reconfigured with three dials along the bottom showing battery temperature, rpm and power output – think Tron but on four wheels. Usually, that’s where performance modes stop, but Honda was keen to incorporate noticeable mechanical changes as well as a new soundtrack.

Simulated gear shifts combined with faux engine and exhaust noise coming through the Bose sound system make you almost forget you’re driving an EV; and for any would-be boy racers it comes with a ridiculously oversized subwoofer under the boot floor which sells the authenticity of the combustion sounds. You can even use the flappy paddles in ‘manual’ mode to make it ‘redline’ before changing ‘gears’. It’s very ‘80s kitsch, which is kind of the point.

Horita-san explains that the idea was to give drivers an instinctual perception of the vehicle’s dynamic behaviour in any given moment through audible cues. He says, ‘The most efficient and the most comprehensive way to transport that information is an engine sound, because an engine sound has the advantage that it changes its specific characteristic of sound, depending on the rpm.’

It’s a novelty but a welcome one that feels far better executed than the obnoxious artificial canned vroom vrooms in the Abarth 500e. Although it’s not a sports car, the firm bolsters and grippy fabric on the front seats hug you and give you the confidence to have some fun. Most of the time, just the front seats will be occupied, but two passengers in the back have a surprisingly generous amount of space for such a small car. So everyone can jump in for the late-night McDonalds runs and womp-womp bass sessions.

The Super-N has captured the magic of what hot hatches were in a sensible yet silly way, much like the salarymen of Tokyo clocking off after a long day in the office to sink a couple Asahi and sing karaoke until the early morning. Cruising around in its Econ, City or Normal modes, it’s a city commuter’s best friend: quiet, relaxing, top notch sound system, easy touchscreen interface. Find a back road on the outskirts of town, however, and it’s impressive how Honda has given such a small lightweight car so much dynamic presence.

In real world conditions, expected range is around 128 miles but city driving only will up that to 199 miles. It’s positioned as a fun second car or a less likely sole car for younger drivers, competing against the likes of the BMW 1 series and Audi A1, which believe it or not, due their competitive financing options, are now the first cars for many Gen-Z and Alpha drivers. In comparison the Super-N is a compelling option coming in at £18,995. If I had to choose my first car today, I’d be hard pushed not to press start on the Super-N.

Honda Super-N, from £18,995, Honda.co.uk, @HondaUKcars