Got to test drive today....

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Joolsdc
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Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2020 3:39 pm
Location: Worcestershire

Post by Joolsdc »

Second test drive

Mrs Jools and I both enjoyed our e drive. I really like the handling. The car rides well. Corners well - it doesn’t run wide when powering through. Road noise was higher than other EVs. But tolerable. No wind or engine noise 😀
The seats gripped me better in the corners than I remembered.
Mrs Jools didn’t get on well with the central rear view. I was ok
So altogether it’s go go go for the purchase of the e. I think I will wait until the new registration

Rei
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Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2020 3:01 pm

Post by Rei »

It sounded like the noise was coming from the back to me. I wonder if maybe a bit of insulation in the boot lining would help.
dVb9
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Post by dVb9 »

Finally managed to test drive the e today. I got fed up waiting for my dealership to contact me, so I rang them to ask them how soon I could book an appointment."Whenever suits" was their response, and an hour later I was behind the wheel.

The arrangements were pretty laid back. After showing my driving licence and signing a disclaimer, I was allowed to take the car out with no mention of a time limit, provided it was back by closing time. This was in marked contrast to the recent experience of YouTuber EV Puzzle, who went to look at an electric Mini and reportedly wasn't even allowed to sit in the car, let alone drive it.

Top of my list was to see how I got on with the camera-mirrors, and I'm pleased to say that I found using them to be immediately intuitive, particularly the door-mounted ones. I felt he central rear-view mirror was less successful in camera mode, and I think I would only use it that way if the view through rear screen was obscured.

Overall, I really liked the car. I drove it both on local roads and the motorway, and found the ride quality and road/wind noise levels were quite acceptable, and the driver's seat was more comfortable than that in my Kona. The only feature I missed from the Kona was auto-recuperation, which automatically adjusts the regen based on what the front radar detects. Well, that and the fact the the miles per kWh were around half what I can achieve in the Kona, but I was prepared for that.

It was good to finally have a chance to play around with some of the car's menus and features. I tried the Parking Pilot in a local car park and it worked flawlessly. My old Yeti had a similar feature, but it only controlled the steering - you had to do the pedals and gears yourself - and it could only parallel park. The Honda system is clearly much more advanced. I also liked the fact you can set the car up to start automatically (ie: without having to press the Power button), as having the button on the opposite side of the steering wheel to the Kona's could have proved a bit of a pain (when are manufacturers going to standardise things like this?)

A couple of oddities: firstly, the front view camera is nice to have, but the image it provides has a large, blacked-out section at the top (see below):and I can't really understand why.



The other thing I noticed is that the hvac controls and connectivity ports beneath aren't positioned centrally - they're offset to the left, presumably to provide more room in the driver's footwell. This reminded me of my old SLK, where the air vents and COMAND screen were resolutely offset to the left in relation to centre console.


Honda e


SLK (R172)

On returning the car I asked whether there was any update on the delivery date. I'd been advised about a month ago that it would be August rather than June, and It seems it may now have slipped further owing to a global cyber attack that Honda recently suffered. Apparently everything's up in the air at the moment.
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londiniumperson
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Post by londiniumperson »

dVb9 wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 7:31 pm Finally managed to test drive the e today.
...
Please sort out the Google photos in your post.
dVb9 wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 7:31 pm The only feature I missed from the Kona was auto-recuperation, which automatically adjusts the regen based on what the front radar detects.
I'm sure that the the Honda also has this, though I cannot find where it was stated.
dVb9 wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 7:31 pm A couple of oddities: firstly, the front view camera is nice to have, but the image it provides has a large, blacked-out section at the top (see below):and I can't really understand why.
That's known as the 'Front Blind View'/'Cross Traffic Monitor' which is the 180 degree front camera. Though I can't see your photo.
dVb9 wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 7:31 pm On returning the car I asked whether there was any update on the delivery date. I'd been advised about a month ago that it would be August rather than June, and It seems it may now have slipped further owing to a global cyber attack that Honda recently suffered. Apparently everything's up in the air at the moment.
It depends on when you ordered, if you've already ordered if could be this month, however if you've not ordered then it'll depend on how many there are available in the UK. I'd take everything the salesmen say with a large pinch of salt.
2022 Advance in Crystal Black Pearl on 17's - 08/2020-Current
2015 VW Tiguan (Pure White) - 04/2018-Current
1991 Honda Beat PP1 (Festival Red) - 11/2022-Current
dVb9
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Post by dVb9 »

londiniumperson wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:21 pm Please sort out the Google photos in your post.
Looks like I hadn't turned on link sharing on Google Drive for all the photos. Should be OK now. Thanks for letting me know.

Regarding the regen, I couldn't seem to get it working at all during the test drive. The paddles didn't seem to have any effect and I couldn't see any indication on the instrument panel. I was probably doing something wrong; I did try checking the in-car owner's manual but it hadn't been installed. I'll check my PDF copy later.

My order was placed mid-February.
Joolsdc
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Post by Joolsdc »

You have to press the one peddle brake button, and then adjust the regen with the paddles.
Interestingly when I used the cruise control & then switched off it cancelled the one peddle braking
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londiniumperson
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Post by londiniumperson »

dVb9 wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:40 pm
londiniumperson wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:21 pm Regarding the regen, I couldn't seem to get it working at all during the test drive. The paddles didn't seem to have any effect and I couldn't see any indication on the instrument panel. I was probably doing something wrong; I did try checking the in-car owner's manual but it hadn't been installed. I'll check my PDF copy later.

My order was placed mid-February.
As you ordered in Feb, then you'll have missed the very first batch which had to have an order placed by the end of Oct 2019 (that's in addition to have already placed an £800 online reservation earlier in the year).

The regen works in either D or B (single pedal mode), however they're logically reversed, with left paddle (minus) increasing regen & the right paddle (plus) reducing regen (indicator as per the manual):

Honda-e_RegenIndicator.png

2022 Advance in Crystal Black Pearl on 17's - 08/2020-Current
2015 VW Tiguan (Pure White) - 04/2018-Current
1991 Honda Beat PP1 (Festival Red) - 11/2022-Current
dVb9
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Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2020 11:15 am

Post by dVb9 »

Thanks for the regen info, londiniumperson.

To clarify, mid-Feb is when my reservation was turned into an order, with the £800 fee being refunded and a £500 deposit being paid to the dealership. I also thought I'd missed the boat, so to speak, but the guy I was dealing with was confident that there was still capacity in their first delivery, which was then expected in June.

That said, I take your point about taking these things with a pinch of salt, and in any case that salesman is no longer with the dealership.

In truth, an August (or later) delivery date suits me better as the lease on the car that the Honda is replacing ends early next month, so I won't have an overlap period where I'd need to insure three cars.
dVb9
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Post by dVb9 »

Joolsdc wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:58 pm You have to press the one peddle brake button, and then adjust the regen with the paddles.
Interestingly when I used the cruise control & then switched off it cancelled the one peddle braking
That's clearly where I was going wrong. I'd forgotten all about the one-pedal driving button!

I'll see if I can arrange another test drive to give it a go. Personally, though, I'd rather not have such a button. I think I'd prefer it if one-pedal driving was achieved simply by setting regen to the strongest level.
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Reuben80
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Post by Reuben80 »

dVb9 wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 10:02 pm
Joolsdc wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:58 pm You have to press the one peddle brake button, and then adjust the regen with the paddles.
Interestingly when I used the cruise control & then switched off it cancelled the one peddle braking
That's clearly where I was going wrong. I'd forgotten all about the one-pedal driving button!

I'll see if I can arrange another test drive to give it a go. Personally, though, I'd rather not have such a button. I think I'd prefer it if one-pedal driving was achieved simply by setting regen to the strongest level.
With the button for the 1 pedal driving Honda changes the settings, not only increases regen. When you press the button you will no longer have creep, so the car will not go forward when you lift your foot completely from the brake pedal, making it best for stop and go traffic. Also you will have 3 different regen settings, while without 1 pedal driving you have 4 levels.

What I would like to confirm with someone who drove it or owns the car already, if the regen setting is temporary or it stays as set for the whole drive. In the manual it says temporary setting but I don't understand if they mean that it shows temporary on the display or the actual setting. In all videos that I saw when driving without 1 pedal on the display next to the D there are no arrows that shows the level but when driving with 1 pedal next to D there is always M + the arrows.
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