Reviews of the Honda 0 Series EV prototypes are getting released.
Car and Driver
While the prototype featured the Accord's familiar shape, the platform underneath gave the car a sprightly demeanor. Honda promises athletic driving dynamics for its 0 Series vehicles, with the positioning of the battery and e-axle keeping the center of gravity low. The simplified aluminum body structure sheds a claimed 220 pounds versus Honda's earlier EVs—presumably meaning the Clarity—and Honda removed a crossmember between the front wheels to lower the hood. Honda also says the body structure will flex to control the load on the tires during cornering.
In our short test drive—three laps around a roughly one-kilometer handling course—the 0 Series prototype felt nimble. The sedan accelerated steadily and responsively but without the face-melting punch of other EVs. Honda didn't reveal the prototype's output but showed the e-axle in 241-hp and 67-hp forms and suggested a variety of rear- and all-wheel-drive setups. The vehicle we drove featured all-wheel drive.
Honda also indicated that the 67-hp unit could live on the rear axle of future hybrids. The prototype lacked the steer-by-wire system that will be on the final production model so we cannot judge the steering feel directly, but the front end felt sharp, turning in with confidence.
In the corners, body roll was kept in check and the prototype felt less hefty than other EVs, behaving closer to a gas-powered Accord than expected. The car was fairly unaffected by a section of undulating pavement and softly hopped over a small speed bump with minimal disruption. We pushed the prototype emerging from the final corner onto the straightaway, encountering little understeer despite some tire squeal.
Green Car Reports
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A 0 Series prototype loosely fashioned like an Accord showcases the potential of Honda’s EV platform.
What it does have is the 0 Series’ air suspension, with air-spring struts in front and a multi-link setup with air springs in back. It also gets the 0 Series’ stability system and body controls incorporating 3D gyro sensors inherited from the ASIMO robot family—a world first, according to Honda.
My takeaway is that this feels like a flat-cornering, lower-riding Accord. Yet the engineer riding with me reminds me that the actual H-point of this car is slightly higher than that of a standard Accord.
After driving, I stood back and watched this special Accord on a subsequent lap and visually confirmed it’s cornering as flat as it feels inside.
Back away from the prototype, I learned much more about all the innovation Honda plans in manufacturing these EVs. Altogether, the battery pack case is Honda’s largest single cast piece ever—including its engines—and the pack case has just five parts as opposed to 60 or more for some, Honda says. It will be using six 6,000-ton high-pressure die-cast (“megacasting”) machines at its Ohio facilities to make them—because megacasting uses less energy than gigacasting and is better for production flexibility.
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When the Saloon launches in 2026, Honda says it will come with Level 3 assisted driving—that is, conditional hands-free driving—thanks to LiDAR, radar, sonar, and proprietary AI tech that detects obstacles. 3D gyroscopes adopted from the Asimo robot help keep track of motion.
Honda is also implementing camera-and-AI-based tech to anticipate occupant needs. For example, when a camera on the B-pillar sees that the car’s owner is approaching with a baby and stroller in tow, it could automatically open the front door, rear door, and liftgate so all three elements can enter the vehicle. A video also showed the driver’s door of a CR-V shutting automatically when the driver put her foot on the pedal, a feature you might expect from the Bentleys and Rolls-Royces of the world. An interior-facing camera, meanwhile, monitors who’s inside and may make individualized destination or media suggestions on the infotainment system.
Look, I’m all for leveraging The Algorithms to make our lives easier, but I’d be remiss to not acknowledge that all of this sounds like a straight-up nightmare to anyone who still opts to keep a piece of tape over their laptop’s webcam when it’s not in use. In any case, Honda says that face data is stored on the vehicle only and that its tech will, of course, abide by privacy laws from country to country. Take that for what it’s worth.
