Far more production viable, but still pretty cool.
Japanese marque Honda have released a teaser of their upcoming Geneva motor show highlight, the production-prototype of its loveable Urban EV. When it was unveiled as a concept last year, the crowds simply could not get enough, which prompted Honda to put the little thing into production. This year, we get a glimpse at what we might end up being able to buy in the here-and-now.
There’s definite inspiration from the Urban EV concept, with its nearly full-width infotainment screen & digital dials. What’s also obvious here is that the production prototype continues with the concept’s ‘cameras-for-mirrors’ system, with two ‘side-view’ screens flanking the main infotainment display.
*We enhanced the image, by which we mean we jacked up the brightness.
There’s a two-spoke steering wheel to be seen, with controls for various driver assistance systems mounted on it. There’s also an ‘around-view monitor’ button on the end of the signal stalk, suggesting perhaps 360º cameras. There are further controls on the dash trim (that looks like wood), though they control pretty conventional things like audio volume, screen brightness, and also house a ‘Home’ button. There’s also something to the far left which cannot be identified, but one of the icons looks suspiciously like the NFC logo.
The A/C vents sit beneath that, with a power button for the car and the usual HVAC controls. There are also a bank of power output options beneath that, including one able to delivery AC 230V, which is pretty impressive for a small urban runabout.
Displayed on the screen themselves are a raft of information, leading us to make informed assumptions about the sort of features we can expect to see. An ‘EV Menu’ displays things like pre-conditioning and charge scheduling, as well as a Personal Assistant (likely some voice-AI nonsense) and connectivity options, as well as various available apps.
We can only speculate at this point, but we’re sure to get a whole bucket of specifics when the wraps are pulled off the Urban EV prototype at the upcoming Geneva motorshow.
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