Words and Photos: Deven Solanki
Let’s be honest for a second: from an enthusiast’s point of view, and I mean a true PETROLhead, most modern electric cars feel like they were designed by an appliance manufacturer. Sure, they’re fast in a straight line, but for the most part, they’re heavy, bland, and completely soulless. Then Honda steps up with something completely different: the Super-ONE.
Fresh off the back of our test drive in the 2026 Prelude, Honda invited us out to experience their latest creation, a widebody, electric “Kei” hot hatch designed specifically to make daily driving fun again. It’s quirky and unhinged, but it might just be the blueprint for how car companies keep driving excitement alive in an EV-dominated future.
HONDA’S POCKET ROCKET ROOTS
To really get what Honda is doing with the Super-ONE, you have to rewind almost 60 years. Back in 1967, Honda wasn’t an automotive giant we know today, they were primarily a motorbike builder trying to break into the four-wheeled world until the debut of the Honda N360. Unveiled to massive crowds at the 13th Tokyo Motor Show in 1966, it was Soichiro Honda’s vision of a true “People’s Car”. A tiny, front-wheel-drive Kei car that prioritized cabin space while packing a 354 cc air-cooled motor. It completely disrupted the market as Honda moved one million units in just 43 months, establishing themselves as a serious passenger car player almost overnight.
Fast forward to the 1980s, and that same engineering DNA evolved into the legendary Honda City and its wilder sibling, the City Turbo II ( nicknamed the “Bulldog”). The City Turbo II proved you could take a practical urban box, slap flared arches on it, throw in a punchy motor, and create an absolute JDM cult hero. The new Super-ONE is basically the modern electric equivalent. Honda clearly looked at the old Bulldog when designing this thing, because the resemblance is everywhere.
At the heart, the Super-ONE was built around three Japanese pillars: Meikai (uncluttered, intuitive feedback), Yukai (making the daily commute genuinely fun through driver input), and Tsukai (that instant rush of adrenaline when you take control).
FROM THE OUTSIDE
Visually, the Super-ONE wears its JDM roots proudly, pulling clear inspiration from the iconic City Turbo II with wide fenders, lower aero, and a far more aggressive stance. That boxy bodywork can be wrapped in three paint choices for New Zealand: Crystal Black Pearl, Mono Grey, and Boost Violet Pearl, a deep metallic hue that’s almost guaranteed to be the enthusiast favourite.
If you want something extra special, Honda is also offering the limited-run Kuro Edition ($44,900 + ORC). Drawing inspiration from the Japanese concept of Kuro (黒) it gets a sleek two-tone finish combining Boost Violet Pearl with a Crystal Black roof, blacked-out side mirrors, pillar accents, tailgate garnish, and a significantly sharper, more aggressive rear spoiler.
The Super-ONE rolls out of the factory on a set of 15-inch alloys featuring a clean black and machined finish. Fortunately for enthusiasts, Honda brought back the classic 4-stud pattern. That means the doors are wide open for endless classic Japanese 15-inch alloy options, keeping petrolheads grinning.
INSIDE THE CABIN
Hop inside, and the first thing that hits you is how deceptively roomy it is. Standard Kei cars usually leave your knees jammed against the door panels or center console, but the Super-ONE feels surprisingly open and driver-focused.
The front sport seats feature a polarized mesh upholstery pattern designed as a direct nod to the iconic 1980s Honda City Turbo II, a retro heritage detail Honda fans are going to absolutely love.
Practicality hasn’t been sacrificed for style either. Out back, you get a modern iteration of Honda’s Magic Seats (a packaging staple since the 2001 GD Jazz). With their signature dive-down and tip-up mechanics, you can effortlessly switch the cabin layout from doing the grocery run to being the ultimate car-parts hauler.
Honda also worked directly with Bose to acoustically tune the setup specifically for the Super-ONE’s compact cabin layout. Tucked inside is a dedicated 8-speaker Bose Premium Audio System, complete with a high-output subwoofer stashed away in the boot section to get the doof-doofs cranking on your daily commute.
UNDER THE HOOD
Pop the bonnet on the Super-ONE and you won’t find a high-revving naturally aspirated B-series or K-series engine, or a frunk, for that matter. Instead, it’s all compact electric hardware and high-voltage orange high-tensile wiring. But don’t let the lack of a turbo or throttle body fool you: what Honda has done under the skin is clever.
Power comes from a single front-mounted electric motor driven by a 29.6 kWh lithium-ion battery pack mounted low in the chassis floor. In standard commute modes (ECON, Normal, or City), the motor produces a modest 47 kW (63 hp), the standard regulatory limit for Japanese Kei-class cars, making it a smooth, efficient around-town runabout.
Press that steering-wheel-mounted BOOST button, however, and the battery dumps its full reserve into the front axle, unlocking 70 kW (94 hp) and 162 Nm of instant torque.
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE
Before we even hopped in, the Honda crew repeatedly insisted we test out the Boost button. Truth be told, that toggle pretty much stayed locked in Boost for 99% of our test drive.
The Super-ONE packs a drive mode for every situation, ECON for squeezing out maximum range, CITY for smooth one-pedal traffic duty, NORMAL for the daily commute, SPORT for sharpening throttle response, and finally BOOST, the setting built explicitly for enthusiasts.
This is where the Super-ONE’s real personality wakes up. Bumping power from 47kW up to 70kW sharpens the throttle, unlocks a simulated 7-speed box that mimics a traditional transmission, and pipes an engine-like soundtrack into the cabin via Active Sound Control (similar to the S+ Shift setup in the 2026 Prelude). To top it all off, the ambient cabin lighting shifts to a deep purple to match the exterior accents and the Boost toggle itself.
Behind the wheel, it’s remarkably easy to dart through urban traffic, but grabbing the paddle shifters, downshifting a few virtual gears, and pulling past slower cars is where the real driver engagement hits.
While 70kW isn’t mind-bendingly fast, it’s properly nippy. It’s that exact “fun button” fix petrolheads’ need to make a mundane daily drive feel engaging again. We’re properly keen to see what this thing can do on the tight backroads out to Muriwai, something we’ll definitely be putting to the test when we get back behind the wheel for our full feature review.
THE VERDICT
Starting at $41,900 (+ORC), the Honda Super-ONE isn’t trying to beat supercar hyper-EVs in drag races. It’s built for proving that electric city cars don’t have to be dull and mundane.
It’s compact, nippy and packed with JDM heritage cues, and equipped with a “fun button” that brings joy back to the morning commute. More importantly for us, it’s a modern canvas just waiting for the modification scene to take over. There’s zero doubt in our minds that we’ll be seeing these modified by local die-hards almost immediately, slammed on their guts, rolling on wider JDM wheels to properly fill out those guards, and stacked with personal aftermarket touches. If this is where Honda is taking the enthusiast EV, the future on Kiwi roads is looking properly exciting.
This launch event gave us a proper tease of what this widebody pocket rocket can do, but it wasn’t enough. We can’t wait to get our hands on the Super-ONE for a proper multi-day test run on our local backroads and give you a full, in-depth NZPC review!
Check out Honda’s site for full specs and details: https://www.honda.co.nz/honda-super-one-overview/
