Can an electric car be MORE fun? - UP! GTi V's Honda E 

I had a Lupo GTI for around 20 years. Test drove the Honda E, and didn't think I was going to, but as soon as I put my foot down at the lights, decided it was time to sell my GTI. I miss going through the 6 speed box, but it was time to move on, and generally I think it's time to move on from combustion. YMMV.

I’ve just swapped my up! GTI for a Honda e, after owning two since 2018. I will always love them, they are fantastic cars, and I’ll always have incredibly fond memories of my time with them (though I’ll always bemoan VW not spending a bit more on the suspension). However, life is short, and the Honda e is a brilliantly characterful car that is also a lot of fun to drive, and easier to live with than the little up!

The Honda all day every day for me. It far superior in all aspects apart from how often you have to refuel it.

Up GTI every day Tish ! Thanks for a great review! Cheers, Tom.

Great review Tish!

Only one winner with the UP! GTi for me 🙂

Another great video, Tish, its often the unexpected ones that come out best! I think they have gone over the top with all the screens inside the Honda, it's like a control room of a power station! It seems to be "futuristic" for the sake of it. The UP! GTI and Abarth 595s seem to be the last if the small fairly fast small hatches I would turn off the lane assist, if it lets you.... Like you I was not looking forward to electrification, but driven the right way I believe there will be some fun cars to drive, in a different way. We can't change what is ahead, I would go for the UP! (Well, I'd swap it for another 595) but at some point it will be electric, and hopefully fun, but not ready to change just et.

Fun review thanks Tish. But even modern petrol cars are losing their manual gearboxes and shifters nowadays which I agree is always more engaging and involving in the driving experience. Especially for fun hot hatches!

Honda got the compromise years ago . I've had a CRZ for 7 years with the upgraded lithium battery to get 137BHP. Instant torque below 30mph and a superb manual gearbox and driven normally ( not sensibly ) 48MPG . True it can get tail happy if pushed hard due to the weight at the back but is that a bad thing !

Has to be the UP GTI between the two Tish. Plus having seen your previous videos it’s clear how much you enjoy driving it (I have the exact same thing with my Fiesta ST Line, I just love driving it). Will be interesting if we really do have to go electric in 10 years, I’m hoping the synthetic fuels coming from people like Porsche could be a game changer. Also strong agree on manual over auto 😂

An interesting take on these two cars Tish. If your journeys are likely to be shorter and you have a 7KW home charging point and maybe your longer destination also has a charging point then the Honda E would be worth consideration. I don't have the ability to add a 7KW home charger and I regularly travel 90 odd miles away where there there is also no home charge available. My choice would be with the UP!, it's a more involving drive and for longer journeys you can plug it into the green pump for a couple of minutes and off you go. As more public chargers sprout up range should be less of an issue but the time taken to charge them will increase those journey times and that could still be an issue for some.

The screens are impressive tech but they would reduce the range and what about the cost difference between electric and petrol?

Don't think they're really comparable as there's such an enormous price difference, the Honda E is more than double the price of the Up!Gti, plus if you drive the Honda in a spirited fashion you'll need a recharge in under 100 miles 😢

Mine has PS4, eibach streets, turbo elbow and a remap. I shock a lot of cars and down a backroad it's even more surprising. I have the money to buy a GR Yaris but it would mean selling the up, I don't know if I can do it :/ Great video kid......

Quite impressive how many screens they fitted into that little Honda. But i'll take the VW thank you :)

Great review. Personally like tech/ but don’t see why it can’t be discreet; why the need to go bigger like home tv or multiple screens- just doesn’t make sense to me. That fine line between an appliance and a car with an individual personality.

Golf GTI Mk1 🙂 Great review love

Tish. I’m getting sadder and sadder. I own eclectic and also electric. The latter just isn’t all that. Fave current car a 20 year old 3.2 156. And a Cappuccino lol. I got so close to getting a GTi UP.

VW up GTI because petrol car forever

She is so beautiful 😊

I just want the Honda E because it's cute. But it's not a replacement for a real car.

Love the up Gti and the Honda E but wish the Honda E had more range. I’d also not buy anything from John Banks

UP Gti all the way!

A mini cooper se would have been a better comparison against a hot hatch, the Hondas a bit slow

I prefer UP gti!

About 10k difference in price 2022 cars ,

Honda here in Ireland are dieing a slow death just like Mitsubishi, Subaru and Ssangyong. They are trying to charge €50 thousand for a Civic. Crazy. Don't see them being around much more on these shores which is a pity as I like Honda. I rather have the Honda E.

Can we have an ANALOG version of the Honda E ... buttons, buttons and simpler buttons that just works ... in the end, this is NOT star trek :/

Nice bit of continuity editing. I’m not convinced the 100% EV will happen it’s difficult to see them getting beyond about 30% of total because they are not an enough of a solution for enough people enough of the time unless by some miracle we get half a million 50kw chargers in the next seven years

Strip the electric drivetrain from the Honda e and drop in a 2l turbo petrol in. See how much more fun it would be without a couple of hundred kgs of battery. Hehe

VW is best although tall people wasn't considered when designing and building it. What age bracket did Honda targeted with this EV? It's quite clear tall people wasn't considered at all. What were they thinking?

The Honda E, in my opinion, is quite a cute looking EV. However, it is not selling well. Only 4,200 units of the Honda E were sold globally in 2021.

I was quite excited by the Honda E. I like the styling, but the range for the price is so disappointing. I've been contemplating a second hand VW E UP. Much better milage at a better price point.

Definitely Up GTi if driving engagement is the piority.

Honda is Honda and VW is VW 😀

All those screens are consuming the power from the battery

Honda E all day. Petrol cars are far too slow. In fact any electric car would beat the VW off the line.

I've got no problem with EVs, the problem comes with charging them. I have no drive and limited on road parking. My nearest charger is 1.5 miles away and it's an expensive ultra rapid charger. Without huge changes to prices and infrastructure, owning one will be an expensive headache.

Honda E looks great from the outside, but far far too much going on with the dash inside, there really is no need for all that screen real estate. If they cut some of that nonsense out would they not save weight and battery life? ...what happens to these screens in the future when they start to die, or people want the next level of high definition, an environmental nightmare.

Can you please refrain from trying to sell us this electric tosh? I did say please 😂

Honda E is a nice car. But the price is just crazy for the size of the car and competition. Shame.

Neither of these cars really appeal to me I'm afraid although as a brand I love Honda but I don't like electric cars. VW has never interested me.

I have a new Up Gti on order to be delivered this month. Yes £19k is a bit steep for what it is but the Honda E is ugly and seriously overpriced. And that's from someone who bought a brand new FK8 Type R for £33,500 four years ago.