Honda has confirmed its pint size Super One An electric car is coming to Australia. So what about driving? We had the opportunity to briefly test the boxy new electric hatch at Honda’s proving grounds in Japan.
REGARD: Paul’s Honda Tech Day video, including Super One ride!
This isn’t just another kei car concept for the Japanese market. Honda has confirmed that this very prototype is the basis for its first proper battery electric vehicle (EV) for Australia, with a launch here scheduled for the second half of 2026.
It’s a bold, bizarre and frankly risky move from a Japanese car brand that has built its modern reputation on sensible hybrids and practical SUVs.
We were given one very Short ride over three laps on a strictly controlled race track. The key question is simple: Is this little bag of tricks a truly fun, engaging and affordable urban electric vehicle that can reinvigorate the brand Down Under?
Or is it a strange, impractical experiment that has absolutely nothing to do with an Australian market obsessed with cheap, Chinese-made SUVs?
How much does the Honda Super One cost?
Honda Australia keeps prices low, which is typical. So far the only official word is that it will be “cheaper than a Civic”.
Let’s face it: This is a meaningless metric. The 2025 Honda Civic e:HEV L starts at $49,900 per car. In order to be competitive, the Super-One must not only be “cheaper” – it must also be in a completely different zip code.
The real battle isn’t with a $50,000 hybrid hatch. It sits at the budget end of the electric vehicle market, which is dominated by China.
The BYD Dolphin Essential starts at $29,990 before it hits the road, and the MG 4 Excite starts at $36,990. BYD has also just announced the prices for it Act 1which starts at $23,990 before on-road costs.
If Honda Australia prices the Super One above the $35,000 mark, it will be dead on arrival. Buyers will simply walk a few showrooms down the street and get a larger Chinese-built electric vehicle, probably with more range, for similar money.
The bottom line is: “cheaper than a Civic” is a marketing saying. The reality is that this car has to be “cheaper than an MG 4” to have a chance.
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What does the Honda Super-One look like from the inside?
The interior of our prototype drive is expected to be very close to the final production car.
It’s a space that’s 100 percent focused on the driver. The first thing that catches your eye are the heavily padded sports seats, which in the show car had a durable, two-tone fabric cover and a playful asymmetrical blue pattern on the driver’s side.
The dashboard itself is a simple, horizontal bar that gives you a clear and unobstructed view of the road. It’s fully digital, with a compact screen in front of the driver for the (racy-looking) triple instrument cluster and a floating tablet in the middle for infotainment.
Crucially, there appears to be a series of physical knobs and buttons for climate control, which is a welcome dose of common sense. The steering wheel is a standard Honda design, but features one very important addition: a large purple “BOOST” button just below your thumb.
As for practicality? Forget it.
This is a strict four-seater. The rear seats are upright and best reserved for short trips, which is what this car is designed for.
The trunk is also tiny. A few shopping bags or a briefcase can fit in there, but that’s about it. This is a city car, not a family car.
With that being said, people’s obsession with large vehicles is often unjustifiable, and for the person who is happy with something to get around the city, it makes perfect sense.
What’s under the hood?
Honda keeps quiet about the most critical specifications. We do not have any confirmed information on battery size (in kWh), motor power (kW/Nm) or charging speed.
This is the core information buyers need to make a decision, and without it, Super-One is just a concept.
What we Do I know it’s based on a Japanese “Kei” car, but built for export. This means that at just under 3.6 meters long and 1.6 meters wide, it is slightly larger than the strict Japanese kei car rules. That’s a good thing as it’s not tied to Japan’s power cap of 47kW.
Honda Australia has confirmed the Super One will undergo a local testing program to fine-tune its ride, handling and safety systems for Australian roads ahead of a market launch scheduled for the second half of 2026.
In lieu of performance figures, Honda has confirmed a boost mode for the prototype that simulates a seven-speed gearbox and feeds in a virtual engine sound. For most buyers, who are probably more interested in real-world range, this will likely be a hate-it-or-love-it gimmick.
Although unconfirmed, some reports suggest a potential range of around 295km, but Honda has not yet provided an official WLTP figure.
How does the Honda Super One drive?
We had one very short, three-lap drive with a pre-production Super One on a private test site.
And our quick track test was… interesting. To be clear, this is not a performance car. It doesn’t feel particularly punchy, but it doesn’t feel particularly slow either. It’s a fun gimmick, and I mean that in the best possible way.
Honda has taken a page from the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N playbook with its Boost mode. This isn’t just a simple overboost function; It’s a full body experience.
When you turn it on, a surprisingly cool, synthetic engine sound penetrates the interior. It also activates a simulated transmission that you can control using the steering wheel-mounted paddles.
It even Outliers during fake downshifts, sending a slight vibration through the chassis to give the feeling of an engine alive somewhere. It’s all completely artificial, but really entertaining.
When it comes to dynamics, its kei car roots are clearly visible in its tall, narrow body. You’d expect it to tip over at the first sign of a corner, but the low-mounted EV battery and wider wheel tracks than a kei car give it a secure yet nimble feel.
The prototype’s sticky tires offered decent grip and the torque delivery felt responsive, especially when Boost mode was engaged. It’s a bizarre and fun little car to drive around in.
I found it a bit difficult to sit in the driver’s seat as my elbow hit the door every time I turned the steering wheel. It felt like a mini Land Rover Defender with a narrow body with the seats too far out.
That being said, we’ll have to wait until we have a decent drive in Australia to get a proper feel for it.
Is the Honda Super One safe?
The Honda Super-One has not been crash tested by ANCAP.
However, Honda Australia has said it is aiming for a “at least four star safety rating”. This is a realistic, if not ambitious, goal for a car of this size and (potential) price.
Crucially, Honda has confirmed that the Super-One will be a full factory import, meeting all Australian Design Rules (ADRs).
This is a significant difference from the “grey import” kei cars that have recently come to light for failing to comply with ADR 85 related to side impact on poles. With Honda officially launching this car, buyers won’t have to deal with this bureaucratic mess.
We’re expecting a full range of advanced safety aids, but Honda hasn’t confirmed the final list yet.
Daily Sparkz’s interpretation of the Honda Super-One
To get straight to the point: the Honda Super-One is undoubtedly a lot of fun to drive.
In a world full of cumbersome, heavy, appliance-like electric vehicles, this thing feels like a go-kart.
It’s nimble, responsive, and Boost mode – with its fake engine noise, simulated gearshifts and even chassis vibrations – sounds like a terrible gimmick on paper, but is genuinely entertaining. It adds a level of driver engagement that is completely missing from its competitors.
Its kei car roots give it a tall, narrow profile, but the low-mounted EV battery and flared, wide track make it feel solid and stable. It’s a “slow, fast” champ and a car that will put a smile on your face during your city commute.
But – and this is a big, flashing neon sign But – A car has to do more than delight you in a three-lap thrash on a perfect test track. In the real world, this fun won’t matter at all if Honda gets the price wrong.
The VFACTS data paints a brutal picture. Honda as a brand is down 20 percent since the beginning of the year. The overall passenger electric vehicle segment, which the company is entering, has slumped with a decline of 53.6 percent. Buyers are fleeing from small cars to SUVs. The only small car that sells is the gasoline-powered Kia Picanto, which impresses on one point alone: it’s dirt cheap.
The Super One’s competition isn’t from other “fun” vehicles. Its competitors are the BYD Atto 1 at $23,990 and the MG 4 at $36,990. Both cars offer five seats, a usable trunk and a proven (or at least known) range. The Super-One is an austere four-seater with a trunk barely big enough for a laptop bag.
For this car to remain more than a quirky footnote, Honda Australia can’t be sensible. The “cheaper than a Civic” line is not a new one. If this lands at $38,000, most potential buyers will simply opt for the extra space and range of an MG 4 or similar.
For the Super-One to be successful, it needs to be priced so aggressively that it presents a real dilemma: choosing the practical and roomy Chinese EV or the really fun Japanese EV for similar money. Unless it comes close to the $30,000 mark, it will only be a toy for a handful of Honda fans.
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