Take the donor Fit’s award winning best in class track record, Honda's excellent in-house FCX clarity EV drive system, and
Toshiba’s SCiB 4000 cycle battery for the Fit EV. Add in 6.6kW on board charging, the highest MPGe efficiency, plus best in class 82 mile EPA range and the Honda Fit EV looks irresistible.
I have been on the hunt for my next EV since returning the MINI E in April. For me, the implementation of regenerative braking defines the EV experience. So I was very exited to get to test drive the Honda Fit EV after reading Brad Berman’s
First Drive: Honda Fit EV Combines Power and Practicality review around the Twin Ring Montegi grounds north of Tokyo.
I was really hoping for regen that was “in the neighborhood of the Mini-E”. Well, it’s not, but it is better than any other available affordable EV.
You cannot one-pedal the HFEV like you could the MINI E. On the flat, maybe half of the total regen is available at full A-pedal lift off. You (mostly) have to go to the brake pedal to engage the other 50%. This, coupled with “creep”, will have you on the brakes anytime you think you will slow below ~5mph, even in “B” gear and “Sport” mode. While the MINI E would let you maintain “rush hour” spacing without touching the brake in Slow-and-Go traffic, you are going to have to hang back farther than normal in the HFEV unless you want to dance on both pedals. Still, on flat ground the HFEV has twice the A-pedal regen of the LEAF (in ECO), and stronger than the Mitsubishi i driven in “B”.
My impression is that the LEAF and HFEV both have better brake feel than the touchy Ford Focus. But after driving the LEAF for the past couple days, how that blending happens is different, and significant. Brad Berman’s interview with Kunimichi Hatano, the engineer who created Honda’s new regenerative braking system, found here;
Honda Reinvents Regenerative Braking for Fit EV, detailed Honda’s strategy for blending regenerative braking.
In the MINI E, if you don’t touch the brake pedal, it’s all regen that slows you, giving the best possible efficiency. An earlier thread on the LEAF,
Regen reduced when friction brakes are engaged, parsed how and when the LEAF used regen, and when it uses friction to stop. The issue being how much brake could you apply before you started adding friction braking. As it turns out, the LEAF seems to start by giving you what you ask with friction braking first, and then ramps over to regen with continued applied pressure. Busy modulation will happen with friction over a baseline of regen. As shown on the Honda slide "Benefits of new electric servo braking".
Honda also uses friction. But, it’s servo brake system applies more regen sooner. Reducing the energy lost to heat with friction braking. Brake feel is excellent because it actually measures brake force results with feedback, not just map’d behavior expectations. Quicker response being more efficient because it reduces friction braking for a ~5% net efficiency improvement.
In addition, Honda monitors when the car is headed downhill, and increases the amount of regen available to compensate. Lift throttle at speed in “Sport + B” mode on flat ground resulted in ~ 50% available regen. The same lift throttle while descending steeply downhill back to the Rose Bowl pegged the energy meter at 100% with discernibly stronger regen. The result is your net lift-throttle slowing distance on hills, and on the flat, is very similar. Like the LEAF, max regen is reduced at high %SOC values.
I have to say the Fit EV definitely has a sporty feel to it. Unlike the Ford Focus drive events, Honda set up two “Autocross” courses so drivers could really throw the HFEV around. And tossable it is, confirming Honda’s confident in their product. A Nissan LEAF was also provided for back-to-back comparison. Though the LEAF handled well, it did not inspire the level of confidence the HFEV’s nicely weighted steering feel did. The Fit EV, like the MINI E, felt agile, controllable, and predictable. No drama, just fun.
So each of the “affordable” EVs has its strengths. The LEAF is a roomy family car, the Ford Focus will appeal to drivers in harsh climates, it’s EVness invisible. The Mitsubishi i for the Keep-It-Simple-Stupid and budget EV market. And the Fit as the high utility Hot-Hatchback that is fun to drive.
