Honda Honda CUVe: (2025 – ) review

The CUVe: (‘Clean Urban Vehicle’ in case you were wondering, though the ‘:’ is anyone’s guess) may look, as first glance, like a fairly generic A1 class electric scooter but it’s significant for a number of reasons, boasts more than its fair share of crafty design details and marks a significant milepost in Honda’s electric future. The slick design includes premium touches like full-width LED lights front and rear and is pleasing enough but the really interesting features are technical, these including the removable HMPPe (Honda Mobile Power Pack electric) batteries. There are two in the name of portability and are good for a 59mph top speed and potential range of 45 miles. The CUVe: also comes with two docks you can plug into a domestic socket for charging the packs anywhere that suits. The 7.0-inch TFT dash, complete with Bluetooth connectivity and navigation via Honda’s RoadSync Duo phone app along with calls and music, is a neat touch. A launch price just south of £4,000 including a six-year warranty and cheap PCP deal makes it more accessible and cheaper to run than many other electric scooters, too.

There’s nothing radical here – but nor does there need be. Seating is easy and accessible, with a flat foot ‘floor’, scooter leg guards, a plush seat and fairly low, narrow handlebars. It’s also relatively light for an electric scoot’, cute and nimble enough, though if you’re tall you may find – like us – the bars hit your knees on full lock U-turns. On the whole, however, the riding position is conventional and fine both around town and on slightly longer runs with comfort never in question.

If your idea of practicality is a cut-price, sub-20mile commute two-wheelers don’t get much better. As with most scooters, the CUVe: is a doddle to ride – it’s keyless, so just turn the operation knob to ‘on’, prod the ‘starter’ button and twist and go. It has enough performance to keep up with most town traffic. It’s zero emission so eligible for ULEZ zones. Its twin batteries give a claimed range of around 45miles and their clever portable system means they’re a doddle to recharge, taking just shy of three hours to go from 25 to 75 per cent. As such it costs virtually nothing to run. On the slight downside, those twin batteries take up most of the underseat luggage space but a quality top box is available as an optional extra. And the indicators don’t self-cancel, but those are mere quibbles.

Honda says CUVe: sets out to deliver performance on par with a conventional 110cc combustion-powered equivalent, and it pretty much achieves exactly that. Its 6kW electric motor is mounted in a smartly-designed cast aluminium swing arm rather than in the rear wheel and there are three easily switchable riding modes – Eco, Street and Sport. Eco is a bit flaccid, but there for emergencies, Street more than acceptable and Sport offering extra zap at the top of the rev range when it’s capable of a claimed 52mph, though we saw 59mph on the speed. To be honest performance is about what you’d expect but, in typical Honda fashion, power delivery for the CUVe: is more refined than most and there’s the bonus of a reverse ‘gear’ if you need it. The range isn’t massive but probably sufficient for its intended use, though riding enthusiastically in Sport mode got the battery to under 30 per cent within 25 miles. Braking is unspectacular but sufficient, courtesy of a single 190mm disc with one-piston Nissin caliper up front aided by a 130mm drum at the rear. There’s also a handy, ‘lock-on’ parking brake lever on the left bar.

Expectations aren’t high, given it’s a scooter. There’s a steel ‘underbone’ spine frame; bespoke, cast aluminium 12-inch wheels front and rear while suspension comprises fairly basic 26mm telescopic forks up front and a monoshock rear, with both non-adjustable. On smooth roads it delivers a comfortable ride with a pleasing blend of nimbleness and stability and only over poor surfaces, potholes and speed bumps (of which there was quite a few along our Oxford test route), did it crash or jar at all.

Without getting into the nitty gritty of electricity prices and mileages, as with pretty much any A1 electric scoot Honda’s newcomer costs mere pennies to run. There is no road tax and it’s ULEZ compliant as well, while modest performance means tyres and brakes should last pretty much forever. Insurance should be cheap, too, while the price – be that bottom line or on monthlies – is very attainable. Honda’s rep should mean decent residuals, too.

On face value this is unknown. The CUVe:’s an all-new machine with some new tech and Honda so far has little track record in electric scooters. That said across other markets Honda has to date launched a total of 13 electric scooters with no issues so far as we’re aware, while the wider brand of course has a very solid reputation. The CUVe: is built in Japan as well and even if some of the components are a bit budget the bike as whole feels premium, understressed and dependable.

All Honda’s currently benefit from an industry-leading SIX-year manufacturer-backed warranty and the CUVe: is no different. If nothing else, that should put any new buyer’s mind at rest. Servicing-wise, it’s a similar story while being all-electric means there are few moving parts and even fewer components that need checking or periodic adjustment. Instead, the CUVe: requires only a fairly rudimentary annual check, likely to cost less than £100.

Although it’s hard to notice the performance benefit the use of a bespoke aluminium swing-arm to mount the engine, rather than using the usual hub-type, is a classy touch. The large, Bluetooth compatible TFT screen is far better than most and, when linked to the phone app, the sat-nav is truly impressive. Keyless is a boon, switchgear is decent quality, the full-width LED lights are another nice touch plus there is usual scooter things like a cubby hole with USB charger point for your phone, and even an old-fashioned luggage hook.

The new CUVe: is immediately up there with the best electric scooters by virtue of its Honda badge, slick design, clever removable battery system and price. But there’s also more to it than that. As Honda’s second electric motorcycle for the European market the CUVe: is a significant marker for the brand’s future direction. Bigger and better versions are certainly coming, the battery system is as impressive as the tech and the price suggests electric two-wheelers can be made affordably after all.