We don’t often look at concept cars on Curbside Classic but every once in a while, a concept car harkens back to the past. But far beyond being merely a retro throwback, the Honda Urban EV concept represents the very best of the past and the best of the future. And it’s actually going to be produced.
The last time a retro Japanese concept car really wowed me was the Nissan IDx. Sadly, Nissan decided it wasn’t profitable to launch a compact rear-wheel-drive coupe – it hasn’t even confirmed when a replacement Z-car will arrive – so that concept may never see the light of day.
The Honda Urban will reach production, however, with an estimated launch date in 2019. It may be referencing a less iconic design – it pays homage to the first Civic – but its minimalist detailing is refreshing in an age of sculpting and feature lines. So is its size: the Urban measures almost 4 inches shorter than the Fit.
Gosh, would you just look at this thing? It’s adorable. Even if you’re too young to remember the first Civic, you might be tempted by this car. Imagine a production version little changed from this concept, and how it could dent Fiat 500 or Mini sales as well as appeal to buyers of electric vehicles like the Chevrolet Bolt.
The interior is both futuristic and austere, with shades of the Tesla Model 3. A panoramic screen sweeps across the dashboard with additional screens in the doors.
It’s not the only retro-themed electric car at this year’s Geneva show. VW has an electric revival of its Kombi/Bus with the ID Buzz, but it seems Volkswagen has miscalculated—instead of putting the compact Bus-themed Bulli into production, it is launching a Ford Explorer-size van that will undoubtedly carry Ford Explorer-size pricing. I’m sure it’ll sell in reasonable volumes but it won’t capture the zeitgeist like the New Beetle or the Chrysler PT Cruiser. Or, well, the original Bus.
Ignore the touted ability to display messages in the grille, and the coach doors, and you can imagine what this would look like in Honda showrooms. Technical details haven’t been released but the Urban will use a new a dedicated EV platform. Honda seems to be regaining its mojo, as evidenced by the hugely successful new Civic. If they price the production Urban correctly, they may have another hit on their hands.
I like it. The classic Civic shape is unmistakable. I am less crazy about all of the screens inside, though.
Yup – love the exterior but not so much on the interior.
Well, it is a concept car. They may still give the final production version a more traditional dash.
On the other hand, for airplanes a “glass” cockpit has been the norm for decades now. It may only be a matter of time until we see the same concept replacing traditional gauges in cars.
Bit of a contrarian here but I love the integrated use of the screens plus a modern take on the bench seat.
Stunning simplicity IF it can be produced this way, although I’m not sure of the combination Citroen/1964 Chrysler shaped steering wheel-and no sun visors?
Oh no! Another Quartic steering wheel.
Neat enough design otherwise.
But who wouldn’t want their new car to be associated with the quality, performance, and owner satisfaction of the classic Austin Allegro? 😉
Some external resemblance, also, to the amazing mid-engined, turbocharged, four-wheel-drive Honda Z UM-4 Kei car-previously covered here on Curbside Classic.
I do love the “couch” arms on the front seat-just the place to curl up with a book when traffic gets stopped.
This is very appealing, though I join in the skepticism that the final product will look this clean. The riot of bulges and folds on the otherwise excellent new Civic has me worried for Honda’s styling in the near future.
I love it. An electric that brings me back to my old ’77 CVCC 5-speed might be irresistible. The lease on my electric Fiat is up in 2020….
My favorite thing here is the bench seat.
I do hope a more extensive infrastructure is in place by the time the hordes of EVs hit showrooms in 3-4 years. I think what will sway buyers to buy EVs will be the possibility of home charging, which could be troublesome for urban apartment dwellers.
I’m not sure an electric van/bus will fly yet. I don’t want a VW microbus i can’t go for a road trip in, or can only on carefully planned routes with numerous 30-minute stops to refuel.
Also, I’d rather have those cool skylights than sunroofs in my VW bus. Without them, a modern version won’t capture the essense of the T1 (and yes, I know most T1s didn’t have them either).
There is really nothing that would sway me to buy an EV in their current state of development. I really have no interest in them. If they ever get to the point where I can pick up a used one for a grand or two that will give me the same level of functionality as a conventional gasoline-powered car give me a call.
The ones in these photos look like some kind of cartoon cars.
If you’re the sort of person who buys $2,000 cars, I don’t think your tastes are really relevant to the automakers.
Even if my allergic reaction to car payments were to subside and I went shopping for something new, as it stands today I would still not consider an electric car. For that matter I would not want anything that looked like it jumped out of the pages of a comic book either.
Do you think that the Honda Urban is a Hatchback?
The VW should be a gas engine, go anywhere vehicle. And this concept came out about 5 years ago and should have been on the market long before now.
Lovely car. The smooth clean look is very appealing as are the fender flares and wide tires. It looks more like a modified autocross retro Civic, instead of a stock one . I’m growing tired of the complicated details on most newer cars. A riot of folds and creases, and oddly-shaped lights is not styling. It simply detracts from an appealing overall shape, and will look dated in a few years, just as tailfins looked 50 years ago.
Smooth clean styling is timeless, as we see in such retro concepts.
After years of fish-mouths and lizard-eyes, at last a clean, nice design.
Maybe we’ll finally reach a turning point in automotive styling. Like 1960, when automakers started to ditch the chrome overload and monster tail-fins.
Just hope Honda doesn’t tart it up with gills and an evil grin.
As for all the video screens, I have two words – distracted driving!
Happy Motoring, Mark
This is 4″ shorter than the Fit? The original 1973 Civic (I had one) was 20″ shorter and 1000lbs. lighter!
“Ignore the touted ability to display messages in the grille”
Sounds like either fun or a way to be passive aggressive (and can you be pulled over for ‘distracted driving’ because you’re typing messages?)
They’ll need to make that oh-so-common Honda hinomaru orange a paint color option if they really want to capture the nostalgia wave. And can an Accord or del Sol tribute be in the future?
Sadly, with the drivers in our area, the message-grille would be permanently set to “!retsaf og” or “!uoy $&?#.”
!deewkcid enal tfel fo tuo teg
There’s something about the grille display that seems like it would run afoul of state and local laws. Even if there weren’t some existing lighting or lighted-signage law, it’s the kind of thing that antagonizes local legislators, so they’d MAKE it illegal if it isn’t now.
I owned a gen 1 Civic (so early from the Civics Australian run that it still had an mph speedo in Aus, so it must have been a ’73 model), and yet I thought this thing was some update on a Mini Clubman. I like the styling well enough, but the Civic cues are rather lost on me.
Reminds me of a 1983-1998 Peugeot 205.
+1
+2, the back half.
I like this. Bench seat. No console. But would prefer a 3 cyl gas engine option.
But it still isn’t as appealing as a Nissan Pao.
I don’t like the million spoke wheels or the square steering wheel(why do designers keep trying to make that work?) but I love the rest, it’s everything Honda used to be but no longer is, packaged in a way they presumably would be today had they not bloated up with full model lineups with nothing smaller than what used to be the size of the Accord. I loved the Nissan IDx too, but I had little hope for a 3 box 2 door getting approved for production, let alone have buyers, in this faux practicality minded market.
Throwback styling isn’t something I can find fault with, because ALL styling acknowledges the past. Show me a car you *think* is all new and I can present an example from the 1970s and earlier that the new design knocked off major elements from.
+1 to just about all of this.
I wasn’t aware of the Nissan IDx, but I love it. Of course it never had a chance. Fortunately for automakers I’m not representative of the average new car buyer, and at nearly 50 I’ve only ever purchased one new car and am not likely to do so again regardless of finances. My solution to the absence of an IDx on the market is to wait patiently for a used Kia Forte Koup to show up on the market with the right drivetrain and options and at the right price (it’ll another year at least before they’re entering my price point sweet spot. I just don’t feel right about paring with more than $5k for a car.) As for EV’s, I suppose some day soon we’ll all be familiar with them and maybe even used to them, but I just can’t imagine feeling “right” driving something that didn’t have the familiar sounds and vibrations associated with an internal combustion engine.
I’m guessing there will be a cottage industry someday of mods for electric vehicles to make them sound and feel like “vintage” cars. Want your EV to sound like a 911 or Simca Aronde? Just download the right sound file. Want the sensation of revving? Add a few game-controller-style vibrating buzzers and you’re set.
Heh, looking even further with autonomy the ultimate endgame will probably be LCD windshields with selectable backgrounds, fake steering wheel, pedals, noise and vibration. In other words, a driving game!
Ummm… There is something looking not a million miles from that already, it’s called the Suzuki Ignis – presumably you don’t get it in the US?
Interesting little car, but you’re correct that it’s not sold in the US. Suzuki stopped their American sales in 2012.
I forgot… It’s just been introduced here in Austria as a sort of competition to the VW Up! and reports are favorable. May get interesting if and when Suzuki fit it with more than 90 hp.
Speaking of cars styled by Tonka, you do get the KIA Soul though?
We do get the Soul , and they seem very popular, at least in our area.
I love it! Of course it’s way bigger than that original Civic, which has looked like a spaceship since 1984, but I love how it pays homage to the original. And I wish VW would stop teasing us with those concepts and put a modern day Microbus in its line-up – IIRC they’ve been showing Microbus concepts ever since the New Beetle arrived in 1998.
So a 205 Pug with a Mini Clubman front is somehow a retro Honda Civic, interesting what people will read into a concept car. EVs are coming in here by the shipload the charging infrastructure is sprouting up all over the place too with charging stations being sited in out of the way places to ease range anxiety, I’d have one but for the mean time I looking for another diesel, the EV idea is taking off here better late than never I guess
Thank god someone else sees the Mini Clubman front. And as has been pointed out further above, Peugeot 205 rear. Original it is not. Quite nice over all, though.
My first thought when I saw this was if the original 80’s movie Tron had cars instead of bikes this would be it!
Love it. That’s what the Chevy Bolt should have looked like (which I don’t dislike as is anyway) but it’s in no way very distinctive. On second thought, there isn’t much Chevy could have made the Bolt look like that would make anyone particularly nostalgic (Chevette? Sprint?). If Honda produces it, I’d guess they’ll sell a ton.
Is it just me or does that Nissan IDx thing look like a first generation Celica notchback? I always thought it looked like something (but not a Datsun/Nissan and certainly not a 510), then the posted picture finally jogged it loose for me…
The Microbus thing has been teased by VW for so long in so many different but essentially similar forms, it’s getting to the point that the concepts are almost having a longer lifespan than the actual original van.
I very much agree with you on the IDx; it sure doesn’t look Nissan to me. First gen. Celica coupe in the C-pillar certainly, with some first gen. Mazda Capella hardtop (with the square lamps we never got) in the front.
Honda says it will be for sale in Europe by 2019, no word about North America. Too bad, because it’s a fine balance of retro and future styling cues. And that face ( c’mon, it’s a face) should be in the sequel to WALL-E!
I like the detailing of this, which will likely be lost in production, but not the overall shape. The roof seems ridiculously flat, and leads me to believe it’s quite tall for the size. I know everyone sees first gen. Civic here, but for me it looks and awful lot closer to the early second generation; those front and rear sections seem to mimic that car in those areas much closer.
NOW here’s the thing. I wouldn’t even mow the lawn if there wasn’t some internal combustion involved. Electric is fine for my razor, my phone, TV & fridge etc. Somewhere there just has to be some suck, squeeze, bang, blow, to make my life worthwhile. Didn’t Tim-the-toolman Taylor rig up an internal combustion engine to his garbage disposal ?
That character was a buffoon, on a fictional sitcom. I’d take that more as an indictment than a suggestion.
I don’t about you, but that Honda just oozes CUTE! Not to mention it emulates the original Civic too… I’d sure like to have one just to spite the Nay-sayers and electric car-phobes. Now if they only had one in a colour to match my ’69 Sport Fury ragtop…