Honda has finally got an interesting looking electric car to sell... and it’s not coming to the UK. Boo, hiss, etc. 

This is the new Insight SUV, which is about to go on sale in Japan as a limited run of 3,000 models. The car is a rebadged version of the e:NS2, which is an electric SUV sold in China as part of Honda’s joint venture with local carmaker Dongfeng. 

The original Insight was an innovative hybrid model that fought it out with the Toyota Prius in the late 1990s, but ultimately failed to capture the imagination. 

There’s nothing particularly innovative about this new Insight, although it does look fun, with an air of Kia EV4 about its droopy snoot. It has a 68.8kWh battery that’s rated for 339 miles on the China-specific CLTC procedure. 

As far as we understand there are no plans to bring the new Insight to the UK – although Japanese cars are also right-hand drive – but the company is crucially without an EV on sale in the country as its e:NY1 SUV appears to have been quietly taken off sale. 

Sometimes cars are briefly unavailable because of supply issues or spec updates, but the e:NY1 doesn’t appear on the Honda website, and isn’t featured in any of its promotional materials around electric materials. As recently as December 2025 the company was pushing the electric SUV with some perky discounts. 

Honda has a range of hybrid options on sale in the UK, as well as a plug-in hybrid version of its flagship CR-V SUV. If the e:NY1 has been permanently taken off sale that makes it the second Honda EV that’s been withdrawn from sale following a disappointing performance – the likeable Honda e city car suffered from a low range and a high price and was only on sale for just over two years. 

The Japanese carmaker is pinning its hopes on the arrival of its new 0 Series range of electric cars that have been teased by a variety of concept cars, but nothing has yet gone into production. Early on in the process we were told that the new cars would go on sale in 2026, but unspecified delays have pushed the new cars back to 2027. 

This is probably as close as any of us will ever get to seeing the inside of the new 2026 Honda Insight...