Honda MC-B 2017: First Drive

As densely populated cities like Tokyo grow ever more congested, ultra-light car categories like the Kei (Japan's smallest car segment) will make way for an even smaller category of vehicles.

The yet-to-be-named category is currently in the process of meeting regulatory approval. But within two years, it will allow mini-movers like the Honda MC-B (Micro Car-Beta) to be registered and driven in Japan's capital, as well as other larger centres across Japan.

Quadracycle electric vehicles such as the MC-B are no stranger to these pages. In addition to the many weird and wonderful experimental vehicles from Japanese manufacturers, there are the (European) L7 category Renault Twizy ZE, Opel Rak e and Audi Urban Concept, some of which are already on the road in parts of Europe.

But for Honda at least, the MC-B represents the most pragmatic application of this type of vehicle to date. The all-electric, super-light four-wheeler offers offset tandem seating for two people, can be recharged from a 200V domestic outlet in less than three hours (or a 100V outlet in seven hours), and offers a driving range of up to 80km.

It's a reasonable charge-to-commute ratio for most urban dwellers. And in a city like Tokyo, with a population of around 13 million people, it presents as a realistic and perfectly reasonable form of personal mobility. It offers the basic controls and ancillaries of a regular budget hatch, and is remarkably easy to drive, in spite of its lack of power-assisted brakes or steering.

The MC-B uses a synchronous electric motor which develops 11kW and 57Nm. It can accelerate to 50km/h in "around 10 seconds" and boasts a top speed of 70km/h.

A quick lap of the car park at Honda’s R&D proving ground in Tochigi, Japan proved it’s sprightly off the mark, before tailing off at around 30km/h where pace softens slightly.

It's no less linear from this point on, and even when summoned to go faster is happy to comply with similar levels of enthusiasm.

As you'd expect from a vehicle measuring 2495mm long (900mm shorter than the body of a typical Kei-class car) and 1280mm wide, the MC-B is agile. The body, constructed from pipeframe techniques similar to a motorcycle, is well behaved when cornering, and doesn't feel nearly as top heavy as its 1545mm height may suggest.

It steers accurately and is quite light to control. The rack's ratio is a little longer than anticipated, perhaps to ease the effort required from the driver, but the turning circle is amazingly tight -- Honda says 3.3m.

It's a similar deal with the brakes which are well modulated with excellent response. Weighing less than 400kg, it stops in no time at all.

But just as impressive is the MC-B's lack of noise. There's virtually no mechanical din and despite the lack of windows, little wind noise. In fact the only sound of note is from the tyre tread rolling along the asphalt.

Side windows, like those on the Twizy ZE, are removed to save weight, but may be optional come sale time. Otherwise, indicators, a windscreen wiper/washer, headlights and a horn round out a very simple equipment list.

Honda says pricing for the MC-B is still a way from being announced, however, it’s likely it would undercut even the cheapest, conventionally-powered four-wheel model in its current domestic portfolio. By our reckoning, that’s somewhere under ¥795,000 (or AUD$10,000) by the time the MC-B goes on sale in 2017.

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