- Honda may add sounds of past performance models to future EVs
- Sounds may be offered for download for a small fee
- Honda's next generation user interface can work the ability to shop in a car
The upcoming Honda 0 Series EVs will look very quiet inside.
But would you like your Honda EV to sometimes sound like a revving S2000 roadster? Or revisiting the look of the gauge cluster—and the sound of that CRX Si you once drove?
Honda EV audio feature for future UX games
Last week I got to sample such a program as part of a so-called Digital UX Concept installed in the Japanese-market Honda e. It gave a glimpse of what Honda could make available at a relatively small price in future EVs. 0 Series enters Honda's next generation user interfacewith facial recognitionalways updates on the airagain shopping in the car perhaps enabled on a market-by-market basis.
In addition to the S2000 and CRX, other options include the new Civic Type R, the NSX Type S from earlier this decade, and the final NSX-R version of the first-generation mid-engined car from 2002.
Honda EV audio feature for future UX games
Each demo has redesigned the instrument cluster with the look of the original car's gauge cluster, allowing for quick engine reverse in Park. Honda noted that the system reacts when the car is moving based on the speed and position of the accelerator, but does not simulate the gears.
One of the highlights of the show was the Honda Jet. In that setting, slowly stepping down on the accelerator rebuilds the takeoff.
It's one of the tightest combinations I've had on such a feature; if you're over the gimmick you can just keep quiet as usual. The sounds are for the inside of the car only, so those outside the car probably won't know the difference.
Honda EV audio feature for future UX games
Honda EV audio feature for future UX games
Honda EV audio feature for future UX games
A feature, in the form of modules to be downloaded for a small fee, is said to be under consideration. It may not be limited to future 0 Series EVs, however, as the user interface designed for the 0 Series will last distributed throughout the Honda systemincluding hybrids and other gasoline vehicles.
Everyone feels differently about EV sounds, it seems, if not directly related to safety. The NHTSA has said no to EV driver-selectable pedestrian sounds, and other sounds like Tesla's Boombox, which under its exemption issued government-mandated warning sounds. You can buy aftermarket noisemakers for Teslas that produce engine sounds inside and out, and the upcoming Dodge Charger Daytona EV is playing its tune.