The retro design trend that emerged in the 1990s may
be dead, but Honda's breathing fresh life into it with retro-futuristic designs
like the Urban EV and Sports EV concepts.
You don't need to look into Honda's crystal ball,
though, to see a cool-looking retro design. You can get one right now if you
live in Japan. It's the N-One, arguably the cornerstone of a range of stylish little Kei cars that Honda offers in its home market.
The automaker has been producing the N-One since
2012, but keeps rolling out incremental updates, like this one. Among the
changes are better sound insulation, UV-filtering windows, more USB outlets and
four trim levels: Standard, Select, Premium and RS.
The model pictured here is the RS in Sunset Orange
and black, but the N-One also available in other two-tone combinations, like
white with red, gray with red, dark green with black, or blue with black.
The RS looks sportier inside and
out and comes exclusively with a turbocharged 660 cc inline-three that's mated
(like the naturally aspirated version) to a CVT transmission, which is the only
gearbox available. The RS gets paddle shifters to select between artificial
ratios, and comes only in front-wheel drive form, though you can get the same
engine with all-wheel drive in the Premium Tourer version.
