Healdsburg, California (tca/dpa) — Honda entered the US market in earnest in the 1970s and ‘80s, selling affordable, fun-to-drive Civic compacts and Accord sedans to budget-conscious buyers. I was one of those customers, ultimately buying two Civics and an Accord for my young family.
For Honda 2.0, the Japanese automaker is going electric at a much higher price point.
Starting at $48,795, the mid-size, two-row electric Prologue SUV is the most expensive Honda sold in the US market. The top-trim Elite model I tested here nearly crossed the $60K mark at $59,295. That’s the same price as luxury-class EVs like an all-wheel-drive BMW i4, Cadillac Lyriq and Lexus RZ450e Premium. Yikes. Batteries ain’t cheap, and to achieve the holy grail of 300-mile range, the first Honda EV is entry-level only by the standards of the premium niche EV market.
That’s the reality as Prologue — aka, the beginning — leads Honda’s transition to an all-electric brand like Tesla.
Ah, Tesla.
My Prologue may be cross-shopped against the cheaper-but-just-220-mile-range Toyota bz4x. But in truth, every EV is cross-shopped against the Tesla Model Y, the mid-size SUV that dominates EV sales and was the (wow) fifth best-selling vehicle in the USA last year behind the Detroit Three trucks and Toyota RAV4. Tesla’s trillion-dollar market cap is the envy of the industry and has automakers from Tokyo to Detroit to Munich playing copycat.
Tesla’s Apple-like design was key — but so was its proprietary charging network that trounced unreliable competitors. Until now.
“Hey, Google. Take me to Las Vegas,” I barked at the Prologue's tablet screen.
Just like my Tesla’s navigation system, Google Built-In charted my course — complete with charging stops. Where to eat while I charged at dinner time? Google listed a Wayback Burger joint, Subway and Taco Bell within 500 feet of the charger. Just like Tesla. What did the surrounding area look like? Google Earth showed a shopping center. Just like a Tesla.
Also, the trip would take 13½ hours — not the 10 hours in say, a similarly-sized gas-powered Honda Passport. Oh.
Passport is the reason EVs like Prologue are niche vehicles. Honda is targeting 40,000 sales for the $49K Prologue — same as the $42K Passport. Really? The conventional wisdom is EVs only need better infrastructure to be competitive with gas vehicles, but the well-trafficked, charging station-stuffed I-5 corridor that connects the Bay Area and Los Angeles to Vegas belies that claim.
Gas-powered cars are simply more affordable to buy and more efficient to operate than their EV peers. Honda boasts Prologue will gain 65 miles of range in 10 minutes at a fast charger. Passport will fill its 424-mile range tank in three minutes. Who wants to spend an extra 3.5 hours on the road charging with kiddies in tow when traveling to see grampa and gramma?
For all Honda’s ambitions to go all-electric by 2040, the brand knows EVs are a luxe niche. So it loads its advertising copy with the green greatest hits to attract the faithful:
Eco-Responsible and Effortless! We’re empowering eco-conscious driving!
The Prologue offers exciting performance with sustainability!
Um, exciting performance might be stretching it. Honda is rightly proud of its performance heritage with some of the best-engineered cars on the planet. The Ontario-assembled 2006 Honda Civic Si in my driveway is still a hoot to drive with apex-hugging suspension and a screaming 8,000 rpm engine that begs to be flogged. Even the Ohio-made Passport can excite with its masculine V-6 and lithe (for a big ute) 4,200-pound curb weight.
Mexican-made Prologue, by contrast, shares GM’s porky Ultium chassis with the Chevy Blazer EV and tips the scales at 5,600 pounds — a whopping 1,400 more than Passport. Oof. I steered Prologue over the spaghetti roads of Sonoma Valley, and the Prologue is no Civic (did Honda ever market Civic in the ritzy Northern California wine region?)
The electric torque is welcome, but Prologue can’t hold a candle to the similarly priced Tesla Model Y Performance, which has twice the power and is 1,200 pounds lighter. Step on Y’s throttle and — ZOT!— you’re in the next county.
Prologue has good, smooth torque for strong highway merges, which is where it’s at its most comfortable. With its pickup-like rear seat room (42 inches, which beats the Y’s already palatial 40 inches), Prologue is comfy and can swallow the family luggage in the large cargo hold. If the kiddies’ shoes get muddy on the trip, just throw them in the nifty sub-cargo storage bin.
That cubby care is also present in the Passport, and Honda is determined that Prologue continue the bloodline into the EV future.
Stem to stern, Prologue is a Honda. The front maintains the horizontal lights and black brow of Pilot and Passport — even as it loses the big grille necessary to feed a gas engine. The greenhouse is narrower than Passport but still square for good headroom. Under my Elite’s panoramic roof, familiar Honda ergonomics included volume knobs, steering wheel controls and plentiful console storage space.
Still, frills are lacking at $50K. For an EV announcing a new age, there’s little New Age on Prologue.
Pop the hood and there’s only a nest of electronics — not a tidy, useful frunk that you’ll find in a Model Y or Mustang Mach-E. That seems an oversight for a brand usually obsessed (think Honda Fit dexterity) on additional room. That pano roof — standard on Tesla — is only available on top trims. Even the dash lacks the honeycomb flair of the Civic and Accord.
Honda also eschews driver-assist systems found in comparably priced Lyriq and Model Y models.
Honda Sense is generous with standard emergency braking, blind-spot assist and adaptive cruise — but competitors offer Super Cruise (GM) and Autopilot (Tesla) for easy highway cruising. Cruising own Highway 101, I activated adaptive cruise which was also . . . familiar from other Hondas.
Like its clever navi system, Honda lets Google Bulti-In answer voice commands. “Hey, Google,” I barked again. “Tell me a joke.”
Did you hear about the snowman that got upset when the sun came out? It had a total meltdown!
“Hey, Google. Turn on the driver’s heated seats.”
Turned on the driver’s heated seats.
“Hey Google. Nice car, but don’t stop making affordable gas-powered models, OK?”
No answer, but we’ll see what the future brings.
2024 Honda Prologue
Vehicle type: Battery-powered, front- and all-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV
US price: $48,795, including $1,395 destination ($59,295 Elite AWD as tested)
Powerplant: 85 kWh lithium-ion battery mated to one or two electric motors
Power: 212 horsepower, 236 pound-feet of torque (FWD); 288 horsepower, 333 pound-feet of torque (AWD)
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.0 seconds (Motor Trend); towing, 1,500 pounds
Weight: 5,600 pounds (estimated, AWD as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA est. range, 273-296 miles
Report card
Highs: Roomy cabin; Google Built-In navigation
Lows: Lacks clever Honda interior, storage; long road trip compared to cheaper gas-powered Passport
