Honda Prologue first drive: a pretty good start

Here we are in 2024, and Honda is a bit late to the electric vehicle game.

While some competitors have been pushing electrified options into the market at a lickity-split rate — I’m looking at you Kia and Hyundai — Honda has rested on the hybrid powertrains of the Accord, CR-V, and the soon-to-be remounted Civic, leaving itself in a bit of a pickle when it came to getting a fully electric vehicle to market. Sure, the company built the Clarity EV from 2017 to 2020, but it’s not like the sub-90 mile range lit the world on fire.

Enter General Motors and the Chevrolet Blazer EV. By joining forces with the American automaker and agreeing to use its Ultium platform for a pair of EVs, one from Honda and the other from Acura, the Japanese company was able to get an electric vehicle with nearly 300 miles of range to market much quicker.

The Honda Prologue, the company’s first long-range EV for North America, will start hitting dealerships this spring. And when it arrives, the midsized SUV (roughly the same size as the Honda Passport) will compete with the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and yes, even the Chevy Blazer EV — with which the Prologue shares a powertrain.

“But Emme,” I hear you ask, “didn’t GM just put out a stop-sale on the Chevy Blazer EV because cars were bricking themselves?”

Yes, it did. However, Honda assures us that while the new Prologue uses GM’s Ultium battery platform and hardware, the software is all Honda. The folks I chatted with at the launch of the Prologue in Healdsburg, CA last month didn’t seem too concerned with the GM stop-sale at all.

Whether that was authentic or not I can’t know, but during my time with the car I experienced no glitches. In fact, my drive in the Prologue turned out to be quite pleasurable — with no bricks crashing the party.

The Prologue will be available in EX, Touring, and Elite trims. The lower two trims have the option of front- or all-wheel drive, while the Elite trim puts power down to all four wheels exclusively. Front-wheel drive models have a single motor good for 212 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. Paired with an 85kWh battery, you’ll get 296 miles of range.

My time is in the Elite trim. This adds a rear-mounted motor and goes up to 288 ponies and 333 pound-feet of torque. The battery capacity is the same, but the dual-motor set up doesn’t exact too much of a punishment, producing 273 miles of range. If you want to eke out a bit more, opt for the mid-trim Touring all-wheel drive that can go 281 miles on a single charge.

The bummer here is that the Prologue can only accept a DC fast charge of 155kW. These days that’s hardly anything to write home about considering the Kia EV6 goes bigger at 235kW, while the Hyundai Ioniq 5 blows everything out of the water at 350kW. When charging at home, the 11.5kW onboard charger is fast enough to add 34 miles of juice in an hour, assuming you have a 48-amp wall unit. 

The Prologue comes with a CCS charging port, but you’ll eventually be able to use the Tesla supercharging network with the supplied NACS adapter. Honda has also partnered with EVgo and Electrify America, and owners will be able to access all three charging networks within the HondaLink app. This should make things much easier on owners who won’t have the hassle of juggling multiple apps and payment paradigms while on the road. Honda has also partnered with six North American manufacturers to build out a charging infrastructure, set to debut this summer.

Buyers also get their choice of three charging packages that prioritize home charging or charging at high-speed public stations. For example, buyers can snag a Level 2 home charging station and installation credit of $500 along with a smaller credit at public charging stations, or opt for a portable charging kit and a larger credit at public stations. Folks who have to street park or otherwise have no way to charge at home can get $750 toward charging at EVgo. Further, every Prologue comes with 60kWh of free charging from Electrify America, regardless of which charging package you choose.

Driving the new Prologue is a pleasant experience, thanks to a nicely tuned chassis and that instant electric torque. Off-the-line acceleration is a lot of fun and highway merging is a breeze. Punching the throttle even at higher speeds results in a burst of velocity to easily get around that slow Prius in the left lane. 

When the road turns twisty, the Prologue is likely composed enough for the type of people shopping for midsized SUVs, but it’s not what I would call grin-inducing. Of course power delivery is smooth, but the 21-inch wheels on my Elite tester are wrapped in Bridgestone Alenza all-season tires. These don’t offer the most grip, and the small-ish profile means bumps in the road are easily transmitted into the cabin. The smaller 19-inch wheels provide more of a sidewall cushion, which equals fewer bumps. The steering in Normal mode is light and direct, and there is a neat ambient noise that coincides with the car’s acceleration and deceleration. 

My Elite tester also gets a Sport mode, but there are no adaptive dampers on the Prologue, so the handling doesn’t change at all. The steering gets quicker and a bit heavier, two characteristics I enjoy very much, and the throttle gets a bit more responsive, but that’s about it. And you also get red ambient lighting. I know, very fancy.

The placement of the Sport button on the lower left part of the dash means it’s difficult to find. Included in the cluster are the buttons for lane keeping assist, auto hold, the dash lights, as well as the electronic parking brake. Drivers will likely get used to the placement within a few weeks, but I felt like I had to take my eyes off the road for too long to locate it during my drive.

Honda didn’t do much of anything to GM’s excellent regenerative braking system. At max regen, the Prologue brings itself to a complete stop without the driver ever needing to touch the friction brakes. Even when not at the highest level, there is a regen-on-demand steering wheel paddle for a quick shot of max regen. It’s great, and I love getting energy for free.

The Honda Sensing suite of drivers’ assistance is standard across the board and includes forward collision alert and emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, lane keeping assist, and the like. They all work as advertised but don’t expect any advanced hands-free technology here. We’ll likely have to wait a few years to see Honda jump up a level.

The design process of the Prologue started during the covid pandemic with all the travel restrictions therein. Honda says it relied on VR and AR to share ideas between the American and Japanese teams, and the result is a handsome car indeed.

The midsize SUV is the same length and width as the gas-powered Passport, but it’s lower to the ground for a more streamlined look. A pair of narrow daytime running lights are stacked on top of jeweled headlamps for a clean aesthetic. Honda calls it “neo-rugged” — whatever that means. I’ll just say that it strikes a great balance between traditional Honda designs and a more sculpted aerodynamic EV aesthetic.

There are a few standouts here. The new badging is pretty cool, with the brand name spelled out across the rear hatch in a futuristic font in lieu of the standard Honda “H.” There are also some excellent colors on offer, including “north shore pearl,” inspired by the waters of Lake Tahoe, California.

Inside, every Prologue gets heated front seats, a 10-way power adjustable driver’s seat with lumbar support, and a dual-zone HVAC system with physical controls. There is also push-button start, wireless charging, and a total of four 3.0-amp USB-C 45-watt charging ports. I dig the two-tiered center console with a storage cubby forward of the giant cupholders. The center armrest storage is spacious as well. 

Your need for screens is satiated by an 11-inch digital gauge cluster and a slightly larger infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard. Google is built in as well, so drivers get Google Assistant and access to the features on Google Play.

Type in a destination into Google Maps, and the system will not only give you charging stations along the way but tell you how long you’ll need to charge to reach your journey’s end. The system can even precondition the battery for DC charging to minimize your wait time. These are welcome features, taking some of the mystery out of trip planning, as more people make the switch to EVs.

You won’t get a frunk in the Prologue, which is disappointing. However, behind the rear seats is 25 cubic feet of space, expanding to nearly 58 cubes when those seats are dropped. Bear in mind, however, that those numbers apply only to the EX trim. Touring and Elite trims come with a smidge less space. It’s more than what’s found in the Kia EV6, though the Prologue falls behind what’s offered in the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Hyundai Ioniq 5. 

If you haul more people than things, you’ll be very happy with the rear seats and their two angles of recline. There are also four more inches of rear legroom than you’ll find in the Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X, two other potential competitors. Heck, it even bests the Mustang Mach-E rear seat legroom by an inch. However, things even out a bit when comparing the Ioniq 5 and EV6.

While Honda says it will bring an EV built on its own architecture to market in North America in 2025, buyers can scoop up the Prologue in March of this year. The 2024 Honda Prologue starts at $48,795 including $1,395 for destination for a front-wheel drive EX, while the top all-wheel drive Elite trim is a hefty $59,295.

If you’re wondering about the $7,500 EV federal tax credit, as of this writing the Prologue isn’t eligible. However, that may change in the future if it fulfills the IRS mineral and battery sourcing requirements. 

Still, the Prologue is a great start for Honda on its goal of introducing 30 new EVs globally by 2030. We hope that future models will charge a bit quicker and come with some form of hands-free driving capability, but buyers won’t be disappointed by this first stab at an electric offering.

Photography by Emme Hall / The Verge