Honda Prologue takes on Tesla
Honda entered the
U.S. market in earnest in the 1970s and ’80s, selling affordable, fun-todrive Civic compacts and Accord sedans to budgetconscious buyers.
For Honda 2.0, the Japanese automaker is going electric at a much higher price point.
Starting at $48,795, the midsize, two-row electric Prologue SUV is the most expensive Honda sold in the U.S. market.
The top-trim Elite model I tested here nearly crossed the $60K mark. That’s the same price as luxury-class EVS like an all-wheel-drive BMW i4, Cadillac Lyriq and Lexus RZ450E Premium. 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.
“Hey, Google. Take me to Las Vegas,” I barked at the Prologue’s tablet screen.
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.
A similarly sized gas-powered Honda Passport is the reason EVS like Prologue are niche vehicles. Gas-powered cars are simply more affordable to buy and more efficient to operate than their EV peers. Honda boasts that 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.
For all Honda’s ambitions to go all-electric by 2040, the brand knows that EVS are a luxe niche.
Mexico-made Prologue shares GM’S porky Ultium chassis with the Chevy Blazer EV and tips the scales at 5,600 pounds — 1,400 more than Passport.
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.
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), Prologue is comfy
and can swallow the family luggage in the large cargo hold.
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. Honda also eschews driver-assist systems found in comparably priced Lyriq and Model Y models.
Like its clever navi system, Honda lets Google Built-in answer voice commands. “Hey, Google,” I barked. “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.