The Prologue is the first all-electric SUV from Honda. It’s got an excellent range of up to 296 miles, a smooth ride, and a comfortable and roomy interior, but isn’t exciting to drive and has a relatively high price.
Base Price: $57,900
As Tested: $59,750
Horsepower: 288
Mileage: 99 MPGe city/84 MPGe highway/92 MPGe combined
It comes in three trims: EX, Touring and Elite. Starting prices range from $47,400 to $57,00. This is high for an electric SUV. Front-wheel drive is standard and all-wheel drive is available. There’s room for five passengers in two rows of seating.
The Prologue shares the same platform with the Chevrolet Blazer EV, and it has some GM features that may seem strange to longtime Honda drivers.
The EX and Touring Trims come standard with a 85-kWh battery pack and single-motor (front-wheel drive) configuration. The range on both trims is 296 miles. This powertrain makes 212 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque.
The Elite trim comes with a dual-motor (all-wheel drive) configuration, which is available for an additional $3,000 on the two lower trims. The range for the Elite trim is 273 miles, while all-wheel drive versions of the EX and Touring trims have a range of 281 miles. The output for this AWD powertrain is 288 horses and 333 pound-feet.
The Prologue is easy to drive, no matter the trim. It’s not sporty, but it does have a smooth ride and feels surefooted when cornering. Like all EVs, the Prologue has snappy acceleration from a stop and there’s enough power for merging and passing at freeway speeds. But it doesn’t have the nearly instantaneous acceleration of many EVs and can feel a little sluggish in comparison. Brakes are responsive, and you can set regenerative braking modes to your preference, ranging from none to one-pedal driving. The ride is smooth and balanced, even over rough roads. All in all, the Prologue is pleasant to drive. But if you’re looking for something with nimble, athletic performance, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere.
The Prologue has quick charging times. Honda says that with a Level 2/240-volt charger, the Prologue can charge at 34.1 miles per hour. With a Level 3/DC fast charging, you can recharge 65 miles of range in about 10 minutes, or the battery will go from 20% to 80% charged in about 35 minutes.
The Prologue is a bit less efficient than other EV SUVs. EPA ratings for my tester are 99 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) city and 84 MPGe highway with a combined rating of 92. EX and Touring models with the dual-motor powertrain are rated at 101 MPGe city and 88 MPGe highway with a combined rating of 95 MPGe. And the EX and Touring single-motor set-up gets 107 MPGe city and 91 MPGe highway with a combined rating of 99 MPGe.
The cabin is spacious and airy with a clean design. Most materials look and feel nice, but there are hard plastics, too, which you may not expect in a vehicle at this price point. The gloss black finish gives a modern look, but it also shows dust and fingerprints. The shifter is on the steering column, which opens up space between the two front seats. The two cupholders there are ginormous – big enough for 32-ounce tumblers. Front seat passengers have plenty of leg- and headroom. There’s good legroom in the second row, but the sloping roofline eats into the headroom so taller passengers may wish for more. The rear seats have two angles of recline. The cabin is as quiet as a library with little road and wind noise.
Standard features include remote start, keyless entry, push-button start, rearview camera, dual-zone automatic climate control, cloth upholstery, heated front seats, power-adjustable driver’s seat, 11-inch digital driver instrument display, infotainment system with 11.3-inch HD touchscreen with Google built-in, six-speaker audio system, satellite radio, HD Radio, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth, four USB-C ports (two in front and two in back), wireless device charging, Wi-Fi hot spot, automatic high-beam headlights, and a universal garage door opener
Available features include a surround-view camera system, head-up display, Sport driving mode, leather upholstery, heated steering wheel, ventilated front seats, driver’s seat memory settings, power-adjustable front passenger seat, 12-speaker Bose premium audio system, and a panoramic sunroof with retractable shade.
Standard driver assistance technologies include forward collision warning, forward automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, lane-change assist, blind-spot monitoring, blind zone steering assist, pedestrian detection, rear cross-traffic alert, rear cross traffic braking, and rear pedestrian alert.
Available driver assistance technologies include traffic-sign recognition, front and rear parking sensors, and rear pedestrian detection.
The infotainment system looks great with its large 11.3-inch screen and sharp graphics. The software is Google-based and includes Google Assistant, Google Maps, and Amazon’s Alexa. But there are many menus and sub-menus so it can take some time to figure out where everything is. Honda made the system easier to use while driving by incorporating a finger rest on the touchscreen so the driver’s hand can be steadied when pressing an icon. There are also large buttons and knobs for commonly used controls such as volume and climate.
Cargo space is on par with other electric SUVs. There are 25.2 cubic feet with both rows of seating in place, and 57.7 cubes with the second row folded. The rear seats split-fold 60/40. A small area under the cargo floor provides another .5 cubic feet out of sight. But there’s no frunk (front trunk). A power liftgate is standard and a hands-free power liftgate is available.
The good:
Excellent range of up to 296 miles
Smooth, comfortable ride
Spacious, airy cabin
Lots of standard and available features and tech
Standard wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
The not-so-good:
Meh handling
Relatively high starting price
Pricing info:
My tester starts at $57,900. The Pacific Blue Metallic paint is $455. Destination fee is $1,395 bringing the grand total to $59,750.
Bottom line:
Honda has a solid offering in its first electric SUV. The 2024 Prologue has an excellent range, smooth ride, roomy cabin and many standard features and tech. Drawbacks are humdrum handling and a relatively high starting price.
