For an organization that’s been constructing hybrid automobiles for the reason that late Nineteen Nineties, Honda has been a bit sluggish to undertake full electrification in its march towards environmentally acutely aware vehicles. However the automaker’s first severe effort at an EV will arrive subsequent yr within the type of the 2024 Honda Prologue, a Passport-sized crossover with a focused vary of 300 miles.

As has been reported earlier than, the Honda shares an Ultium platform and battery with electrical GMs just like the Chevrolet Blazer EV, however the automaker is assured that its distinctive suspension tuning, styling, and cabin will probably be sufficient to make sure repeat clients will probably be comfy. That battery, by the best way, will measure 85.0 kilowatt-hours, giving probably the most environment friendly variations of the Prologue a manufacturer-estimated vary of 300 miles. The crossover EV will probably be accessible in single- and dual-motor variants, and though full powertrain specifics haven’t been launched, the all-wheel-drive model will boast 288 horsepower and 333 pound-feet of torque.

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Max-Affect Minimalist

The 2024 Honda Prologue is roughly as lengthy and as broad because the Passport, but it surely rides on an expansive 121.8-inch wheelbase – up practically a foot over the internal-combustion SUV. That offers the Prologue a planted stance with the wheels stretching method out to the corners and holding overhangs pleasantly clipped. The exterior appears to be like clean and polished, with a good-looking – if a bit nameless – look. Slender headlights, a gloss black grille panel, and refined air curtains on the bumper corners are fashionable and glossy, and the expansive wheelbase results in a trim, tidy rear finish that options the brand new Honda:e typeface on the hatch as an alternative of a brand badge.

The automaker didn’t disclose the Prologue’s drag coefficient, but it surely did say that the EX and Touring fashions’ 19-inch wheels and the Elite’s 21s have been optimized to cut back turbulence. Talking of, these bigger alloys are the most important ever fitted to a series-production Honda, filling out the fender arches very properly.

The inside of the Prologue will really feel very acquainted to people buying and selling in an Accord Hybrid thanks to straightforward Google Constructed-In, which can come on each trim degree of the EV. The 11.0-inch digital gauge cluster and 11.3-inch infotainment show ought to supply spectacular graphics and responsiveness, if our experiences within the Accord are to be believed, and the tech will tie in Google Maps, Assistant, and the Play app retailer proper on the middle display screen.

Honda additionally gives glorious storage within the cleanly styled cabin, with open storage beneath the middle console, large cupholders sized for 32-ounce bottles behind the shift selector, and a large cubby between the entrance passengers that may accommodate tablets and small luggage. Area up entrance is respectable, however within the again, taller passengers could take subject with the comparatively scant headroom and lack of thigh help. With the rear seats up, the Prologue affords 25.2 cubic toes of cargo house, and folding the 60/40 seatbacks flat yields 57.7 cubes. Each numbers are down on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Volkswagen ID.4, nevertheless.

(Zero-Emissions) Energy To The Individuals

The only-motor Prologue will probably be front-wheel drive, and though Honda hasn’t specified its energy output, the automaker did say that the bottom powertrain will possible have the very best vary and effectivity, particularly mixed with the EX and Touring trims’ smaller wheels. With 288 hp and 333 lb-ft coming from the all-wheel-drive variant, the Prologue ought to have moderately spry efficiency, although the dual-motor Ioniq 5 boasts extra grunt at 320 hp and 446 lb-ft and the ID.4 will get 330 hp and 339 lb-ft.

Within the case of probably the most environment friendly Prologue configuration, Honda estimates the 85.0-kWh battery will probably be good for 300 miles of vary – all-wheel drive and bigger wheels could drop that quantity to round 260. As soon as the battery runs dry, homeowners can recharge with an at-home station that gives 11.5 kilowatts, giving the Prologue a possible 0-100-percent time of lower than eight hours. A 7.6-kW moveable charging equipment can also be accessible.

House owners in a rush also can make use of the DC cost charge of 155 kW – a disappointing quantity given the ID.4 can hit 170 kW and the Ioniq 5 can settle for 220 kW. The Blazer EV and Cadillac Lyriq can recharge at 195 kW, so it’s doable GM is saving probably the most spectacular Ultium tech for itself. When utilizing DC quick charging, the Prologue can add 65 miles of vary in 10 minutes.

Honda will present one in every of three completely different charging options to Prologue consumers. The primary is an 11.5-kW at-home charger, together with a $500 set up incentive and $100 charging credit score. The second is a 7.6-kW moveable charger, in addition to a $250 set up incentive and $300 public charging credit score. Lastly, people who don’t have any want of a house charger can go for a $750 charging credit score as an alternative. By the best way, Honda and 6 different automakers are a part of a three way partnership that goals to construct 1,350 high-power charging stations nationwide by 2030, the primary of which can come on-line early subsequent yr.

The First Of Many

Honda is aiming for one hundred pc zero-emissions car gross sales by the yr 2040, so it’s clear that the Prologue is simply the beginning. Actually, in 2025, the automaker will debut one more EV primarily based by itself brand-specific “e: Structure” platform, which can doubtlessly be constructed at the brand new EV Hub facility in Marysville, Ohio.

Coming early subsequent yr, the primary of that EV onslaught is the trim and attractively styled Prologue, with a focused beginning worth within the high-$40,000 vary that places it proper within the hunt of the the $45,290 Volkswagen ID.4 Professional and the $46,835 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Lengthy Vary. For that worth, the Prologue proprietor will get normal Honda Sensing, together with adaptive cruise management with stop-and-go and lane centering, blind spot monitoring, lane departure prevention, and low-speed cross site visitors monitoring. Different requirements embrace the Google Constructed-In suite, heated entrance seats, and wi-fi machine charging.

Middling inside house and a ho-hum cost charge could maintain the Prologue again considerably in opposition to the extra spacious Ioniq and ID.4 though its Honda-typical glorious ergonomics could win just a few VW trade-ins. And its EV credentials are much more spectacular than Toyota’s phoned-in (albeit cheaper) Toyota bZ4X. Nonetheless, the Honda’s preliminary specs really feel decidedly middle-of-the-road, not class-leading.

The Prologue’s debut makes us most excited for that aforementioned 2025 EV, although, which Honda says will probably be a mid- to large-size car. Given the automaker’s previous historical past of fantastic engineering and packaging, plus the trendy design of the corporate’s first long-range EV, that subsequent product has some severe potential. Till then, the Prologue will maintain the fort, lastly giving Honda a strong crossover providing with zero emissions.