Honda has typically been so good at innovation that it's easy sometimes to forget that it is, compared to the giants, a relatively small automaker. It doesn't have limitless funds and as a result found itself behind even Toyota in bringing a volume battery-electric vehicle to market (the now-departed, California-only Clarity didn't count).
To get it done, Honda partnered with GM, and the result is the Prologue, a vehicle that shares a platform, battery and quite a lot else with the Chevrolet Blazer EV.
It's a couple of inches longer than Honda's gasoline-powered Passport, Strip off the badges and you could be forgiven for thinking it was a freshened VW ID.4 (though the VW is 11 inches shorter).
It is, in every way, a better first EV than Toyota's bZ4X and its near-twin, the Subaru Solterra.
The top-of-the line Elite model (our tester) offers 273 miles of range per charge, and is all-wheel-drive, employing two electric motors. Zero to 60 takes less than six seconds. It is DC fast-charging capable, with a peak of 150kw. Getting from 10% charge to 80% should, under perfect conditions, take about 35 minutes.
A home or emergency charging cable is standard equipment, and it can be configured for 110v or 220v. I plugged it into 110v at home with 41% charge.
I took that picture at 4:45 PM Tuesday. So---84 hours to a full charge. Before you leap to the conclusion that there's a setting that needs to be changed, Honda's own literature says a charge on 110V will take "several days."
The driving experience is---unremarkable. It's quick, but not neck-snapping, it's quiet, but it's an EV, so....yeah. And it's smooth and handles....like a contemporary SUV with a low center of gravity (the battery pack).
There's 25.2 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats. Fold them down and it's 57.7.
And rear seat legroom is a very generous 39.4 inches.
It's in the driver's seat where things take a wrong turn.
Aesthetically, Honda did a great job of taking the Blazer EV's only-in-a-Chevy instrument panel..
...and making it look very much like a Honda product:
It's in the details...controls, specifically, that the Prologue gives its Chevy roots away.
The right stalk is usually the windshield wiper control. But that's on the left-hand stalk:
And because the left-hand stalk doubles as the turn signal, the wipers can't be activated by moving the stalk up or down, so there are small thumbwheels that, until you get to know the car, require taking your eyes off the road. The windshield washer is on the end of the stalk. Where, in a Honda, you'd expect to find the headlight switch.
So where is that?
Inside a menu in the touchscreen.
And down here---out of the actual vision of the driver?
That's the parking brake, sport mode, lane keeping assist, auto hold and the dashboard light dimmer.
Also out of sight is the button to open and close the rear liftgate from inside the vehicle.
It's inside the driver's side door pocket...all the way at the rear. You'll only see it if you look there while getting in or out. It is completely invisible from the driver's seat.
Looking for the emergency flashers while parked with the electric motors turned off? Should be big and visible, right?
Nope.
It's there...but while the voice command, OnStar and SOS signal switches are always present...
....the likely more often used and absolutely more essential emergency flasher switch is only lit and visible when you first enter the car or when the car is switched on.
I'd criticize the switchgear setup if this car was any brand. But this has the Honda name on it. And Honda's typically logical layout and ergonomics are a big selling point for its vehicles.
If this is what Honda normally did, sales would plummet.
Base price for the 2024 Honda Prologue AWD Elite is $59,295. Included in that price are a comprehensive suite of active safety features, a 360-degree camera, head-up display, 11.3-inch touchscreen, Google built-in, OnStar, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a Bose premium audio system, wireless charging, a dual-zone automatic climate control with air filtration, leather-trimmed seats (10-way power with memory for the driver, six-way for the front passenger, both heated and ventilated), a leather-wrapped steering wheel, auto-dimming rearview mirror, front and rear parking sensors, a panoramic moonroof, hands-free access power tailgate, 21-inch alloy wheels, heated power door mirrors that are also power-folding, rain-sensing wipers , LED foglights, taillights and headlights, rear privacy glass and a remote start key fob.
The only extra-cost option on our vehicle was the North Shore Pearl paint---a very pretty color---for $455. So the as-tested price of the 2024 Honda Prologue AWD Elite is $59,750.
As an SUV, it's fine. As an EV, it's better than average. But in terms of control layout, it's not just not a Honda, it's anti-Honda. It's literally a deal-breaker.
It's a shame the bones of the GM platform painted Honda into this corner, and I'll be waiting for their own electric vehicle, designed entirely to Honda's standards, to arrive.
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