Honda’s Prologue AWD Elite – GREEN. PEACE.

Honda’s Prologue AWD Elite

GREEN. PEACE.

Honda’s founder, Soichiro Honda, could easily be seen – both during his lifetime and now – as an outlier. He grew up with the auto industry, although that industry would take some time to reach his birthplace, near Hamamatsu, Japan. Leaving school at the age of 15, he sought work in Tokyo, which led to an apprenticeship in an auto garage. Six years later he would return home, and within the next decade began making piston rings for Toyota. That led, in the years immediately after World War II, to manufacturing small, gas-powered bicycles for a devastated Japan. Some 80 years later, in partnership with GM, we have the Honda Prologue, an EV that Soichiro Honda could understand. And – given its understated design and practical proportion – might even like.

This isn’t the first corporate collaboration taken by Honda. While at Ford, Lee Iacocca attempted to put Honda powertrains under the hood of compact Fords, an idea ultimately killed by Mister Ford. When the SUV was coming into its own in the ‘90s, Honda took Isuzu’s Rodeo and Trooper and morphed those models into Honda’s Passport and Acura’s SLX, respectively. And an earlier partnership with GM resulted in a Honda drivetrain propelling a Saturn crossover…until, of course, Saturn ran out of gas.

This hook-up (figuratively and, as it’s an EV, literally) gets its foundation from GM’s Ultium platform, shared with Chevy’s midsize Blazer EV. As you’d hope, Honda engineers have ‘optimized’ the suspension, delivering – according to Honda – a “sporty and engaging driving experience with class-leading refinement.” And I’ll get to all of that…

In the walk-up, I’m impressed by the Prologue’s wagon-like proportion. There is a late-model Honda Pilot parked next door, and that has a true SUV-like profile, whereas the Prologue sits almost like a station wagon, with a lower roof height and abbreviated greenhouse. Outward visibility is still good, and the hip point remains high enough to reduce any perceived vulnerability. But you’re sitting about where a Crosstrek driver is sitting, albeit with a more substantial envelope around you. And no Bernie Sanders sticker behind you.

Notably, this Prologue platform ain’t tiny. Its 192 inches of overall length sits on a wheelbase of 122 inches. When compared to my wife’s ’23 Grand Cherokee, its wheelbase is 5+ inches longer, while its length is just over one inch shorter. Those numbers add up to less overhang and a very stable – and substantial – footprint.

The impression of room is underscored once you step inside, where you find…uh, room! Driver and front seat passenger will enjoy almost arm chair comfort. In our AWD Elite trim, an 11” digital gauge package is complemented by 11.3 inches of infotainment – and much of that infotainment is discernible. In the Elite trim the dash and door panels are accented by a generous serving of wood, while – in our test example – the leather upholstery is a striking black/saddle combo. 

With no pretense at offering a third row, the rear seat will comfortably accommodate three and, when folded, will comfortably take pretty much all you’d care to throw at it. I threw a bicycle at it, which it readily accepted. And if you glamp, fitting a roof-mounted tent above, along with cooking gear and toothbrush in the back, would satisfy any eco-friendly wanderlust.

The heart of the Honda Prologue is its EV drivetrain, available in either single-motor, front-wheel drive configuration or – as with our test model – all-wheel drive propelled by two powerplants. In the single motor, front-wheel drive configuration Honda gives you 212 horsepower and a range estimated at 296 miles. Opt for all-wheel drive and you’re blessed with a total of 288 horsepower, a 0-60 (per Car and Driver) of 5.9 seconds, and an abbreviated range of 273 miles. That same magazine achieved 240 miles of range at 75 miles per hour on its EV test loop. 

Behind the wheel, the Prologue felt more Buick than BMW (something Buicks suffer almost all the time) until I found ‘Sport’ mode, achievable by hitting a small button to the left of the steering wheel and to the right of the parking brake. This one button doesn’t turn the Prologue from Buick to Batmobile, but it does push the platform closer to what we remember as a Honda. It’s all a little more taut, and while you’re still not thinking recreational, it seemed less assisted-living. Given the uptick in perceived energy, I wonder why they just don’t tune it this way from the beginning – and forget about hiding the button.

At the bottom line there is, of course, the bottom line. With an entry point of just over $50K and an as-tested window of our AWD Elite of $60K, the Prologue is fully competitive with most of what constitutes a midsize EV. But don’t forgawdsake buy it; instead, take advantage of the declining interest in most EVs and lease it. You’ll find real deals on Honda’s website – think $300/month with typical out-of-pocket costs. And if, after the lease period, you like it…well, they’ll let you buy it!

There may not be a lot to love in Honda’s Prologue, but there’s much to like. And as Tina Turner put it, ‘What’s love got to do with it?’ Unless you’re willing to take on Porsche’s electrified Taycan (if he were here, Soichiro probably would), not one helluva lot.