Why The Honda Prologue EV Won’t Be A True Honda

Jun 11, 2023

The Prologue is a promising electric SUV, but to achieve that, Honda didn't create the vehicle on its own.

Honda, like a lot of other Japanese automakers, is late to the electric vehicle (EV) race. The Honda e is a nice small EV, but that was mostly in terms of style and tech. The Honda e was even crowned as the World Car Design for 2021, but despite the great styling, it wasn’t enough for people to overlook its short range. You may even think it would be affordably priced. Still, it’s actually priced at around £37,000 or more than $47,000... for a tiny electric city hatch with less range than a Volkswagen ID.3. The Honda e then, won't perform well in North America, and for the Japanese automaker to quickly offer a compelling model that meets the market's desire for an electric crossover with plenty of range, it asked for help from an unlikely source.

Related: Why Honda's Electric Future Doesn't Look Too Bright

Since Honda's current position in the EV race is way behind most of the major competitors in North America, the Japanese automaker turned to GM as a way to catch up quickly in the EV race. By partnering with GM, Honda will be able to ramp up its EV investments while bringing to market a new EV way quicker than if it relied on itself for the time being. The result of this is the Honda Prologue, which is using the same BEV3 platform and Ultium EV architecture as the upcoming Chevrolet Blazer EV and the Cadillac Lyriq that's already on sale.

The Blazer EV was developed to be affordable in mind, which is perfect if Honda wants to make a significant presence in the electric crossover market. By taking advantage of GM's investments in EV technology, Honda is also creating an Acura version of the Prologue with the upcoming ZDX. At face value, the Honda Prologue is a promising EV. It does look anonymous next to the sharply-styled Blazer EV, though. At least you wouldn't accuse the two cars of being rebadged versions of each other, since they share no exterior panels at all. Whether you like standing out or prefer the subtle but rugged looks of the Honda, at least you have the choice.

Wheelbase

121.8 inches

Length

192 inches

Width

78.3 inches

Height

64.7 inches

That's also the same case when it comes to interior design. The Prologue skews on the more conventional side with its rectangular shapes and simple surfacing, while the Blazer EV has plenty of sharp lines and slashes to impress a Fruit Ninja player. But it's not exactly a bad thing because as with most Hondas today, the simple aesthetic is complemented by plush materials and a solid interior build quality.

Related: Honda Might Have Figured Out The Solution For The Biggest Solid-state Battery Problem

By taking advantage of the BEV3 and Ultium architecture, the Prologue should offer plenty of space inside relative to its size. It also means sharing a few interior parts such as the steering and the door handles, but surprisingly, aspects like the software of the infotainment will be uniquely different for the two vehicles. The infotainment, for instance, will still be based on Google's software interface--just like in the new Accord. This is unlike GM who has decided recently that from the Blazer EV forward, its infotainment systems won't anymore come with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Instead, the infotainment systems will be developed by Google outright, and this will allow GM to capture more data from customers, especially parameters such as driving and charging habits.

The Honda Prologue will also inherit everything that's good about GM's investment in its Ultium technology. Honda did not yet announce range or powertrain specifics for the Prologue, but it'll most likely echo that of the Blazer EV. Thus, the Prologue might be available in three drivetrain configurations. There's a single motor that drives either just the front or the rear wheels, along with a dual-motor all-wheel drive (AWD) model.

GM has likewise not yet revealed the Blazer EV's powertrain specifics except for the range-topping SS model. This AWD performance-oriented Blazer EV will have 557 horsepower and a Wide Open Watts (WOW) mode that lets this crossover hit 60 mph in just four seconds. As for range, the Blazer EV can travel up to 320 miles on a full charge, depending on the configuration, as well as support up to 11.5 kW AC and 195 kW DC charging. On Honda's end, the Prologue's horsepower and range predictions have not yet been revealed.

Related: What Makes The Honda e:Ny1 Special

As with everything in life, there will always be a pro and a con to your decisions, and in this case, most of these are thankfully minor. Honda is known for its bulletproof reliability and ease of maintenance. While we can't fully and scientifically predict how the Blazer EV and the Prologue will fare in the long run, Honda did promise that the Prologue will have a distinct driving feel that the brand has been known for, as well as the Japanese automaker's reputation for reliability.

There is one aspect where it could set the tone for future Honda EVs, though, and not exactly in a good way. By asking for GM's help, the new Prologue isn't exactly a true Honda from the ground up. In the internal combustion engine (ICE) age, Hondas have been known for their screaming and high-revving V-TEC engines such as those in the S2000 or Civic Type R before turbocharging became a thing. Likewise, the manual transmissions in these cars stood out with their light clutch engagement and precise throws. But in the EV age, all of these advancements in the ICE have been literally thrown away.

Related: 2024 Honda Prologue: Everything You Need To Know

The EV age has been a great equalizer of sorts for the auto industry. Whatever innovations you made with the ICE for the past century will effectively become useless in the next few years. That's a problem for Honda in the short term, whose complacency in EVs has left them behind and needed the help of GM to catch up quickly.

This doesn't mean Honda isn't doing anything on its end. In Europe, it released an HR-V-based EV confusingly called the e:Ny1 (supposed to be pronounced as "anyone"), which finally solves all the Honda e's shortcomings--especially in terms of range. But for the Prologue, while it's no doubt a great EV, it's a great EV with mostly GM's present EV expertise. We know that Honda can and will catch up in the EV race based on its announcement at the Auto Shanghai 2023, but until it finally develops an EV from the ground up and on its own, the Prologue will never be a 100% Honda--even if this ends up as a great EV.

On the upside, this consolidation of tech with the two companies means that the price of the Prologue will probably be on par with GM's goals with the Blazer EV. Since Honda didn't have to invest billions of dollars in developing an EV from scratch, it'll be able to lower the cost that it passes on to the consumers. Just think of it this way, it's not an EV that's 100-percent Honda, but it's an EV that Honda needs right now to remain significant.

LX

$45,000

EX

$48,000

EX-L

$51,000

Touring

$55,000

Isaac Atienza is a Filipino motoring journalist who joined TopSpeed.com in 2021. He also owns a Filpino motoring website called Go Flat Out PH and is also a contributor to a local newspaper called The Manila Times. Isaac Atienza is a car enthusiast who especially thinks that wagons are the best type of vehicle, though sports cars and anything with three pedals also tickles his fancy.