{"id":32267,"date":"2024-02-22T13:48:08","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T17:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=32267"},"modified":"2024-02-22T13:48:08","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T17:48:08","slug":"payne-navi-savvy-honda-prologue-ev-takes-on-tesla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/payne-navi-savvy-honda-prologue-ev-takes-on-tesla","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Navi-savvy Honda Prologue EV takes on Tesla"},"content":{"rendered":"

Healdsburg, California<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Honda entered the U.S. market in earnest in the 1970s and \u201880s, selling affordable, fun-to-drive Civic compacts and Accord sedans to budget-conscious buyers. I was one of those customers, ultimately buying two Civics and an Accord for my young family.<\/p>\n

For Honda 2.0, the Japanese automaker is going electric at a much higher price point.<\/p>\n

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The 2024 Honda Prologue EV is offered in front and all-wheel-drive on the same Ultium platform that GM uses for its Chevy Blazer EV. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Starting at $48,795, the mid-size, two-row electric Prologue SUV is the most expensive Honda sold in the U.S. market. The top-trim Elite model I tested here nearly crossed the $60K mark at $59,295. That\u2019s the same price as luxury-class EVs like an all-wheel-drive BMW i4, Cadillac Lyriq and Lexus RZ450e Premium. Yikes. Batteries ain\u2019t cheap, and to achieve the holy grail of 300-mile range, the first Honda EV is entry-level only by the standards of the premium niche EV market.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the reality as Prologue \u2014 aka, the beginning \u2014 leads Honda\u2019s transition to an all-electric brand like Tesla.<\/p>\n

Ah, Tesla.<\/p>\n

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The 2024 Honda Prologue EV options a panoramic roof for its roomy cabin. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

My Prologue may be cross-shopped against the cheaper-but-just-220-mile-range Toyota bz4x. But in truth,\u00a0every<\/em>\u00a0EV is cross-shopped against the Tesla Model Y, the mid-size SUV that dominates EV sales and was the (wow) fifth best-selling vehicle in the USA last year behind the Detroit Three trucks and Toyota RAV4. Tesla\u2019s trillion-dollar market cap is the envy of the industry and has automakers from Tokyo to Detroit to Munich playing copycat.<\/p>\n

Tesla\u2019s Apple-like design was key \u2014 but so was its proprietary charging network that trounced unreliable competitors. Until now.<\/p>\n

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The 2024 Honda Prologue EV’s Google Built-In software will navigate a route complete with charging stops. This is LA-to_Vegas.. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHey, Google. Take me to Las Vegas,\u201d I barked at the Prologue’s tablet screen.<\/p>\n

Just like my Tesla\u2019s navigation system, Google Built-In charted my course \u2014 complete with charging stops. Where to eat while I charged at dinner time? Google listed a Wayback Burger joint, Subway and Taco Bell within 500 feet of the charger. Just like Tesla. What did the surrounding area look like? Google Earth showed a shopping center. Just like a Tesla.<\/p>\n

Also, the trip would take 13\u00bd hours \u2014 not the 10 hours in say, a similarly-sized gas-powered Honda Passport. Oh.<\/p>\n

Passport is the reason EVs like Prologue are niche vehicles. Honda is targeting 40,000 sales for the $49K Prologue \u2014 same as the $42K Passport. Really? The conventional wisdom is EVs only need better infrastructure to be competitive with gas vehicles, but the well-trafficked, charging station-stuffed I-5 corridor that connects the Bay Area and Los Angeles to Vegas belies that claim.<\/p>\n

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Built on GM’s 400-volt Ultium platform, the 2024 Honda Prologue EV can add 65 miles of charge in 10 minutes. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Gas-powered cars are simply more affordable to buy and more efficient to operate than their EV peers. Honda boasts Prologue will gain 65 miles of range in 10 minutes at a fast charger. Passport will fill its 424-mile range tank in three minutes. Who wants to spend an extra 3.5 hours on the road charging with kiddies in tow when traveling to see grampa and gramma?<\/p>\n

For all Honda\u2019s ambitions to go all-electric by 2040, the brand knows EVs are a luxe niche. So it loads its advertising copy with the green greatest hits to attract the faithful:<\/p>\n

Eco-Responsible and Effortless!We\u2019re empowering eco-conscious driving!<\/em><\/p>\n

The Prologue offers exciting performance with sustainability!<\/em><\/p>\n