Honda Prologue Quietly Wins Over New Buyers

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Honda has delivered about 13,000 of its Prologue electrical SUVs in America since September 30. That’s not sufficient to fret Tesla, but it surely is sufficient to make the Prologue the fifth greatest promoting electrical car within the US — a powerful efficiency for a automobile that’s new to the market. What are the explanations for its success? Bloomberg suggests it’s partly as a result of two thirds of Honda SUV drivers within the US commerce of their car for an additional Honda. “It’s an iPhone-like level of loyalty seldom seen in the brutal business of making and selling cars — and it’s enabled the automaker’s first electric vehicle to quickly cut into Tesla’s supremacy by appealing to loyal Honda customers who have been waiting for an affordable alternative to the Tesla Model Y from their favorite car brand,” Bloomberg says.

At Paragon Honda in Queens, New York, the gasoline-powered CR-V is often the highest vendor within the Honda lineup, in response to finance supervisor Larry Abreu. In September, the dealership moved one Prologue for each three CR-Vs, partly as a result of a stack of incentives made them just about the identical value. “There’s just so much value, it’s hard to pass up,” Abreu defined.

A lot of the Prologue’s draw lies in simply how unremarkable it is. Its beginning value earlier than incentives or fancier choices like all-wheel drive is $47,400 — $400 lower than the typical market worth of all US vehicles in September, in response to Bloomberg Intelligence. In contrast to many EVs, the Prologue’s efficiency will set nobody’s hair on fireplace, but it surely does characteristic considerate and elevated particulars of the sort Honda clients have come to like. There’s an enormous storage bin below the middle console, a large sunroof, a supersized smartphone charging pad and a rash of buttons and knobs as a substitute of the touchscreen hunt and peck that’s typical of the Tesla driving expertise.

In contrast to most Hondas, nonetheless, the Prologue will skip the fuel station and, for essentially the most half, the mechanic. EVs, which don’t want oil modifications or air filters, require virtually $1,000 much less to take care of yearly than related gasoline-powered fashions, in response to AAA. Honda is already probably the most dependable auto manufacturers, and including a brand new car to the lineup that’s much more dependable is a nifty engineering trick. When requested why they selected a Prologue, Honda patrons cited belief within the model adopted by worth, in response to firm spokeswoman Natalie Kumaratne. In reality, virtually two thirds of Prologue patrons have owned a Honda earlier than and almost 80% have by no means owned an EV. Model loyalty is robust amongst Honda homeowners.

Mike Eppink traded in his 2022 Honda Pilot — a full-size SUV — for the Prologue, partly to save cash on fuel. His 14-year-old son performs baseball, and shuttling to and from practices and video games was costing $250 a month. “I like where the electric cars are going and they’re really not that expensive once you really look into the numbers,” Eppink instructed Bloomberg. “Our monthly payment went up a bit, but with the gas savings, mentally, we still feel like we’re saving.”

Reviewing The Honda Prologue

Autoblog contributor Nathan Adlennov take a look at drove a Honda Prologue just lately. He writes that it’s designed for each highway journeys and each day driving, but feels surprisingly acquainted. “I must say that the Honda Prologue is one of my favorites among the Ultium family. Yes, even among the sportier ZDX, Lyriq, Blazer, and so on, I feel like the Honda is a solid player. Part of that has to do with the aesthetics, which I love, but the rest is based on its overall performance.” The twin-motor Prologue has an EPA vary of 273 miles whereas the single-motor model is rated at 296 miles. Each are outfitted with an 85 kW battery. The Prologue will likely be outfitted with a NACS charging port starting subsequent yr. Till then, homeowners can use Tesla Superchargers with an adapter.

The Prologue relies on the GM Ultium platform and assembled on the Spring Hill manufacturing unit in Tennessee alongside the Cadillac Lyriq. It’s mechanically a digital twin to the Chevy Blazer EV, which is inbuilt Mexico. In his overview, Adlennov was impressed by the looks of the Prologue. “It’s sleek, and uncomplicated, yet modern and elegant. I know the looks are subjective, but I also know many journalists who agree with me,” he wrote. “Speaking of the ride quality, it is, in my estimation, the best trade-off of any of its platform mates. It’s no Acura NSX, but it has good grip. It’s very well suited for a calm commute and comfortable ride.” Isn’t that what most individuals need?

Honda designed a majority of this car to feel and look distinctive, he stated. “The overall interior design is mostly Honda so when you sit down behind the steering wheel, it sure doesn’t feel like a Blazer EV. Internal materials, the use of soft, injected molded rubbers, leather, and quality plastics look pleasant. The driver’s 11 inch gauge cluster looks somewhat unique too as it’s separated from the other screen. GM connects their screens in one bezel. The 11.3 inch infotainment screen size is unique to the Prologue, as is their Apple CarPlay system. This is something GM EVs do not offer, which I find odd.” One-pedal driving is included within the Prologue, a characteristic that appeals to most drivers as soon as they expertise it for themselves. He ends his overview this fashion. “This is a solid, comfortable, and easy to live with EV. To say it’s a competent daily driver that has good road manners would be spot on. (Honda) truly dialed in the suspension tuning for folks who drive a lot.”

The Takeaway

What stands out from the Autoblog overview is how totally regular the Honda Prologue is. When Tesla debuted its first automobile, the Mannequin S, it didn’t simply current a battery-powered automobile, it launched the “computer on wheels” idea that did away with lots of the conventional controls folks had been used to of their vehicles. Right here had been vehicles that might play movies or placed on mild reveals at Christmas or the Fourth of July. All of a sudden all of the controls had been present in menus on a touchscreen. That thrilled some however flummoxed others.

We suspect one of many issues in regards to the Prologue that appeals to Honda loyalists is that they really feel snug driving it instantly. They don’t want video tutorials to know methods to function it. There’s a consolation issue that comes from familiarity. The Prologue appears to be like regular, inside and outside, and that could be a good factor for a lot of drivers. Suffice to say the brand new electrical SUV from Honda is evolutionary reasonably than revolutionary. That as a lot as anything could also be a big consider its early gross sales success.

Honda has been constructing vehicles in America for a really very long time and has learned a lot about what American tastes. Fairly than a pointy break with the previous, Honda has poured all that previous expertise into the Prologue and created a automobile that appeals to its buyer base. The truth that it’s powered by a battery as a substitute of a gasoline engine is secondary. Maybe that’s the way it must be. And but, Honda has stepped away from its partnership with GM and plans to construct its future EVs itself. Might Prologue be greater than only a nice identify for a brand new mannequin from Honda? Might it even be a marker laid down by the corporate that implies the trail it intends to observe on the best way to the electrical automobile future? “We’ll see,” stated the Zen grasp.