Honda has released new details about the upcoming Prologue electric SUV, including dimensions and styling. The 2024 Prologue will reportedly be somewhere between the compact CR-V and the midsize Passport SUV. It will be about 8 inches longer and 5 inches wider than the current CR-V.
That means more cabin space and cargo room, which will be critical if Honda is to win in the increasingly competitive electric midsize SUV segment.
At 21 inches on wheels, the Prologue will have a ride height closer to that of the Passport. The dimensions are as follows: 121.8-inch wheelbase, 192 inches long, 78.3 inches wide and 64.7 inches high.
Inside, the infotainment system will be anchored to a central 11.3-inch touchscreen, along with an 11-inch instrument cluster. The top features will come with leather seats and a large panoramic moonroof. Outside, the front end is designed as a nod to the Honda e, a cute, square city car from the automaker that was sold only in Europe and Asia. The rear of the car features a new spin on Honda’s logo.
But the vast majority of key specifications such as battery capacity, range and, most importantly, price remain under wraps. Gary Robinson, Honda’s vice president of product planning, said the Prologue will be comparable to the Passport in terms of size and price. (The 2022 Passport starts at about $38,000).
The Prologue, which is being built in partnership with GM, is Honda’s first long-range EV for the North American market. it marks the beginning of a wave of 30 hybrid battery-electric fuel-cell vehicles that Honda says it will release by 2030. Honda will use GM’s Ultium platform to power the Prologue and an unnamed 2024 Acura model based on the Precision concept unveiled earlier this year.
The Prologue was designed in collaboration with a Japanese design team at Honda’s Advanced Design Studio in Los Angeles. The automaker’s marketing team came up with the concept of “neo-rugged” as a way to describe the EV’s ethos of being roomy enough for off-road adventures but compact enough for city driving.
The comparison of the Prologue to the CR-V is not accidental. Honda wants its customers to draw a straight line between its lineup of affordable compact SUVs, such as the hybrid CR-V and the upcoming Prologue. Honda believes that for most customers, its hybrids will be the gateway to its pure battery EVs.
“The progression from the CR-V to the Prologue is a key step in our electrification strategy,” Robinson said. Honda reportedly plans to offer its hybrid CR-V customers favorable, shorter two-year leases to sweeten the deal.
None of this is new, of course. Honda has been tooting its hybrid horn for years, even going so far as to tout fuel-cell vehicles such as the discontinued Clarity. As some automakers abandon hybrids in favor of pure electric vehicle strategies, Honda is hedging its bets. It’s also buying itself more time to develop its own electric vehicle architecture, the Honda e-platform, which is reportedly scheduled for launch in 2026.
