Review: One Feature Allows The Honda Prologue To Be More Appealing Than Its GM Twins

At this point, I think it’s fair to say that we’ve all gotten over the fact that the Honda Prologue – as well as its Acura ZDX twin – is not a real Honda. The GM/Honda partnership that has led to manufacturing profit-making electric vehicles (EVs) is well underway now and, to many people’s surprise, the Prologue is ending up to being quite a sales success (but not so much so in Canada), thanks, mostly, to frankly solid lease deals here in the U.S.

I’m late to the game with my Prologue review, but several of my fellow automotive journalists and content creators have all told me it’s alright. And I agree, as I shall explain in this review. But just like the ZDX, the Honda Prologue’s merits merely come from Honda, except perhaps one feature that would have me leaning towards it over its GM twins.

2025 Honda Prologue Exterior: It Has A Strong Presence And A Wide Stance

In photos, the Honda Prologue may appear a little bland, but once you see one out there in the wild, you instantly realize how properly stanced it actually is. The Prologue has road presence. It looks wide and assertive thanks to its squared-jawed demeanor and wheels that were stretched to the edges of the car. In many ways, this reminds me of the cool concept cars we see at auto shows. Except, this is the real deal.

Of course, my tester was a fully-loaded, Elite model (called Touring in Canada) wearing a set of 21-inch wheels. But I nevertheless appreciate how Honda worked the Prologue’s design to make sure it bares no resemblance with both the Chevrolet Equinox and Blazer EV. Sure, if you were to pull out a tape measure, you’d probably spot similarities in wheelbases and wheel sizes. But if nobody told you this Japanese SUV shares its bones with an American auto manufacturer, you’d swear this was an all-Honda effort.

Exterior Dimensions

2025 Honda Prologue: Differences Between The U.S. And Canadian Market

Aside from naming the trim levels differently, both the U.S. and Canadian markets sell three versions of the Honda Prologue. However, unlike the Canadian market, which gets standard dual-motor all-wheel drive, EX and Touring American Prologues come standard with a single-motor, front-wheel drive configuration. All-wheel drive on those versions costs an additional $3,000 USD. Because of this, the technical specifications in both markets are slightly different, since Canada effectively doesn’t get a two-wheel-drive Prologue.

U.S. Versus Canada Lineup Breakdown (model tested in bold)

Driving Impressions And Performance: It’s, Fine

Perhaps the one area where the Prologue doesn’t feel like a Honda is in the way it drives and performs. Don’t get me wrong, this is a very good EV for reasons I shall explain later. But Honda has accustomed us to nimble handling and over-achieving powerplants that put down above-average performance. Hondas have always been about punching well beyond their weight. Sadly, with the Prologue, you get none of that.

The thing is, no matter how hard Honda tries, the Prologue will always drive like its Chevrolet Equinox and Blazer EV siblings. This means handling is flat and predictive, but never rewarding. Steering feel is numb, and while this is an EV, acceleration is not neck-bending, even in this dual-motor specification. Rather, the Prologue is quick enough off the line to get you to where you need to be in a jiffy, but it would probably only win a quarter-mile race against a Golf GTI, at best.

Power comes from GM’s liquid-cooled, lithium-ion Ultium Cell battery, developed and built in partnership with LG Chem. Like the rest of GM’s EVs, the Ultium Cell offers the benefit of stacking more or fewer cell modules to adapt battery size and capacity to different applications. In the Prologue’s case, for all trims, it uses the same 10-module setup as the base-model Blazer EV, good for an 85-kWh usable capacity. In front-wheel drive form, that battery powers a front-mounted, permanent-magnet synchronous AC motor good for 241 horsepower and 225 lb-ft of torque.

But in all-wheel-drive form, like the one tested here, a second, induction motor is fitted onto the rear axle for a total combined output of 288 horsepower and 333 lb-ft of torque. Sadly, none of that actually plays out in the real world as the all-wheel drive Prologue performs about the same way as any other mainstream midsize SUV powered by, say, a V6 engine.

But it is a smooth, quiet and refined place to spend some time in. The Prologue feels just as buttoned down as its American cousins and its suspension damping is actually less bouncy than in the GMs. Sure, the fact that 5,300 pounds are riding on 21-inch wheels inevitably leads to a stiff ride. But Honda actually did a better job at mitigating this than GM.

2025 Honda Prologue Dual-Motor AWD Technical Specifications

2025 Honda Prologue Energy Consumption, Charging And Range

The EPA rates the Honda Prologue AWD Elite at an average combined energy consumption index of 92 MPGe, which translates to 273 miles of real-world range. Fast charging is rated by Honda at 150 kW on a compatible DC fast-charging unit, which is identical to a Chevy Equinox EV. This translates into a 35-minute wait time for a 20 to 80-percent charge, in optimal conditions. The Prologue’s onboard charger for level 2 home charging is rated at 11.5 kW.

Like I usually do with the EVs I review, I mostly charged the Prologue on my own 7.5-kW unit. It would take me roughly 12 hours to get it from a 10 to 100-percent charge overnight. For energy consumption, since I was driving the Prologue during early Canadian winter weather conditions, it consumed quite a bit more energy and returned an 81 MPGe consumption average. This translates into a real-world range figure of 198 miles.

EPA And As Tested Energy Consumption And Range

Interior Design And Comfort: Spacious, Comfortable And Well Put Together, But Very Much A GM

Unsurprisingly, the Prologue’s cabin is very much like the one you’ll find in one of its GM brothers. The gear selector, the door handles, the door-lock switches, the entire HVAC control panel, as well as the wireless charging pocket are all directly taken out of GM. That’s also somewhat of a letdown considering how much Honda has always excelled at building inviting and ergonomically brilliant interiors. It would have been neat to see Honda flex its muscles here, but sadly, it’s really all a badge engineering job. There’s also way too much piano black plastic in there.

That being said, the vehicles on which the Prologue is based are actually very well put together, comfortable and spacious, all while providing ample storage solutions both front and rear. I also like how Honda stays true to its flat steering wheel center section to better see the instrument cluster. That was originally integrated into the Accord a few years back, so it’s nice to see it transcend into the Prologue. Rear leg and headroom are also massive thanks to the Prologue’s long wheelbase and boxy shape.

2025 Honda Prologue Interior Dimensions

Technology And Ease Of Use: Apple CarPlay And Android Auto!

This is where things become truly distinctive, and where the Prologue manages to hold its own over its GM counterparts: the integration of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

In case you weren’t aware, GM ditched these features in its EVs to much controversy; something to do with the native system’s ability to better predict the vehicle’s range for upcoming chargers. I don’t personally believe any of that nonsense. Although I have no issue navigating around GM’s infotainment solution, I’ll say that it felt good to simply fall back to the more convenient and easy to operate Android Auto experience (in my case). This decision from Honda could even challenge GM’s decision to ditch it. If anything, these features actually enhance the entire infotainment system’s user experience.

And while it’s obvious that the hardware behind the presented interfaces was developed by GM – operating smoothly and with minimal lag – Honda does a great job of giving it its own unique skin and layouts. There’s a sense in the technology that this is its own thing, something we rarely see in badge-engineered vehicles.

Cargo And Storage Space: A Tad Less Than The GMs

Very much like the ZDX, it appears Honda has prioritized passenger space over cargo capacity. Again, the differences here are marginal, allowing the Prologue to remain rather practical and spacious back there. But when observing the data closer, we realize that the Prologue actually has less cargo space when the seats are both in place and lowered flat than in both the Equinox and Blazer EV.

2025 Honda Prologue Cargo Space Versus 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV And 2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV

It Turned Out Alright!

As someone who has owned several Hondas in the past and comes from a family of Honda owners, I approached the Prologue with a lot of prejudice. Maybe it’s because we’ve been so used to this carmaker doing things on its own, never really partnering up with anyone and coming up with its own, ingenious ways of building engines and cars.

But the EV race has changed everything. See it as a big reset button for the entire auto industry. Could Honda have developed its own EV sooner? Sure. Could it have focused its resources on that technology instead of hydrogen, allowing it to come out stronger against important EV players such as Tesla? Maybe. But the fact of the matter is that this partnership with GM is turning out alright for Honda. The car itself is actually quite good. Its range and charging performance are competitive. It looks cool and comes with its own approach to connectivity. At the end of the day, what counts is if the public embraces the end product. In this case, it does, signaling another win for the Honda Motor Company.