The Honda Prologue Gets Major Boost with Federal Tax Credit Eligibility

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

Honda leaned on General Motors to help get its EV program off the ground here in the U.S., and it appears that the partnership is paying off in other ways. The automaker recently announced that its upcoming Prologue EV would be eligible for federal tax credits of $7,500, meaning buyers can get around 15 percent off the SUV’s purchase price at the point of sale.


The Prologue rides on GM’s Ultium platform, which also underpins the Chevy Blazer EV, Equinox EV, and Silverado EV, among many others. The Equinox EV will be eligible for the credits when it arrives, but several GM models lost eligibility at the start of the year with the introduction of new supply chain requirements. The automaker has discounted some of those models to compensate and said that it expects all of them to regain eligibility soon.


Tax credits bring the Prologue’s starting price down to $41,295 after a $1,395 destination charge. Adding all-wheel drive pushes the base EX trim’s price to $44,295. The Touring trim starts at $45,595, and the top Elite trim at $51,795. That makes the Prologue only slightly more expensive than the Ford Mustang Mach-E to start.


Those prices aren’t terrible for an EV today, and the Prologue’s specs promise a decent ownership experience. The base range is 273 miles, which applies to the top Elite trim with AWD and 21-inch wheels. The Touring and EX AWD models with 19-inch wheels return 281 miles, and the FWD models get up to 296 miles per charge.


Acura’s upcoming ZDX EV shares much of its engineering with the Prologue, including the General Motors bones. While the automaker has not announced tax credit eligibility for that SUV, its American roots will likely help its cause when tax time comes.


[Image: Honda]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • Jalop1991 Jalop1991 on Mar 06, 2024

    Did they equip this with their special equity-destroying VCM--in this case, Variable Circuitry Management where they disable various circuitry to "save you money"?

  • ToolGuy ToolGuy on Mar 06, 2024

    Honda fans will buy this to celebrate the greatness that was Honda in 1986, and then wonder why it isn't as good as a Honda from 1986. 😉

    • See 1 previous
    • ToolGuy ToolGuy on Mar 06, 2024

      Here's a serious question, @The Oracle:

      Back in Honda's glory days (Peak Honda was a long time ago, says me), the product was 'so good' (relative to the competition) that the customers would walk barefoot over broken glass at the dealership to get at the product. The dealers were fairly abusive in general as documented in Steve Lynch's excellent book "Arrogance and Accords: The Inside Story of the Honda Scandal" (which I purchased and have read some of and should get back to soon).

      So my question: If it is a rebranded GM vehicle, what is Honda bringing to the table? Not the dealership experience, I would say. Why buy this over its 'twin'? Thanks.

  • Carrera 2014 Toyota Corolla with 192,000 miles bought new. Oil changes every 5,000 miles, 1 coolant flush, and a bunch of air filters and in cabin air filters, and wipers. On my 4th set of tires.Original brake pads ( manual transmission), original spark plugs. Nothing else...it's a Toyota. Did most of oil changes either free at Toyota or myself. Also 3 batteries.2022 Acura TLX A-Spec AWD 13,000 miles now but bought new.Two oil changes...2006 Hyundai Elantra gifted from a colleague with 318,000 when I got it, and 335,000 now. It needed some TLC. A set of cheap Chinese tires ($275), AC compressor, evaporator, expansion valve package ( $290) , two TYC headlights $120, one battery ( $95), two oil changes, air filters, Denso alternator ( $185), coolant, and labor for AC job ( $200).
  • Mike-NB2 This is a mostly uninformed vote, but I'll go with the Mazda 3 too.I haven't driven a new Civic, so I can't say anything about it, but two weeks ago I had a 2023 Corolla as a rental. While I can understand why so many people buy these, I was surprised at how bad the CVT is. Many rentals I've driven have a CVT and while I know it has one and can tell, they aren't usually too bad. I'd never own a car with a CVT, but I can live with one as a rental. But the Corolla's CVT was terrible. It was like it screamed "CVT!" the whole time. On the highway with cruise control on, I could feel it adjusting to track the set speed. Passing on the highway (two-lane) was risky. The engine isn't under-powered, but the CVT makes it seem that way.A minor complaint is about the steering. It's waaaay over-assisted. At low speeds, it's like a 70s LTD with one-finger effort. Maybe that's deliberate though, given the Corolla's demographic.
  • Mike-NB2 2019 Ranger - 30,000 miles / 50,000 km. Nothing but oil changes. Original tires are being replaced a week from Wednesday. (Not all that mileage is on the original A/S tires. I put dedicated winter rims/tires on it every winter.)2024 - Golf R - 1700 miles / 2800 km. Not really broken in yet. Nothing but gas in the tank.
  • SaulTigh I've got a 2014 F150 with 87K on the clock and have spent exactly $4,180.77 in maintenance and repairs in that time. That's pretty hard to beat.Hard to say on my 2019 Mercedes, because I prepaid for three years of service (B,A,B) and am getting the last of those at the end of the month. Did just drop $1,700 on new Michelins for it at Tire Rack. Tires for the F150 late last year were under $700, so I'd say the Benz is roughly 2 to 3 times as pricy for anything over the Ford.I have the F150 serviced at a large independent shop, the Benz at the dealership.
  • Bike Rather have a union negotiating my pay rises with inflation at the moment.
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