Does Honda’s New BEV Have What It Takes?

When a new car launches, it feels like a rookie baseball player is stepping up to the plate and about to take the first swings of their either illustrious or disastrous career. Every baseball player has that first pitch, and in the same regard, every automobile has its first release. So, in Honda’s case, what vehicle are we referring to? The 2024 Honda Prologue is entering the BEV SUV contest, taking on some of the big names that got into this party early, such as Volkswagen with its ID.4. You may want to visit your local Honda dealer and check out the Prologue for yourself, but first we’d like to tell you more about the Prologue and why it has what it takes to beat the ID.4 in all the ways that matter.

Something that’s on the minds of many when comparing two BEVs is how well they handle charging—more specifically, how fast their batteries can charge in different circumstances. Let’s briefly discuss charging times between the Prologue and the ID.4. Keep in mind, however, that the charging times we’re about to list are when both vehicles are being charged under ideal circumstances, which is when they’re plugged in at public charging stations, commonly referred to as ‘Level 3’ or ‘DC Fast Charging’ units.

The Honda Prologue, when plugged into a fast charger, can regain 65 miles of travel every ten minutes. Given that the Prologue can travel an exceptional 296 miles on a single charge, this means you can expect a 22% recharge within ten minutes—and within half an hour of charging, you’ll regain about 195 miles of travel distance. This means charging the vehicle from practically zero to a full charge with one of these chargers will take less than an hour. The thing is, more often than not, your battery won’t be at 0% when you reach a charging station—so let’s say you want to charge your vehicle for 20 minutes: you’ll get 130 miles of travel distance back. The amount of time you spend at a charging station is ultimately up to you, depending on how many miles you need.

As for the ID.4, this Volkswagen will achieve a 70% charge in 30-36 minutes. This is not bad, but there are a couple of reasons why this isn’t as glamorous as it may seem. Considering what we said earlier about the Prologue, you can expect about a 66% battery charge within 30 minutes. This means the ID.4 is the winner, right? Well…

You see, the 2024 ID.4—while fast at charging—can only travel a maximum of 209 miles on a full charge in its base configuration. This not only means the Prologue (in its base configuration) can travel nearly 42% more miles on a single charge than the ID.4, but it also means that a 70% charge in the ID.4 equates to 146 miles if we’re talking about the base powertrain—a 62-kWh battery with a single motor. In the Prologue, a 66% charge (which can be achieved in the same amount of time) equates to 195 miles; so, within the same amount of time, you can gain more travelable distance in the Prologue than you could with the ID.4, and as a result, you can travel more before you need to recharge.

Of course, there’s also charging at home. The Prologue comes with a Level 1 charger, and Honda gives you a couple of options if you prefer a Level 2 charger. Volkswagen is much the same way with Level 2 options, but the 120-volt Level 1 charger for the ID.4 is shockingly absent from the base product, too, and instead is an additional purchase.

If you choose one of the Level 2 charging options from Honda, they’ll even give you credit that you can use toward public charging stations, so you won’t have to pay anything for a few charging visits when you first get your car. However, both manufacturers offer the benefit of having one of their techs install a Level 2 charger in your home. Charging at home is the way most people recharge their EVs because, when they get home from work, they can plug in their car and it’ll have a full charge ready for the morning commute.

Based on what we’ve seen, Honda’s BEV SUV is going to cost more than the ID.4, but this is made up for by the fact that you’re not only getting a mileage boost of nearly 42%, but performance is also better in its base configuration. Inside the base 2024 Prologue is an 85-kWh battery linked with a single motor. By comparison, the 2024 ID.4’s base powertrain is a 62-kWh battery that’s also paired with a single motor. In practice, the Prologue’s battery helps it achieve 212 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque, while the base ID.4’s powertrain outputs 201 hp and 229 lb-ft of torque.

This 5% and 3% increase in horsepower and torque is great to have, especially combined with the 42% increase in range, which makes these base configurations a far cry from one another. Why not buy the car that will get you further every time you leave the house? It’s worth noting the efficiency ratings haven’t been formally announced for the 2024 Prologue with the alternative powertrain, but the 296-mile range that the base Prologue offers is still better than any powertrain the ID.4 can offer.

The 2024 Honda Prologue’s alternative powertrain still utilizes the 85-kWh battery, but an additional motor is added, resulting in a dual-motor setup, thus granting the versatility of AWD. What does the ID.4 offer for its second powertrain configuration? It has an 82-kWh battery, but it’s still linked with a single motor; the result is 282 hp, but the Prologue’s 85-kWh battery and dual-motor powertrain outputs 288 hp and 333 lb-ft of torque. Not to mention, this 82-kWh battery and single-motor setup for the ID.4 only comes with FWD, but it does have the benefit of harnessing 291 miles of range on a full charge. However, that’s still not enough to beat the 296-mile range of the Prologue’s single-motor configuration.

Luckily for the ID.4, it can redeem itself well enough with a dual-motor setup of its own that features the same 82-kWh battery. This powertrain is performant with its 330 hp, no doubt, and it also comes with AWD. The problem is that it’s greatly hindered by its 263-mile range, and you’re still dealing with slower charging times than the Prologue, so it’s not enough to be a considerable upgrade over the Prologue’s strongest powertrain.

The 2024 Honda Prologue has a lot of momentum, and the question is whether or not it can dethrone some of the BEV SUVs that have sapped up the market share, such as the Volkswagen ID.4. VW released the ID.4 a few years earlier, so naturally that means more people are ID.4 owners from the get-go—but this is where things get interesting…

You can expect the 2024 Prologue to eat into the sales of the ID.4 at its launch. With results like these, it very well could be the BEV SUV to consider, especially if you care about range. So it looks like this rookie player may be a future Hall-of-Famer if it keeps up the pace. If you’re already in the market for a BEV, go with the one that provides the best experience—and that’s the 2024 Honda Prologue.