The Prologue EV is a return to simple, sensible Honda design

Honda’s first big EV bet here in the United States is the Ultium-based prologue, an SUV built on top of General Motors technology. It’s expected to arrive in 2024, but we’re getting an extra early look at it today as Honda just unveiled a small collection of exterior and interior photos.

“A young team of designers went in search of a modern and fresh SUV,” Honda’s press release reads:, “with clean and simple surfacing. Neo-rugged was conceived as the design direction and brought the harmony of the natural elements to the exterior and interior of Prologue.” Marketing jargon aside, I agree that “clean and simple surface” applies to what Honda has done here.

The prologue harks back to the carmaker’s design in the ’90s and early 2000s, before we hit things like the Accord Cross Tour, 10th generation Civic and last generation Acura TL. Attractive, proportionally correct, and no-nonsense to the point of being a little forgettable. But in a good way! The kind of car you look at and think to yourself, “that’s” smart.” Never trying too hard to be cool – that was the Honda ethos.

There’s nothing special about the Prologue’s exterior from the back of the A-pillar, but there’s also nothing that would instantly confuse you with the work of another brand. The taillights wear a lot Range Rover Evoque influence, but Honda has put its own stamp on it – quite literally, with the new, futuristic Honda:e logotype marking the center of the heckblende. The rear quarter corner looks really good, though just know that window will look like peering out of a mail slot.

Honda says prologue’s face was inspired by his Unfortunately, we are not allowed to drive an electric city car here, but only to the extent that there is a glossy black plastic bar bridging the LED bulbs where a grid would normally be. I am a bigger fan of the wheels. Yes, they’re comically big at a whopping 21 inches, but they look like they’ve been pulled from a concept car, rather than a production intent machine.

We get fewer photos of the prologue’s interior to gaze at, but there’s also less to talk about. You can go two ways with EVs: do what Toyota did, and distinguish them in confusing, obtrusive ways for their own good; or make a normal car with sensible ideas. Honda chose the second way and I think that’s the right way. Notice what appears to be range and performance information faded to the left of the speedometer on the instrument panel. Honda still keeps those details close to the chest.

So that’s the prologue, or at least all we can see of it for now. It looks like a completely reasonable EV, but as always with these early revelations, I have to wonder if the people who are impressed today will still be in a year and a half when they actually start roaming the streets. What do you think? Sound off in the comments.