Styled at the Honda Design Studio in Los Angeles, the all-new Prologue isn't a true Honda. Peeling away the bodywork and cockpit reveals GM underpinnings, namely the BEV3 platform of the Chevrolet Blazer EV.
It gets worse, though. Production takes place in Mexico rather than the United States, with General Motors assembling it rather than Honda. Considering that GM isn't synonymous with quality and reliability, one has to wonder if Honda actually thought this collab through.
Simply put, Honda didn't have a choice but to compromise because the Japanese colossus used to be a laggard in all things electric until recently. In any case, General Motors identified an problem back in June 2024, with said problem concerning a handful of Prologue crossovers produced in the period from April 10, 2024 to April 14, 2024.
Due to a manufacturing defect attributed to a Chinese supplier contracted by General Motors rather than Honda, the right front lower control arm is prone to fracturing. Not surprising anyone, suspect control arms had also been fitted to a small number of Blazer EVs.
American Honda Motor Co. isn't aware of any complaints or incidents related to the reported problem. Following a joint investigation with the supplier, General Motors determined that control arms had been contaminated by Asia-Pacific Light Alloy Technology Co. during the aluminum extrusion process. A sub-supplier missed one shipment of potentially affected control arms, therefore resulting in 2024 Honda Prologue and 2024 Chevy Blazer EV recalls.
Photo: Honda
Back in late June 2024, the Detroit-based automaker issued a recall encompassing 83 units of the Chevrolet Blazer EV. Over at Honda, the suspect population totals 39 examples of the mechanically similar Prologue. Registered owners will be informed by mail sometime around September 9, while dealers are required to inspect the vehicle.
If necessary, dealers will replace the control link at no charge to the customers. The subsupplier that caused this blunder allegedly improved its production, quality control, and containment procedures in February 2024. Considering that quality control and made in China are words that nobody in their right mind would usually put together, fingers crossed the unnamed tier-3 supplier isn't merely paying lip service.
In the first half of 2024, the folks at Chevrolet moved 7,234 units of the Blazer EV in the US market. Over at Honda, the Prologue fared much worse, clocking 1,535 deliveries. Compared to $48,800 before destination charge for the Blazer EV LT grade, Honda's take is $47,400 for the EX with FWD.
Listed as 2WD on Honda's configurator, the single-motor setup is the one to have for maximum range. Both the EX 2WD and Touring 2WD are rated at 296 miles (476 kilometers) on the combined test cycle, whereas EX AWD and Touring AWD manage 281 miles (452 kilometers). The best-equipped trim level is the 2024 Honda Prologue Elite, which is a dual-motor affair by default. It starts at $57,900 and tops 273 miles (439 kilometers) on a full charge in the combined cycle.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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