Back in May, Honda released the first design sketch of the 2024 Prologue SUV, its first all-electric model to be sold in the United States.
Sharing General Motors' Ultium Platform with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV and other models, the Honda Prologue looked enticing in the inaugural sketch, even though the vehicle appeared flatter than one would expect from an adventure-ready SUV as the automaker describes it.
Now we get to see the Prologue again in a fresh teaser video, and this time the vehicle appears more realistic and closer to what the real thing will look like when it debuts in early 2024.
The video is shot at the Honda Design Studio in California, which leads the styling of the brand's first volume battery electric vehicle. While we don't get to spot a prototype, the full-size clay model featured in the video gives us a pretty good look at the finite product.
Compared to the design sketch, the Prologue appears taller, with more generous glazing, but other than that, it stays remarkably close to the drawing. According to Honda, the design team developed an SUV motif that is modern and fresh, with clean and simple surface lines—imagined as "Neo-Rugged."
"Designing the first volume Honda electric vehicle gave us more freedom than a vehicle with an internal combustion engine, and we can stretch our imagination, especially in styling the front-end. We envisioned Prologue with a longer wheelbase, shorter overhang, and capable tires to create sporty proportions and a stronger stance."
Sang-Hyuk Ahn, exterior designer at Honda
We learn from the video that the Prologue is the first Honda model designed primarily through virtual reality visualization technology, which was used by the team to envision the SUV in different environments and to accelerate cross-collaboration between Honda styling teams in the US and Japan.
The Prologue is one of 30 new EVs Honda aims to introduce worldwide by 2030, when it projects it will have an annual volume of 2 million units. In North America, Honda will start sales of the Prologue co-developed with GM in 2024, followed by the production and sales of Honda models based on Honda e:Architecture in 2026 and a new series of affordable EVs co-developed with GM in 2027.
More details on the Prologue will be released in the coming months. Until then, it's worth noting that the Prologue clay model features similar proportions to the Chevrolet Blazer EV, including the span between the A- and C-pillars, the angle and shape of the triangular windows next to the mirror caps, and the rear-door cutline. It also features regular door handles like the Blazer EV.
This seems to suggest the Honda Prologue will be a midsize SUV just like the Blazer EV, in which case it could offer similar powertrain options, although it remains to be seen if the Japanese automaker will offer RWD variants and a performance version like the Blazer EV SS.
