Honda's Prologue EV has been a runaway hit. The automaker knows it can bank on customer loyalty when buyers want to shift from a hybrid to a fully electric car. It also certainly helped that the Prologue was offered with some of the cheapest leases in the entire Honda lineup. That looks to be changing for the 2025 model year, so you may want to act fast.
The Prologue may not have the neck-snapping acceleration of a Tesla Model Y Performance or the lightning-fast charging of a Hyundai Ioniq 5, but it's competent, capable and incredibly normal-feeling. None of its shortcomings stopped Honda loyalists from making this one of the best-selling EVs around, even outpacing its General Motors platform-mates last year.
For the 2025 model year, the Prologue gets even better with a power and range boost just like the other Ultimum models.
Yet while sticker prices remain the same, a glance at Honda’s lease programs indicates that this one might be a harder sell—at least at first.
Comparing the 2024 to 2025 Prologue lease programs, consumers would be looking at a substantial payment jump. For example, a 2024 Prologue EX AWD model has an advertised rate of $269 per month with $3,199 due at signing. This results in an effective lease cost of $12,883 (before tax and fees) for a 36-month program.
However, the 2025 Prologye EX AWD model has an advertised rate of $599 per month with $4,299 due at signing. That is an effective lease cost of $25,863 (again, before tax and fees) for a 36-month term. Even though Honda has not changed the sticker price for the 2025 model year, the lease programs are twice the cost, versus the previous model year.
Gallery: 2025 Honda Prologue Elite
According to Autotrader.com, there are currently around 2,850 units of 2024 Prologues still on the ground, compared to about 4,880 units of 2025 model Prologues available. Could the 2025 Prologue's price jumps be an indicator of super cheap EV lease programs coming to an end? It’s hard to say, but a scan of advertised programs from Hyundai, Kia, GM, and Volkswagen still show some very low payments for 2025 models of those brands.
But nobody expects those lease deals to last forever. With EV tax credits currently in political limbo and the potential for tariffs to drive up transaction prices, consumers interested in an EV lease may not want to wait too much longer. And it certainly pays to shop the programs across various brands.
Tom McParland is a contributing writer for InsideEVs who runs AutomatchConsulting.com. He takes the hassle out of buying or leasing a car. Got a car buying question? Send it to Tom@AutomatchConsulting.com.
