The collaboration seems like a strange one. I don’t think I would buy it just because of the amount of GM in this vehicle. If I’m buying a Honda, I want it to be all Honda.
Honda and Toyota don’t want to invest in EVs because they don’t think most folks are ready, but they have to have something. Thus, this is basically their certificate of participation much like the bZ4X and Solterra are the certificate of participation for Toyota and Subaru.
Thank you for the great video. I remember reading consumer reports when I was a kid, my parents are long time subscribers my favorite was the annual car edition.
@@consumerreports oh yes, I have been subscribed for years. I do need to get the old-fashioned paper editions. I recall saving them for over a decade so I could read about the cars that I would potentially own once I could afford them lol
Sorry DJL78, I disagree. Jennifer comes to the table well prepared and does not allow discussions to ramble on forever or get too far off topic. I also think Maddie is very knowledgeable and a great addition. On another note, when discussing cars it’s important to consider two of the biggest expenses beyond price or gas mileage: depreciation and now soaring insurance costs. Please address these issues in your comments. Some cars are easy to love but ultimately much more expensive to keep.
Agreed, daleterry4294. I suspect the shade thrown at Jennifer and Maddie is based on factors entirely unrelated to their presentations and substance of their statements. And, therefore, that shade should be dismissed.
Welcome Maddie! Good for Honda and GM. It doesn't make sense for Honda to spend $billions developing in-house EVs to meet zero emissions mandates and have low sales number - probably at a loss. My guess is that in 10 years there will be a few suppliers of the EV "skateboards" (battery, motors, electrical equipment), and firms will do the "top hat" or coach work.
We're concentrating too much on the GM collaboration. Honda was a partner in the Ultium project and had a lot of input into much of what you're calling a Blazer influence, even though of course GM would win the arguments when there was a disagreement. In the end, Honda decided to pull out of Ultium but for a while it looked like they'd retain their full ⅓ partnership. I smiled when you mentioned the headlight and wiper switches changing positions (left/right). It is one of the first things I noticed. Super Cruise and OnStar in the Prologue...I sort of wish they hadn't done that.
Super Cruise is not on the Prologue and never will be. Only on the Acura ZDX as they said in CR's video. However, it does have OnStar if you want to have that.
Great addition with Maddie at the table and her perspectives. Y'all do such important work for us. I've been a CR subscriber for decades and rely on your test data a lot! Thanks.
Great info about what happens when these go to 0% state of charge. I didn't realize there was so much difference between the various EVs as far as how long it takes to reboot them after running to zero. Of course, nobody should ever run their car completely empty, not an EV, and not a gas powered vehicle either. But it's interesting that some EVs deal with it better than others.
Agree, but I find it a bit odd that they made this point at the beginning of the section. Very few EV owners will actually go to 0%, so it seems like a bit of a waste to make such a point about it. People vastly overestimate how much they'll use public charging as it is. It's interesting that the Ultium platform vehicles experience this, but it's really an edge case.
For the price, I agree. If it were much less expensive, like a Niro or Kona EV, I wouldn’t call it a dealbreaker. But for a $55k EV? Absolutely make a heat pump at least an option.
In response to Jim's question, I agree with Jen and Maddie. If he wants to stick with German luxury, I would choose a certified pre-owned 2020-up BMW X3, or an X5 if he prefers something a little bigger. Another good alternative choice would be a certified pre-owned Mazda CX-5 Signature or Acura RDX A Spec. The Mazda and Acura have good reliability, sporty to drive, and feels more premium compared to other mainstream brands.
Agree and suggest the RDX Advance; adds more spec like head-up display, adaptive damping, surround-view camera system, rain-sensing wipers, and acoustic front side glass. Or, starting in 2023, I think, you could get the A-Spec Advance. The RDX is a direct competitor to the Q5. Also, the warranty on a CPO Acura is better than a new car.
Don't run it dead, additional helpful information would be t o w to a fast charger if you can instead of waiting hours for it to charge. Also please include how low dead is, i.e.- if it's well below zero or just as it hits zero
A Pilot would drive well with VT-4. The RAV-4 may be reliable, but is far from a performance machine. The BMW isn't bad choice either. I'd probably go with the Acura RDX A-Spec with SH-AWD.
24:30. We have a ‘24 CR-V and had an ‘18 CR-V. The safety systems are the biggest and pretty much only complaint I have. Emergency breaking when someone is turn to right in front of you is nuts. County roads with no center line drives us both notes. Also, the radar in the front is too slow. Pulling into the garage, it beeps and warns me a half second after I swing it past our garage door when I take it in to park. Other than that, it’s a great car for my wife’s commuter and weekend trips.
What do you classify as incredible? I’ve seen some pretty good deals in my area VA all for 280 a month 0 down payment 10k miles for awd ex. I mean it’s cheaper than the lease for most of the Honda civics from many of the dealers here so I thought it was a pretty awesome deal for a 48k car. I can’t really find any other ev suvs with a cheaper lease deal aside from an id4 but that’s the base model with almost 100 miles less range than the prologue plus no power seats and generally much less featured than the base trim of the prologue.
GM and Honda are still working together even though the Ultium they are not because GM is struggling to get the costs down as planned. GM and Honda are also partners-together with BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis-in a new North American fast-charging network. The seven OEMs plan to deploy 30,000 fast chargers in the US and Canada starting in 2024. And Honda even announced another collaboration -in 2026, it wants to start operating a robotaxi service in Japan using the Cruise Origin, an autonomous electric vehicle developed by the GM-backed AV company
As Honda and Acura fan, I’m pretty disappointed in Honda. I’m not sure why Honda is making these choices but it’s crazy. Working with GM, and then to cut the relationship and now to work with Nissan, is not making me feel better about the quality. I can kind of understand it with GM to get an electric car out in order to keep selling in California but to then go to Nissan doesn’t make a lot of sense. The style isn’t terrible but I’m excited to see their electric car designs. Honda is incredibly smart with packaging, and the quality of the materials are normally better in Honda/Acuras. I agree about all of the other things you mentioned about parts and service, but I have a feeling that most the people buying these are for a cheap lease, not long term ownership. The resell value was be horrible on these for all of those things you mentioned.
I just happened to see a new Prologue at a Honda dealer and I thought it was a really nice looking EV. To hear it is really a GM EV underneath is very disappointing. I will be keeping my ICE vehicles. EV's just don't work for me.
I'm surprised no one mentioned Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Prolog has them, but GM discontinued them, which I think is a huge mistake. It is a showstopper for me.
So true! What is going to happen once Honda moves over to its new platform? As well, absolutely GREAT addition to the conversation!!!! A female engineers point of view! Great job CR! Your reviews of so on point! Keep it up!
What I have found on rear braking is my garage is deep and the wall would trigger it. On a non EV, as long as you have your foot on the brake while coasting out in reverse it would not go off. But if you coast out without your foot on the brake it would go off all the time. With my EV, because you cannot coast, it went off all the time. I had to turn it off.
The GM Ultium vehicles are nothing like previous GM cars. Completely new architectures, systems, and powertrains. Honda simply couldn't create a competitor independently because of the costs. It may seem like a terrible idea to you, but you don't work for them.
The Mazda would have been good for a mainstream choice. Acura RDX would be a good choice for the premium/luxury end. Although Audi has gotten much better with this, the European luxury brands still insist on making you get tons of packages to get driver assist stuff that's standard on your lowly Corolla or Civic.
Prologue vs Blazer for road trips, I’d choose neither. Subaru Outback for road trips, and a small cheap EV for a city car if you have home charging. Outback has 4-500 mi range and 8 3/4” ground clearance. EV are not yet ready for long road trips and occasional forest service roads where 8” ground clearance is recommended.
EVs aren't ready for road trips - for everyone. They would though be perfectly fine for some people, with that number increasing all the time as more infrastructure gets deployed. If charging is available everywhere you plan to drive, then EVs are fine. And if your driving routes don't have convenient gas stations everywhere then an EV could be better with the nice ability for some people to charge at home.
Honda seems to have done a much better job with this platform than GM. The charging port door and interior are better designed, as is the exterior styling.
I like a lot of things about the prologue but as the gentleman on the panel said I’d be worried about Honda being able to maintain the car. Will they even be making them in 4 years?
Do you remember when the Honda Passport was an Isuzu Rodeo? Both of those vehicles got pretty poor reviews if I recall correctly. So I was a little surprised to hear them compliment the driving dynamics of this collaborative project!
Sorry, Fisker is going completely out of business since this was filmed. So, CR is testing a defunct car. Just the ones built are sold and there will be no support for them.
I like the idea of an EV. I like the Prologue design. $56,000 dollars!!!! I’ll ride my bike instead. The prices ridiculous. Thanks for sharing the price at 2 minutes in the video because thats as far as i need to go.
OK, so I have a big gripe with the HRV and the civic. The auto highbeams seemingly do not work. my friend has a brand new civic and I noticed it on her car and she gets people flashing her all the time, I drive a lot and I am constantly blinded by civics and HRV’s. Specifically the HRV because it’s higher. Consumer reports can you please test this. I will be staring right at an HRV at night driving at a stoplight and the highbeams will be activated. Every single HRV and civic I come across on the road is same and it is dangerous and annoying.
Maddie should drive a Bruno Sacco Mercedes to learn how driver controls should be. The cruise, lights, signals, wipers and steering can all be controlled with the left hand so I NEVER have to put my coffee down; the real reason Sacco Benz's didn't have cup holders. On my CR top rated Kia Telluride I have to play table tennis with the signals on the left of the steering wheel, the cruise on the right side on the wheel and the wipers on the right side of the wheel. Add the shitty steering compared with the Mercedes and it's stupid self driving attempt it's a nice driveway ornament.
It’s not a real world test to run them to dead. It’s not useful. The Prologue has Google maps built in and it does a great job planning a route through the fastest chargers and will suggest that you charge enough to get you to your next charger at 20% or so.
It sounds like Honda's effort for the first EV might be more useful and less peculiar then the Toyota-Subaru BZ4X and Solitara. But how reliable? And the price - gasp!
Probably a Kia EV9 if you want capacity. The Blazer, Prologue, and ID.4 could work for you too, but they are smaller. There are more expensive options as well
Gotta disagree on the screen, the Honda one just looks so potato, it reminds me of those older e-book readers lol. I also had no trouble hitting the buttons in the Blazer when I tried it. I will say that I like that the Honda at least has a lighter color interior option that isn't that terrible red that the Blazer can get.
Why pretend that this isn't Honda's "California Compliance Car?" It's just a rebadged Blazer, and the Blazer stinks. And why not just say "Buy a Tesla if you want an EV where everything works." While I appreciate adding Maddie (who reads off the Honda promotion materials), this podcast is becoming increasingly "Boomers Talking Cars" - THIS CAR POD! is vastly better and more informed about the vehicles.
Issues with service has happened before with Japanese cars being made by American companies. Just dig a little in the past It was a disaster for the owners.
As polarizing Musk really is, and more people seem to see he’s not really the genius savior they thought he was, Tesla EVs offer a better product, for the money, than this $47k base model, slow EV Honda.
I wouldn't care if the Chevrolet Blazer developed a bug where it refused to start on Saturdays. I'd still buy it if the alternative was to give Elon Musk even ten cents. That aside, not everyone has the same needs. Tesla really has only 2 affordable vehicles, they are very similar, and no new affordable vehicle is immediately in the pipeline. I only drive about 3k miles a year in mostly slow local routes, so the 'better' product really doesn't benefit me much. I do though often move a bit of cargo in the back, so I'd like more space. So, I rather prefer the shape of the Blazer and other vehicles over the Model Y. Plus, all the other manufacturers give a much wider selection of options compared to Tesla - options that are actually here today compared to the FSD that perhaps will never be finished even after a half dozen more computer hardware upgrades.
Stockburger is the worst host on this channel. Her constant talking over people coupled with her nauseating vocal fry and lousy “hot takes” are unbearable.
I like her a lot. She rather grounds the whole thing, although I'm not sure an Audi owner is going to buy into the RAV4 choice, as it seems a tad pedestrian in terms of solidity, perceived quality, and, frankly, place in the automotive hierarchy.
