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Honda has just pulled the wraps off its first dedicated battery-electric crossover SUV, and we’ll have all the details about it. Our special guest this week is Jonathan Rivers, who is manager of product information at American Honda. Host Jack Nerad had the chance to sit with him for a behind-the-scenes briefing at a secret location in Southern California. Honda is basing its first all-electric SUV on a General Motors platform the Prologue shares with the upcoming Chevrolet Blazer EV. But the Prologue presents itself as a Honda through and through. A long look at a pre-production version of the crossover makes it clear that Honda designers and engineers worked hard to make it their own.
The 2024 Prologue will offer the choice of front-drive or all-wheel-drive. The single-motor EX and Touring trims will be front-drive, while the dual-motor EX, Touring, and Elite models are all-wheel-drive. The two-motor all-wheel-drive models will deliver 288 horsepower and 333 pound-feet of torque. Honda hasn’t revealed the horsepower and torque ratings of the front-drive models. All Prologues will be fitted with an 85 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that will offer up to 300 miles on a charge.
Using GM’s Ultium batteries, the Prologue can use DC fast charging at rates up to 155 kW. Honda hasn’t announced charge times but it says the Prologue’s battery pack can add 65 miles of range in about 10 minutes using a DC fast charger. The interior is pure Honda, including the brand’s newest Google-based infotainment system.
Two hot but affordable sports models take center stage in our road test segment. Co-Host Chris Teague puts the 2024 Acura Integra Type S through its paces in the challenging conditions of rural Maine. Host Jack Nerad did the same with the Toyota GR86 10th Anniversary Premium Edition in the urban jungle of Southern California.
In this week’s news, the fuel economy rules proposed by the Biden Administration could add $3,000 to the price of the average car by 2032, according to information just released by a growing list of carmakers fighting against the new rules. We’ll have the details along with our take on the situation.
About half of electric vehicle owners say they will buy a particular type of vehicle the next time they buy one. Their answers could surprise you. We’ll tell you what they plan to buy in this episode.
Here’s another good question we’ll talk about this week: Do self-driving cars pose a danger to pedestrians? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration seems to think so, and we’ll tell you more about their recent investigations.
America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, YourTestDriver.com, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com
