Industry News: Ultium Twins to hit the market soon from Honda / Acura

[G. David Felt]

April 2020 Honda / Acura signed a deal with GM to use the Ultium Platform to produce two SUVs, one for Honda and one for Acura that would target the 2024 model year with an end of 2023 on sale date.

Today we give you the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX:

Let's dive into how much these two vehicles are the same and yet different. Both are built on the GM Ultium platform and will come off the same assembly line according to Honda.

We will present a bullet list here for quick comparison of the basic info that folks like to know about these two vehicles:

• Pricing
  • Honda Prologue to start upper $40K with top end hitting $60K
  • Acura ZDX to start around $60K and top end hitting $70K range
• Mileage
  • Honda Prologue to have an EPA range rating of 300 miles
  • Acura ZDX to have an EPA range rating of 325 miles
• Charging
  • Both models will handle 800V DC fast charging
    • Honda will recharge 65 miles of range per 10 minutes, charging rates up to 155 kW
    • Acura will recharge 81 miles of range per 10 minutes, charging rates up to 190 kW
• Battery Capacity
  • Honda - 85 kWh
  • Acura - 102 kWh
• Powertrain details
  • Honda - 288 HP / 333 lb-ft AWD - 2WD TBA
  • Acura - ZDX 340 HP RWD / TBA AWD - ZDX Type S 500 HP torque for all models TBA
• Trim Levels
  • Honda - EX, Touring and Elite
  • Acura - A spec and Type S
• TouchScreen Auto Android
  • Snap Dragon system powered by Android that will allow Apple CarPlay & Android Auto cell phone connectivity use
    • Honda and Acura will have 11" instrument display and 11.3" central touch screen
• Safety systems are marketed under the Honda or Acura name, but include things like a 360-degree vision camera system, blind spot detection of autos and humans, a various assortment of Smart technology
• Cargo Space
  • Honda - 25.2 cu-ft behinds rear seats, with seats down 57.7 cu-ft and a .5 cu-ft hidden space under rear cargo area
  • Acura - TBA
• Wheel options
  • Honda 19" or 21" depending on trim
  • Acura 20" or 22" depending on trim
• Suspension
  • Honda - multi-link, fixed coil
  • Acura - A spec multi-link, fixed coil with amplitude reactive damper system. Type S multi-link Air suspension with High-performance Adaptive damper system
• EV Size
  • Honda
    • Wheelbase - 121.8"
    • Length - 192"
    • Width - 78.3"
    • Height - 64.7"
  • Acura
    • Wheelbase - 121.8"
    • Length - 197.7"
    • Width - 77"
    • Height - 64.4"
• Towing Capacity
  • Honda - 5,000 lbs
  • Acura - 3,500 lbs
• Audio Systems
  • Honda - 12 speaker Bose system with subwoofer 
  • Acura - Bang & Olufsen Surround sound system
• Charging ports - 3.0A - USB C 45W charging ports for both brands
• Brakes
  • Standard Honda Brakes
  • Acura has an option to upgrade to Brembo brakes from a premium brake

More details can be found at either website:

2024 Honda Prologue – All-Electric SUV | Honda

2024 Acura ZDX Type S | Electrified Performance

With having taken a crash comparison course between the two SUV's based on the GM Ultium platform, let's see visually how these two vehicles stack up.

Interior Dashboards

Back storage area

Acura has been very limiting in their interior pictures of the ZDX compared to Honda. With what is available, one can say that interior space and layout will be pretty identical in many ways from the 60/40 split rear seat to the dash and sky roof.

Honda has talked highly about how the SUV will have a very open green house feel.

One noticeable area of identicalness between Honda and Acura is the blah black and white two-tone interior both models seem to be sharing.

This is what GM had on the Chevrolet Bolt and makes one wonder why Honda and Acura are doing this blah, cold interior?

Style is as expected with Honda taking a very conservative approach to their exterior look compared to Acura more aggressive look.

The final part of Honda/Acura EV approach is that they have also joined the NACS party. While the 2024 model year will come with CCS ports, in 2025 as a 2026 model year, they will move to the NACS ports. They have also joined the other auto companies that are planning to build out a large North American charging company to compete with Tesla Super Charging stations and with other companies like ChargePoint and Electrify America.

Depending on what a person seeks with their EV, it is a personal choice about spending more or less for an auto and both have a wide variety of options for buyers with these two SUVs.

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[ccap41]

The Prologue looks so much better than the Blazer. The flatter hood makes the proportions just look so much cleaner and sportier without having to add all sorts of fake vents like the BlazerEV.

It's also still annoying that GM couldn't engineer a frunk into their EV SUVs, and now Honda has to pay for that as well. 

I also just like they didn't name it Pilot EV, like Chevy did with the Blazer EV. Honda gave it its own name. 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

The Prologue looks so much better than the Blazer. The flatter hood makes the proportions just look so much cleaner and sportier without having to add all sorts of fake vents like the BlazerEV.

It's also still annoying that GM couldn't engineer a frunk into their EV SUVs, and now Honda has to pay for that as well. 

I also just like they didn't name it Pilot EV, like Chevy did with the Blazer EV. Honda gave it its own name. 

Personal style will always be a personal preference, the bigger issue I have with the Honda is why limit the charging speed to 155kW compared to the blazer that can like the Acura do the full 190 kW of power.

If auto companies are going to convert folks over, they need to give all the benefits of fast charging at all levels of an auto line. In other words, I see no benefit to GM if they gave the full recharge speed to Cadillac and 2/3rds to GMC/Buick and half to Chevrolet. Slow charging is one of the biggest issues with folks considering EVs.

We have seen the discussions over the past few years with so many stories of people bitching about charging speed.

[riviera74]

The problem with full recharge speed is that it will reduce the number of charge cycles on those batteries.  Once that happens, eventually battery replacement is required.  While it is highly inconvenient for anyone to wait a few minutes longer to charge their EV, said customer should want their EV batteries to last as long as possible rather than having to pay for an expensive replacement.

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, riviera74 said:

The problem with full recharge speed is that it will reduce the number of charge cycles on those batteries.  Once that happens, eventually battery replacement is required.  While it is highly inconvenient for anyone to wait a few minutes longer to charge their EV, said customer should want their EV batteries to last as long as possible rather than having to pay for an expensive replacement.

Where are you getting this information from as that has been debunked already about fast charge speed on modern EV battery packs.

This is the same bad info about how fast charging will reduce your cell phone battery life. That also has been debunked especially by Apple and Samsung.

For the auto industry, most batteries in EVs or PHEVs have shown that less than a couple % of battery storage is lost when fast charged all the time and we still see Taxi PHEVs that are running strong 10 years after being produced such as the hybrid Ford Escapes that are used as taxis in NY.

 Fast Charge Reduce Battery Life?

https://carsofelectric.com/do-fast-chargers-shorten-electric-vehicle-battery-life/

Fast charging, also known as quick charging, can contribute to battery degradation¹. This is because fast charging uses high voltage and current to charge the battery quickly, which generates heat that can cause damage to the battery’s cells and reduce its overall lifespan¹. However, the impact of fast charging on battery life is not substantial². The physics behind the technology means you shouldn't expect the battery to last longer than using a conventional "slow" charging brick².

[riviera74]

Why has Acura recycled the ZDX designation for their EV crossover?  I know it used to be the twin of the failed Honda Crosstour a few years back.

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, riviera74 said:

Why has Acura recycled the ZDX designation for their EV crossover?  I know it used to be the twin of the failed Honda Crosstour a few years back.

Agree that it is an interesting choice, I suspect that the ZDX was an easy choice to use since the ICE ZDX never did anything. That was one hideous vehicle in ICE form.