We had a properly planned tripped in our Honda Prologue EV from Granite Bay to Pinnacles National Park until the plans were scrambled by traffic and wildfire. This was our first long road trip in an all electric vehicle and we already had enough range anxiety surrounding distance and charging. However, the Prologue eliminated our range anxiety and was very efficient overall.
I bought the Prologue at the begninning of August and quickly noticed that estimate range indicated on the instrument cluster was higher than stated in the specification documents. I attributed this to using one-pedal driving exclusively.
Before we left I charged to 100 percent and the range showed 295 miles.
There were shorts drives when I regenerated more distance than the battery consumed. It seems as if the all wheel drive (AWD) dual electric motor of the Prologue aids in regenerating more energy back to the battery than just a single motor. AWD electric vehicles usually have lower overall battery range. I found on our trip that this was partially offset with the additional brake regeneration.
Prologue Trip from Granite Bay to Pinnacles
Our trip to the Pinnacles National Park was estimated to be 231 miles from our home in Granite Bay. With a full charge before we left, I figured we would recharge at Salinas, 195 miles away.
With the adaptive cruise control set to 65 MPH, over 150 miles of driving, the Prologue was averaging 3.4 miles per kWh.
We used Google mapping in the car. We were cruising along when the map showed more and more slow traffic. Around Gilroy, the traffic seems to stop. I used Google mapping to find an alternate route. I did not know I would be traversing a horrible mountain road from San Juan Bautista to Salinas. It flashed in my mind that we may not have enough battery charge to get to a charging station.
Fortunately, we cruised into Salinas with 109 miles left on the battery and 35 percent of charge.
Old People Fast Charging Honda Prologue
Our first DC fast charging was pretty smooth. We changed to 80 percent in about 45 minutes.
Our destination was the Inn at the Pinnacles which has a long dirt road to the facility. The rolling hills allowed us to try the AWD, traction control, and hill descent functions of the Prologue. With one-peddle on, the Prologue came to a complete stop on a steep dirt road. I was impressed.
We were able to take a short hike at the Pinnacles before it got dark.
Sunday morning, we awoke to a fire in the park. That would erase our plans as the park remained closed for the rest of the day. Instead of hiking we drove over to the mission and went wine tasting in Soledad. We had not been thinking about miles or battery charge. On Monday morning, the Prologue was down to 32 percent of battery charge. A couple of days earlier, I would have freaked out having such a low state of charge. Now, I was not to concerned.
Prologue Range Gain
What I had noticed was the Prologue gained 4 to 6 miles of range over night. Sunday night the range showed 89 miles. Monday morning it was at 96 miles. The temperatures were over 100 degrees during the day, and the cooling fan would run when we stopped the Prologue. I’m assuming that once the battery cools down, it can provide more drive energy and that shows up as a few extra miles when the battery cools off overnight.
When we drove down the hill from the Pinnacles, that estimated range had increased to 106.
The 7.1 mile hill descent had regenerated 5.8 miles of range and the average kWh was 5.6 miles. Again, I was impressed.
I supposed this extra range helped as we pulled into Salinas with 25 percent charge in the battery or 81 miles of range.
We charged up to 80 percent in about 50 minutes. Because we did not charge to 100 percent, I knew that we would need another small recharge along the way. We stopped in Blackhawk, and used a Tesla charger. That brought the Prologue up to 80% in 15 minutes, barely enough time to get a cup of coffee.
The round trip was 583 miles and the average miles per kWh was 3.2.
Electricity Costs for Honda Prologue
Except for the Tesla charger, I was able to capture the cost and energy supplied at the different charging stations. The total cost for the electricity was $93.51. Notable was the cost of electricity between charging in the morning versus the afternoon. The first Salinas recharge was $0.68 per kWh in the afternoon. The morning charge was lower at $0.59 per kWh. Of course, it is always less expensive to charge at home where off-peak for my PG&E is $0.3015 kWh.
It would have been cheaper to make the trip if I had a car that got 40 MPG and gasoline was $4.50 a gallon. That would have cost $65.61. However, if all my charging is at home, the same 153 kWh will be $48.00. The Prologue actually consumed more than my 153 kWh of energy. Not accounted for was the regeneration from the one-peddle driving.
I don’t have an easy way to accurately calculate the regeneration. The regeneration will vary by terrain and driving conditions. However, it could be as high as 3 to 5 percent based on some of the energy efficiency screens I glance at. That means the Prologue could have regenerated 5 to 7 kWh, equating to $2.60 ($0.52 average kWh cost times 5 kWh.)
Regardless of the cost, I’m very happy with the efficiency of the Honda Prologue. I can’t wait to get it into the snow this winter.
YouTube video of the road trip in the Honda Prologue from Granite Bay to Pinnacles.
