Compare the2024 Honda PrologueVS 2023 Tesla Model Y

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Prologue are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Model Y doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Prologue Elite has a standard Surround Vision System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Model Y only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Prologue’s standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Rear Cross Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Model Y doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

The Prologue has standard OnStar, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions, remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model Y doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Prologue and the Model Y have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems and rear parking sensors.

The Honda Prologue weighs 534 to 910 pounds more than the Tesla Model Y. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the Prologue for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for tire rotations, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Tesla doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Model Y.

There are almost 6 times as many Honda dealers as there are Tesla dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Prologue’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Tesla vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 67 more problems per 100 vehicles, Tesla is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Tesla vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 9 places higher in reliability than Tesla.

For better traction, the Prologue Elite’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Model Y (275/45R21 vs. 255/35R21).

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires available on the Prologue can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The Model Y doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

The Prologue has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Prologue flat and controlled during cornering. The Model Y’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Prologue’s wheelbase is 8 inches longer than on the Model Y (121.8 inches vs. 113.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Prologue is 1.5 inches wider in the front and 2 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Model Y.

For greater off-road capability the Prologue has a 1.5 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Model Y (8.1 vs. 6.6 inches), allowing the Prologue to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Prologue has 5.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Model Y (111.7 vs. 106).

The Prologue has 3.8 inches more front hip room, 3 inches more front shoulder room, 3.8 inches more rear hip room and 3.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Model Y.

The Prologue has a much larger cargo volume than the Model Y with its rear seat up (25.2 vs. 16.9 cubic feet).

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Prologue’s liftgate can be opened just by a gesture, leaving your hands completely free. The Model Y doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Prologue Elite has a standard heads-up display that projects speed in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Model Y doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Prologue has a standard rear wiper. The Model Y doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

The Prologue’s standard side window demisters help clear frost or condensation from the side windows in the winter. The Model Y doesn’t even offer side window demisters, so the driver may have to wipe the windows from the outside to gain side vision.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Prologue Elite keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Model Y doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Prologue Elite has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Model Y doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Prologue is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Model Y doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.