The Honda Civic has always been a reliable sort. You can rely on it to be a comfortable daily, a track-ready hot hatch, an economical commuter, and a cheap buy. No, wait. Scratch that last one. A Civic is still affordable, but it’s no longer the cheapest Honda to lease. That crown now belongs to the electric Prologue.
With a holiday weekend come holiday deals, and CarsDirect has dug up some sweet lease offers courtesy of Honda. For example, with $1,999 due at signing, an all-electric 2024 Prologue EX with all-wheel drive (AWD) can be had for $269 a month for 36 months, or an effective cost of $325 before taxes.
Other lease terms include a 10,000-mile annual cap, and lease signings are for residents of California and other California Air Resources Board (CARB) emissions states. Live elsewhere, and the price will go up a smidge. For the same vehicle and down payment, the monthly lease rate is $329, or $385 with other fees factored in. However, the price can go even further with a Honda loyalty bonus, which is a thousand bucks for the Prologue. That’ll drop the monthly payment by $30, or $85 in effective cost.
How does this compare to a car half the size and half the MSRP? Well, a base Civic LX will set you back $239 a month … but that’s after paying $3,399 at signing. That makes the effective cost $333. After some Common Core mathing, that means the Prologue, which has an MSRP of $48,795, is eight bucks cheaper to lease than a $24,250 Civic. OK, so it’s not like you’re saving a ton of money, but that’s a free large boba drink (with extra toppings!) every month. No dealing with the always erratic price of gas either.
So, how does an EV SUV lease price come down to earth and compete with a small gas car? Coupon stacking, of course! On the Prologue, multiple incentive offers add up to $13,500 in savings. This includes a $7,500 EV tax credit, $5,000 in Captive Lease Cash (essentially a lease rebate), and a $1,000 loyalty/conquest buyer discount. The conquest bonus applies to lessees who also own a 2014 or newer vehicle from a list of select competitors. This is not a trade-in offer; just a “Hey, thanks for getting a new car from us and not them.”
Additional lease savings may lie in a Labor Day Dealer Cash of $750 for 2024 Prologue models. The fine print is that it’s an unadvertised manufacturer-to-dealer bonus. Like a coupon printed in invisible ink, dealers don’t have to honor or even acknowledge its existence. Ask, anyway. The answer is always no to a question that’s never asked, so go ahead and ask.