Did you test drive a Prelude before buying one?

[rexracer9]

No test drive—I trusted my gut feeling entirely; it was that slightly irrational "must-have" feeling, just like with the Civic Type R FK8 back in 2017. My only minor concern was the seating position, since I’m over 6'2" tall—but I was overjoyed when I finally took that first test drive in late March (six weeks after ordering) and realized that there isn't any more space in the FK8 either, and that I could sit comfortably!

Nice pics!

 

[faithboy2]

It is interesting—and, unfortunately, the Prelude didn't manage to keep that exclusive, unique feature for long: the facelifted e:HEV Civic in Germany is now also getting the S+ button as standard.

 

[GoZoner23]

Honda had a press release describing the Honda S+Shift.

I know that is what Honda says which is why I described it as 'my contention'. But, the more I think about it the more I think I'm right. (Hah!) By sticking to 'engagement' Honda has opened the door to the whole 'fake shift' narrative and 10s of reviewers had stepped right through that door.

The ONLY reason mechanical gears exist, the one and only one reason, is to put the IC engine in its power/torque band. The S+ paddles on the Prelude allow the driver to put the IC engine in its optimal (higher-RPM) electrical current generation band. Hold the RPMs up and you'll go faster and more quickly recharge the battery (if anything is left over after driving the wheels).

And aren't the noises from the engine and exhaust real, albeit amplified by the sound system? They must be amplified (as they are on ALL modern cars) because otherwise the sound-deadening material - needed to keep out road and wind noise - would muffle the un-amplified sounds.