I have owned some pretty fun cars, some fast and some not so fast but still fun. Cars from Minis and Miatas to Corvettes and 911s. I have also owned a couple of hybrids in the past. I owned a ’10 Civic hybrid with a CVT and ’12 Civic Hybrid with a 5-speed manual transmission. I also had a Gen3 Prius.
I finally test drove a Prelude. I have to say the Prelude is fun to drive. I do feel it is underpowered. It gets going OK but the lack of more power does not do the fabulous steering, chassis, brakes, tires any justice. The steering, chassis and brakes are SO capable it would be nice to have some more power to exploit the fine chassis dynamics. I guess that is what the Civic Type R is for. The CTR is a great deal for a few thousand dollars more than a Prelude if you can live with a manual and 4-doors. And less MPG.
I also get the Prelude is not marketed as a dedicated sports car even though it looks like one and is priced the same or more as some. Reviewers try comparing the Prelude to some of them. I did also. The Miata. 86/BRZ, GTI, Nissan Z, base Mustang, Elantra N, Mini Cooper S or JCW, can all be bought for the same or less money than the Prelude. Some can be bought for more than $10K less. I have owned some previous and current versions of the cars I mentioned. I owned a ’08 and ’20 Miata, ’09 Z, ’14 BRZ, ’08-’10 Mini Cooper S, ’84 GTI, ’12 GTI and currently a ’25 Golf R. All of those cars are fun to drive but in their own different ways. None are like the Prelude. I feel the Prelude is as much fun or satisfying to drive as some of the other “fun” cars in its price range. It is the steering, chassis, brakes that really shine and make the Prelude special. And it is capable of getting near Prius like MPG while being fun.
The ace in the hole for the Prelude is its excellent mpg. The Prelude’s hybrid tech and its excellent MPG is the difference. None of the cars I mentioned can match the MPG of the Prelude. The Prelude is a very efficient, high MPG, hybrid like a Prius. It gets almost the same MPG as a Prius which is a LOT LESS FUN to drive. It is not even close. Im surprised reviewers who compared both have not emphisized how much more fun the Prelude is. It is night and day. The Prelude also has vastly superior driving refinement and Noise Vibration Harshness. In my opinion there is absolutely no question which is a better “drivers” car. The Prelude is easily the superior drivers car in my opinion. The question is if the extra cost of the Prelude is justified? Is it worth $10K-$13K more for the CTR suspension, brakes , tires, and having a sleek looking 2-door design? Maybe not for someone who wants or can live with a 4-door fun driving hybrid like the Civic. The Civic Hybrid fits the bill of a much more fun driving hybrid over a Prius. I drove a ’25 Prius on a 2 week long road trip recently. Without doubt I would buy a Civic Hybrid over a comparable Prius. There are no other options other than the Prelude if someone wants a sporty looking 2-door hybrid that is fun to drive. I think the Prelude is the only high MPG hybrid I can think of that is truly fun to drive? It really is in a market of one.
What is sometimes overlooked is the significant amount of money saved at the back end by the impressive MPG. You can claw back some of the Prelude purchase price money. In some cases the money saved is substantial. Someone can save over $10K in gas in just 5 years if they bought a Prelude over a similarly priced Nissan Z Sport.
I finally test drove a Prelude. I have to say the Prelude is fun to drive. I do feel it is underpowered. It gets going OK but the lack of more power does not do the fabulous steering, chassis, brakes, tires any justice. The steering, chassis and brakes are SO capable it would be nice to have some more power to exploit the fine chassis dynamics. I guess that is what the Civic Type R is for. The CTR is a great deal for a few thousand dollars more than a Prelude if you can live with a manual and 4-doors. And less MPG.
I also get the Prelude is not marketed as a dedicated sports car even though it looks like one and is priced the same or more as some. Reviewers try comparing the Prelude to some of them. I did also. The Miata. 86/BRZ, GTI, Nissan Z, base Mustang, Elantra N, Mini Cooper S or JCW, can all be bought for the same or less money than the Prelude. Some can be bought for more than $10K less. I have owned some previous and current versions of the cars I mentioned. I owned a ’08 and ’20 Miata, ’09 Z, ’14 BRZ, ’08-’10 Mini Cooper S, ’84 GTI, ’12 GTI and currently a ’25 Golf R. All of those cars are fun to drive but in their own different ways. None are like the Prelude. I feel the Prelude is as much fun or satisfying to drive as some of the other “fun” cars in its price range. It is the steering, chassis, brakes that really shine and make the Prelude special. And it is capable of getting near Prius like MPG while being fun.
The ace in the hole for the Prelude is its excellent mpg. The Prelude’s hybrid tech and its excellent MPG is the difference. None of the cars I mentioned can match the MPG of the Prelude. The Prelude is a very efficient, high MPG, hybrid like a Prius. It gets almost the same MPG as a Prius which is a LOT LESS FUN to drive. It is not even close. Im surprised reviewers who compared both have not emphisized how much more fun the Prelude is. It is night and day. The Prelude also has vastly superior driving refinement and Noise Vibration Harshness. In my opinion there is absolutely no question which is a better “drivers” car. The Prelude is easily the superior drivers car in my opinion. The question is if the extra cost of the Prelude is justified? Is it worth $10K-$13K more for the CTR suspension, brakes , tires, and having a sleek looking 2-door design? Maybe not for someone who wants or can live with a 4-door fun driving hybrid like the Civic. The Civic Hybrid fits the bill of a much more fun driving hybrid over a Prius. I drove a ’25 Prius on a 2 week long road trip recently. Without doubt I would buy a Civic Hybrid over a comparable Prius. There are no other options other than the Prelude if someone wants a sporty looking 2-door hybrid that is fun to drive. I think the Prelude is the only high MPG hybrid I can think of that is truly fun to drive? It really is in a market of one.
What is sometimes overlooked is the significant amount of money saved at the back end by the impressive MPG. You can claw back some of the Prelude purchase price money. In some cases the money saved is substantial. Someone can save over $10K in gas in just 5 years if they bought a Prelude over a similarly priced Nissan Z Sport.
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