The 2026 Honda Prelude is NOT slow, just misunderstood.

[pillred48]

This might upset some purists and garner me some hate, and I'm not claiming the Prelude is some performance monster, but... I’ve seen a lot of social media chatter and reviews writing the Prelude off as a slow eco-civic-coupe because of the 184hp figure (or the false 200hp), assuming it can't even begin to compare with cars like the Civic Type R.

Obviously, if you put both cars on a straight at Silverstone, the Civic's much more powerful engine will absolutely obliterate the Prelude. But what about a tight autocross track or a winding country lane? Speeds are physically capped around 60-70mph max, and you are constantly doing heavy braking down to ~20mph for tight hairpins. Under such conditions, the Prelude might just surprise you with how well it keeps up with the Civic.

Coming out of a harsh 20mph hairpin, the Civic driver in 2nd gear floors it, there's a physical delay. They have to wait for the exhaust gases to spool up their turbocharger and build RPM before the real power hits. In the Prelude almost all of its power is available immediately. There is no turbo to spool. The electric motor dumps its maximum torque into the wheels and by the time the Civic's turbo has finally woken up, the Prelude may have already leaped a car length ahead.

Then there is the case of the gears. On a slower track, a manual Type R is constantly caught in the awkward zone rowing up and down between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gear. Every time you have to shift up to 3rd for a quick burst, and then downshift back into 2nd for the next bend, power delivery pauses, boost drops. Meanwhile, because the Prelude's engine isn't mechanically linked to the wheels under hard acceleration, there are zero mechanical gear shifts. There's just one continuous, uninterrupted wave of electric torque. You can focus 100% of your brain capacity on your braking points rather than gear selection.

Though of course, physics is still physics. The Type R will still stay ahead even outside of the power difference, it has stiffer suspension, a fancy LSD, and weighs less than the Prelude.

So, I think we should stop looking at the 184/200hp figure in a vacuum. In a straight line to 150mph, the Prelude will get stomped by your nan's hatchback. But between 0 and 60mph on tight roads, the Prelude's instant electric torque and uninterrupted power delivery make it seriously capable. And maybe it's just a coincidence, but outside of the motorway and city most roads you end up driving on in the real world happen to be exactly in that windy sub-70mph category...

I have had many hot hatches, including an I30N, when I test drove the Prelude I was amazed how fast it felt, and yes in the real world the Prelude is a pretty quick car, I watched a vid on YouTube where they raced a Type R and a prelude over the 8th and quarter mile, yes the Type R beat the Prelude over the quarter but in the 8th they were almost a dead heat and the Prelude was actually ahead for the first 200 yards, so yes in day to day driving the Prelude can hold it's own with most cars, and surprise quite a few too.

 

[pillred48]

You're right. The Prelude is an astonishing feat of engineering, and makes most of the cars that people get nostalgic about look decidedly 'last millenium'. All we need now is a battery pack with the same energy density as a tank of petrol...

I'm sick of seeing lightweight and uninformed reviews of the Prelude saying it needs 350+hp, manual transmission, four wheel drive, etc - and be $10k cheaper too. "My Ford truck makes more power than that". Fine - so drive your Ford truck. It'll free up a Prelude for someone who'll actually appreciate its capabilities...

I have basically given up on reading N American YouTube reviews as they are nearly all negative, though there are a few notable exceptions.

 

[pillred48]

I could go for a little more soundproofing and maybe a sunroof to be honest...

It would have been nice for a panoramic roof, but I can count on the fingers of one hand when on a drive in my current car I have had the sunroof open, as once over 30mph it becomes too noisy.

 

[pillred48]

Yeah, those fogged up nostalgia goggles seem to be creating a lot of unnecessary hate towards the new Prelude. My mom had a Gen 4 Prelude (non-VTEC with amazing pickup) that I drove a lot when we would take road trips, and I had a Gen 5 VTEC for 12 years, and they were both great cars that were fun to drive, but they were NOT sports cars as some people want to remember them as! They both had the same horsepower as the new one, but the new one corners SO much better than either the Gen 4 or Gen 5, and my first roadtrip into a lightly mountainous area with some winding roads was actually more fun than it would have been in my Gen 5! The steering on the Gen 6 is fabulous and not having to upshift and downshift around the corners on a mountain road made it possible for me to enjoy the drive more.

I would absolutely test drive and consider purchasing a newer Prelude that had more horsepower and a MT (I definitely do sometimes miss driving a stick after driving a hybrid sedan for 10 years between my Preludes, and was extremely disappointed when I found out the new Prelude would be a hybrid not a MT), but this 2026 Prelude is so much fun to drive, is great looking, and gets me anywhere from 42-51mpg as opposed to the ~25mpg that my Gen 5 got!

I think some of the people who made loads of mods to their Preludes, or who had one years ago, aren’t really remembering them accurately. I think it is hysterical that some of them claim that if it doesn’t have a MT, it isn’t a Prelude, yet there are a surprising number of old Preludes with an AT for sale… and none of these “it’s not a Prelude without a stick” folks say a word about a Gen 4 automatic!

I have to ask, what the hell is that a picture of in your avatar?

 

[CiceroGirl]

I have to ask, what the hell is that a picture of in your avatar?

LOL. It is a closeup of a pale pink flamingo with its head tucked backwards under its wing getting ready for a nap! (I do a lot of nature and zoo photography, but as I look at it afresh I can see why — especially with the light eyes on this one — it would be confusing… and even frightening!)

 

[pillred48]

LOL. It is a closeup of a pale pink flamingo with its head tucked backwards under its wing getting ready for a nap! (I do a lot of nature and zoo photography, but as I look at it afresh I can see why — especially with the light eyes on this one — it would be confusing… and even frightening!)

Sometimes after a very late night, this is what I see in the mirror, lol.

 

[PR76UDE84]

Sometimes after a very late night, this is what I see in the mirror, lol.

At first glance I thought it was some kinda AI generated horror fleshbeast, glad it's just a pretty flamingo.

 

[rexracer]

As an aside, I swapped out my BRZ for my 2022 Outback a few days ago. I had been driving the BRZ and the Prelude for about a month with the Outback in storage. The OB has some handling mods including a Nameless strut tower brace, a Perrin steering damper lock down, a Whiteline 20mm solid anti-sway bar with adjustable end links and ADF sway bar mount reinforcements and lateral supports.

It is a normally aspirated 2.5 liter so it is a car that require an understanding of momentum management in order to drive it fast.

I took it out for a couple of hours to have a little fun in the twisties (it is remarkably nimble for a car its size). I had an absolute blast. It is on the OEM tires and it can be coaxed into a very manageable four wheel drift if one is so inclined.

It really is more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow.

"It really is more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow."

I have owned a BRZ and a few Miatas. I have also owned some much faster cars. The Miatas were probably the slowest cars I have owned not counting some boring daily drivers. Though considered “slow” by some drivers the Miatas are some of the most fun cars I have owned. I kind of wonder if the Prelude is the new Miata.

 

[PGH222]

Well there is also the interior which is a step up from a Civic, but I don't think it's a negative to acknowledge its parts-binnyness. What I'm currently curious about is what the 2027 Civic drivetrain is going to be like, and to see why they didn't wait for that to build the Prelude off of. It's going to be a rework of the current system, identical in spirit but apparently an all new 2.0L Atkinson, new electric motors, new battery (but still 1kWh). Though everything does point to the 2027 drivetrain not being more powerful but being a little lighter and a little more efficient.

I pointed this out in another thread. I may hold off to purchase mine in hope it gets the new updated hybrid layout. I have heard 10% more power and better FE. Maybe it will get some more standard equipment also.

 

[PR76UDE84]

I pointed this out in another thread. I may hold off to purchase mine in hope it gets the new updated hybrid layout. I have heard 10% more power and better FE. Maybe it will get some more standard equipment also.

I wouldn't hold my breath for a refresh to the Prelude this soon to be honest. The civic refresh won't have any more power afaik either, but maybe a bit more efficient.

 

[rexracer]

I pointed this out in another thread. I may hold off to purchase mine in hope it gets the new updated hybrid layout. I have heard 10% more power and better FE. Maybe it will get some more standard equipment also.

More standard equipment would be nice. That would help justify the msrp more. So would more power. Where did you hear about the updated hybrid system with 10% more power and better fuel economy?

 

[rexracer]

I wouldn't hold my breath for a refresh to the Prelude this soon to be honest. The civic refresh won't have any more power afaik either, but maybe a bit more efficient.

Other car brands have made major improvements the second year. Toyota introduced the Supra which is made by BMW in 2020. For 2021 they increased HP substantially. They also added improved suspension upgrades. The also introduced special editions. They also offered different packages and interior upgrades. All by the second year of production.

I am not saying Honda will or will not. It would help justify the MSRP for buyers who are considering a Prelude but think it is too expensive for what it is. As a potential buyer I hope they do something. I am not alone in thinking this because the most common negative comments of the Prelude are it is too expensive for what it offers. One way to fix that is to lower the MSRP or offer incentives. Another way is to add more value by adding power or equipment.

After saying all that, Honda might just be fine at where the Prelude is priced “if” the Prelude sell the limited number of cars they are offering.

 

[pillred48]

Other car brands have made major improvements the second year. Toyota introduced the Supra which is made by BMW in 2020. For 2021 they increased HP substantially. They also added improved suspension upgrades. The also introduced special editions. They also offered different packages and interior upgrades. All by the second year of production.

I am not saying Honda will or will not. It would help justify the MSRP for buyers who are considering a Prelude but think it is too expensive for what it is. As a potential buyer I hope they do something. I am not alone in thinking this because the most common negative comments of the Prelude are it is too expensive for what it offers. One way to fix that is to lower the MSRP or offer incentives. Another way is to add more value by adding power or equipment.

After saying all that, Honda might just be fine at where the Prelude is priced “if” the Prelude sell the limited number of cars they are offering.

When Trump stops charging Honda 15% tariffs, the price in the States will come down; it's already $12,000 cheaper there than here in the UK.

 

[rexracer]

When Trump stops charging Honda 15% tariffs, the price in the States will come down; it's already $12,000 cheaper there than here in the UK.

How many Preludes does Honda send to the UK per year? I think Honda’s sales goal in the U.S. is around 4000 Preludes.

 

[pillred48]

How many Preludes does Honda send to the UK per year? I think Honda’s sales goal in the U.S. is around 4000 Preludes.

I was told by the dealer 400 this year, I think around 230 have been sold so far according to a national newspaper, so they will be quite a rare siight on British roads which is just fine by me, their target going forward he told me was 500 cars per year, he also said to me they will keep their price when it comes to sell due to their rarity, we shall have to wait and see whether that's true.

 

[Alex_Waverley70]

Haven't they shifted production to mostly RHD due to the high demand in Japan? That might bode well for the UK and make things tight in the US and Europe.

 

[pillred48]

Haven't the shifted production to mostly RHD due to the high demand in Japan? That might bode well for the UK and make things tight in the US and Europe.

Apparently, demand in Japan is 800% above what they thought it would be, so yes, some places are having to now wait longer for delivery, not bad for a car reviewers said would struggle to sell.

 

[Alex_Waverley70]

I think the Honda marketing team knows that they have a tiger by the tail and they are going to milk it for all it is worth. A first year LHD Prelude with low serial numbers will be a car that appreciates sooner rather than later.

The whole "It's a stylish GT, not a pure sports car" thing went out the window in a hurry. The GT500 Prelude just got it's first Super GT win at Fuji. Any motorsports fan knows that this was a heavy lift and that they didn't just do this on the spur of the moment.

I'll grant you that it has about as much in common with a street Prelude a a NASCAR Mustang or Camaro had with the street versions of those cars, but that isn't the point. The point is that Honda 'get's it'. This is a car to watch.

 

[faithboy27]

How many Preludes does Honda send to the UK per year? I think Honda’s sales goal in the U.S. is around 4000 Preludes.

In Germany:

New registrations of the Honda Prelude in June 2026

32 units

219 units in total = 5.2% of all Hondas in 2026

However, approximately 120 are currently registered to dealers or are demonstrator vehicles (though, of course, some have certainly already been sold to customers). Let's see what the July figures look like.

 

[pillred48]

In Germany:

New registrations of the Honda Prelude in June 2026

32 units

219 units in total = 5.2% of all Hondas in 2026

However, approximately 120 are currently registered to dealers or are demonstrator vehicles (though, of course, some have certainly already been sold to customers). Let's see what the July figures look like.

Pretty much exactly the same as the UK numbers. In a way, I'm glad there won't be one on every street corner.