Honda Prelude review

We’ve seen baggy jeans and Tamagotchis make a reappearance, and CDs are enjoying a resurgence in sales too, so it begs the question: are the 1990s coming back? Well, if the return of the Honda Prelude is anything to go by, the answer is: "Yes."

The two-door, four-seat coupé is set to return in March 2026, but unlike its pure-petrol predecessor (sold from 1997 to 2001), the new sixth-generation version uses the same hybrid set-up and basic underpinnings as the current Honda Civic.

Being a regular hybrid will make the Prelude a rather unique proposition in the coupé car class, with no direct rival. The BMW 220i is the closest in terms of power, size and expected list price but that’s about it. 

The timing of the Prelude's arrival is also quite interesting. With the Honda Civic Type R due to be taken off sale, where can buyers go looking for a Honda that’s fun to drive? The Prelude could be the next best thing and this isn’t the first time the brand has taken a sportier approach with their hybrid cars, with previous examples including the Honda CR-Z and Honda NSX.

How fast is it and which engine is best?

The Prelude is powered by the same 181bhp hybrid system found in the Honda Civic e:HEV, which combines a 2.0-litre petrol engine with two electric motors. 

Most of the propulsion is done on battery power, so there’s enough low-down pep for most buyers and a keen response from the accelerator pedal when exiting corners. The engine kicks in at higher speeds to help out, and while there are faster (and more expensive) coupes available, the Prelude’s official 0-62mph time isn’t far off its closest rival, the BMW 220i (at 7.5sec). We wouldn’t be surprised if the Prelude’s time is actually closer to its rival based on the 0-60mph times we’ve clocked in a Civic. 

However, unlike the Civic, the Prelude’s single-speed automatic gearbox has an S+ Shift function to add an element of fun and allows the gearbox to behave like an eight-speed sequential manual gearbox. It keeps the petrol engine running as it automatically ‘shifts’ its way through the virtual gears, but the main attraction is that you can also make changes using paddles behind the steering wheel.

It works well enough when you’re pressing on, with the shifts being smooth and swift, but it’s a slight shame it doesn’t remain in your chosen gear for long and soon automatically changes up or down a gear for you.  It also doesn't hold on to a gear when you reach the rev-limiter, either. 

The engine switches off a bit too quickly when you lift off the accelerator, which means there’s a bit of a pause before it wakes up again when you need a burst of acceleration. There's not much engine braking when you change down a gear, which takes a bit of time to get used to.

Is it agile and is the ride comfortable?

To help the Prelude feel agile, the distance between the front and rear wheels is slightly shorter than the Civic’s. Plus, as with the Type R, the wheels are farther apart from side to side than the regular Civic’s, although the Prelude's narrower 19in tyres mean it doesn’t quite share the stance of the hot hatch.

There are more goodies from the Type R, including the adaptive suspension. However, before we get too excited, the setup has been toned down, with spring rates and anti-roll bar stiffness decreased to improve ride comfort. The ride remains on the firm side when you select the most aggressive Sport mode, so you’re aware of bumps, but everything feels well controlled and impacts are never harsh. Not even clipping the kerbs at corner apexes on the track had us grimacing. Around town, there’s less fidgeting than in the BMW 220i and, unlike that rival, you can increase the softness by working your way through GT and Comfort.

The steering doesn’t provide quite as strong a connection to the front wheels as the 220i, but it still responds precisely and the nose of the Prelude turns into corners keenly. There’s hardly any body lean and you have a high sense of grip from the rear tyres that helps the car feel more composed, followed by a gentle amount of rotation when pressing on that brings out a more playful side.

While the 220i is more exciting when pressing on, it has to be pushed harder to deliver its very best. The slightly lighter Prelude makes having fun more accessible.

Is it quiet and how easy is it to drive smoothly?

There's a moderate level of road noise similar to the BMW 2 Series at a cruise, and few vibrations felt inside help it feel relatively peaceful over a long journey (and being slightly better than the Civic it’s based on). 

The automatic gearbox provides a smooth power delivery and the "shifts" in S+ mode are slick and swift. An augmented engine sound adds a bit more theatre and sounds convincingly throaty on downshifts. It's at its loudest in Sport mode and becomes quieter as you work your way down the other two GT and Comfort modes.

Meanwhile, the responsive and well-weighted brake pedal helps you slow down smoothly and with confidence. A regenerative braking system helps top up the battery when you lift off the accelerator pedal with seven levels of strength to choose from, including a coasting mode. Even at its strongest, the braking effect isn’t strong enough to bring you to a complete halt, but it does activate smoothly.

“If you press and hold the left paddle on the steering wheel, you can adjust the strength of the regenerative braking, which is more convenient than delving into a touchscreen menu or selecting a mode with the gearlever” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

What does the interior look like and is it well made?

The Prelude’s interior is based on the Honda Civic's, and that’s great news because it feels well built and we’re fans of its easy-to-use control lay-out. The main differences are the presence of a button to activate S+ mode, sportier seats and the fact the Prelude does without the honeycomb vent strip that spans the width of the Civic’s dashboard. 

All versions get blue stitching dotted around and you can choose to have black or white upholstery on the seats, centre console, dashboard and doors. There is a Prelude logo stitched onto the dash ahead of the front passenger, and while the metal paddles on the back of the wheel are pleasing to use, the Prelude could arguably do with a few more racy details to help it feel a bit more special. 

As a result, while it’s far from feeling budget, the Prelude is up against premium-branded coupes that use even plusher materials.

Is the driving position comfortable and is it easy to see out?

It’s easy to find a comfortable driving position in the Prelude, with plenty of steering wheel and seat adjustment. The seats provide a good amount of side bolstering, although in the BMW 2 Series, you can electrically adjust how tight they hold you in place.

While you don’t get adjustable lumbar support, the backrest is supportive enough for this not to be a big issue for most drivers. That said, you can’t sit as low to the floor as you can in a 2 Series and you do have to adjust the seat manually - that rival offers both electric adjustment (including adjustable lumbar) as a cost option.

Forward visibility in the Prelude is excellent, with a low dashboard and thin front pillars that barely obscure your view out. However, while it’s better than the 2 Series in this regard, the view over your shoulder is extremely limited and far worse than that rival. The chunky, long sloping rear pillars and tiny side windows make it tricky to see traffic in the lane next to you or when reversing out of parking spots.

At least a big rear screen means looking out the back isn’t as bad, while a rear-view camera is standard, as well as parking sensors (front and rear).

Is the dashboard and infotainment system easy to use?

The driver gets a 10.2in digital driver’s display that has sufficient clarity, but it’s not quite as big as the displays in the BMW 2 Series and Ford Mustang (both are bigger than 12in) while the layout isn’t as configurable, either.

A 9.0in infotainment touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard is relatively small and the graphics aren’t as sharp or as colourful as those displayed on the 14.9in screen in the 2 Series. That said, it covers the basics well, with plenty of features, including sat-nav, (wireless) Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto, wireless phone charging, and two USB ports. There’s also a punchy eight-speaker Bose sound system.

The menu layout is quite simple and doesn’t suffer from too many icons like it can in the 2 Series and Mustang, plus, you don’t have to rely on it to adjust the climate control settings.

Thanks to a row of physical controls and rotary knobs to adjust the temperature, it’s far less distracting to operate when you're driving than the small touchscreen icons in the 2 Series. 

“It’s great how user-friendly the Civic’s interior is, but in a class that includes some incredibly luxurious coupes, it ends up falling down a bit” – Lawrence Cheung, New cars editor

How much space does it have for people?

A pair of six footers will have plenty of head, leg and elbow room in the front of the Prelude, but the rear seats are strictly for children. There’s plenty of leg room for an adult in the rear, but the steep sloping roof severely limits head room, plus, the backrest itself isn’t particularly tall and doesn’t have any adjustable head rests. You do get Isofix mounting points for child seats, though.

The BMW 2 Series is similarly cramped but you do at least get full-size rear seats and while the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe still has limited head room, the addition of rear doors that eases access may be a more suitable compromise for some.

In terms of storage, the centre console has a couple of cupholders, a deep storage cubby under the armrest and a wireless charging tray for your phone. The door pockets are large enough to take a bottle of water and there’s a good-sized glovebox.

How much room does it have for luggage?

You don’t get a powered tailgate with the Prelude, but the benefit of a hatchback opening provides a huge access area compared with the saloon-style opening in the BMW 2 Series and Ford Mustang. 

However, in terms of outright carrying ability, the Prelude’s 264-litre load area is both narrower and shorter than the 390-litre one in the 2 Series and makes it one of the smallest in the class. You can still fit a couple of carry-on suitcases in there, but you’ll need to fold down the rear seats for anything bigger.

At least you can easily reach in to release and fold down the rear backrest, which does so in a 70:30 split. Once folded, the backrest is level with the boot floor to help with sliding items in. The load cover is fiddly to slide in and out of place, though.

“I found climbing into the rear seats a bit of a faff because you have to release the front backrest and then slide the seat forward manually - and you have to reverse the whole process for the front passenger to get in” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

How much does it cost and what equipment do you get?

There’s only one trim level to choose from (named Advance) and the Prelude is competitively priced against the BMW 220i, costing a little more than £40,000. With an official fuel economy figure of nearly 55mpg, the Prelude will be cheaper to fuel than a 220i (at around 44mpg). Company car drivers may find the Prelude more financially appealing than the BMW 220i, thanks to its CO2 output attracting a lower benefit-in-kind rating.

You get plenty of equipment as standard, including dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, adaptive cruise control, leather upholstery, and 19in wheels.

There isn’t much in the way of optional extras and they’re mostly cosmetic, including a small tailgate spoiler, ambient lighting and illuminated door sills.

Is it reliable, and how long is the warranty?

With the Prelude being so new, we’ll have to wait before we see how it fares in the What Car? Reliability Survey against other coupes. However, Honda finished at the top of the manufacturer league table, beating BMW in sixth place. 

Honda’s three-year/90,000-mile warranty is slightly better than average (most brands cover you for 60,000 miles), if not quite as generous as BMW’s unlimited mileage cover over three years. 

How safe is it, and is it easy to steal?

The Prelude is yet to be crash tested by safety experts, Euro NCAP, but it does come with the same extensive level of safety equipment as the Honda Civic, including automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assistance, traffic-sign recognition and blind-spot monitoring. Being newer than the Civic, the Prelude has an updated lane-keeping system tuned to be less intrusive, especially down narrow country roads.

“With four colours available there’s not much in the way of exterior paint options, but Racing Blue is bright and eye-catching, while Moonlit White is new for the Honda brand if you fancy something different.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

Buy it if...

- You’d like a coupe that won’t cost much to run

- You’re after a car that’s easy to drive…

- … and yet, will entertain down a country road when it suits

Don’t buy it if…

- You are hoping the rear seats can carry teenagers or adults

- You’re hoping for a bit more theatre than a BMW 220i

- You want the latest in interior technology

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