2026 Honda Prelude. Things that make you go hmmm...

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by gee3

I never understood the model name: an action or event serving as an introduction to something more important.

Because the car itself is the "Prelude"...driving it is the story. Pretty simple.

[Phillies8008]

Marketing names don't need to make sense, they just need to be catchy. Don't read more into it than there is – the only rules are the ones they invent.

[25 V8 IS]

Considering top of the line Corolla's are $32K, I guess $40K for this sounds much more reasonable now.

[ZTK_M240i]

So I saw one of these getting prepped for SEMA at a shop through work (I work in the auto industry), and I must say with some nice wheels/tires, a little drop and some other things they did (a few little custom touches), it looked damn good.

They told me another shop is building one for SEMA with a Civic Type R engine and manual transmission as well as one with AWD (not sure of the engine/trans in that one yet).

So they have some nice potential with the right mods...but it is a shame they don't offer a manual transmission from the factory. Especially since Honda is capable of making such good ones.

[pz619]

Really makes me miss the Hondas from the late 90s and early 2000s...

[maticCRO]

If BYD had some cheap knockoff,this would be it ...

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by pz619

Really makes me miss the Hondas from the late 90s and early 2000s...

Doesn't it though!

[BroDoze]

Rather drive a WRX that you can tune and isn’t fail-wheel-drive.

BORING

[25 V8 IS]

Wow I just read the Prelude's 0-60 is 9 seconds. That is...Awful.

[jeff113]

Originally Posted by 25 V8 IS

Wow I just read the Prelude's 0-60 is 9 seconds. That is...Awful.

I looked this up and saw that is what Japanese owners are reporting. Car & Driver tested the Civic Hybrid at 6.2 0-60. How is it 3 seconds slower with the same powertrain?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by jeff113

I looked this up and saw that is what Japanese owners are reporting. Car & Driver tested the Civic Hybrid at 6.2 0-60. How is it 3 seconds slower with the same powertrain?

Incorrect conversion of Metric time to SAE time...

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Incorrect conversion of Metric time to SAE time...

Lol.

The Prelude is apparently the Japanese version of a Buick. It's proven very popular with their older customers, but is basically soft and slow, but claims to have sporting chassis and equipment.

If it was $20k cheaper it might be a winner.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

Lol.

The Prelude is apparently the Japanese version of a Buick. It's proven very popular with their older customers, but is basically soft and slow, but claims to have sporting chassis and equipment.

If it was $20k cheaper it might be a winner.

The Prelude has always been a bit of an old man's car. I grew up back in the mid 1980s to mid 1990s when Preludes were extremely popular. The first buyers of that car were generally 40s to 50s men. The younger crowd couldn't afford to a get a new as they were the equalivent of a $45K+ car in today's money.

As others noted, the new Prelude shares its drivetrain with the current Civic Hybrid. The Civic Hybrid does 0-60 in the low 6s and 1/4 mile in the mid-14s. The Prelude will be as quick, if not fractionally quicker. Fast? Nope, fast enough for the majority of the public. Yep. It will be a hard sell in the US though. I thought it would be a nice alternative to the BRZ/GT86 for those that didn't want RWD or the rawness, but the Prelude will be 15-20% more expensive. That won't work. I'm holding out hope for a Prelude with the Civic Type R drivetrain. That will definitely sell (in small volume) and can command a premium.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

The Prelude has always been a bit of an old man's car. I grew up back in the mid 1980s to mid 1990s when Preludes were extremely popular. The first buyers of that car were generally 40s to 50s men. The younger crowd couldn't afford to a get a new as they were the equalivent of a $45K+ car in today's money.

As others noted, the new Prelude shares its drivetrain with the current Civic Hybrid. The Civic Hybrid does 0-60 in the low 6s and 1/4 mile in the mid-14s. The Prelude will be as quick, if not fractionally quicker. Fast? Nope, fast enough for the majority of the public. Yep. It will be a hard sell in the US though. I thought it would be a nice alternative to the BRZ/GT86 for those that didn't want RWD or the rawness, but the Prelude will be 15-20% more expensive. That won't work. I'm holding out hope for a Prelude with the Civic Type R drivetrain. That will definitely sell (in small volume) and can command a premium.

It's on sale in Japan already. Owners are seeing it doing 0-60 in over 7 seconds. It's slow.

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

It's on sale in Japan already. Owners are seeing it doing 0-60 in over 7 seconds. It's slow.

I'll wait until it's tested here. I don't believe for a second that it's slower than the Civic Hybrid...doesn't add up, unless it's way heavier (which I don't know if the weight has been posted?).

In any case, as a past owner of many Preludes I never bought them because they were fast. My biggest and really only issue with this one is the lack of a manual. That's going to be its downfall IMO.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

I'll wait until it's tested here. I don't believe for a second that it's slower than the Civic Hybrid...doesn't add up, unless it's way heavier (which I don't know if the weight has been posted?).

In any case, as a past owner of many Preludes I never bought them because they were fast. My biggest and really only issue with this one is the lack of a manual. That's going to be its downfall IMO.

It doesn't weigh more. It makes no sense. That's why it's such a thing, lol.

[JeffinOregon]

A UK test here shows 0-62 in 8.2 secs.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/honda/prelude

The Prelude’s weight for UK models is within 50 lbs. of the Civic Hybrid.

Edmunds 0-60 time for the Civic hybrid is 6,6 secs., which is likely more credible than the Car & Driver number, which was a non-production unit.

https://www.edmunds.com/honda/civic/2025/

The Prelude doesn’t appear to have the “Sports” max rev trick, which is ~1 second advantage to 0-60 times, and simulates shifting, which may cost some small amount of additional time. Typical time deltas between 60 and 62 mph are ~0.2-0.3 second.

Given the above, a 0-60 mph time around 7.8 to 8.0 seconds should be expected.

[B58-M340iX]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

Rather drive a WRX that you can tune and isn’t fail-wheel-drive.

BORING

Get a DSM (GSX) or Evo VIII/IX instead. 4G63 FTW

[Phillies8008]

I'd contend that most potential buyers for the Prelude aren't all that concerned (or maybe even aware) of 0-60 times. Only enthusiasts go gaga for that sort of thing, and this car already isn't for them. Most people really only care if the car is fast enough to merge on to the highway with some oomph, and this car will easily do that.

I think the much bigger question is whether or not there's a market for a two-door, sporty but not performance vehicle in 2026. As for the lack of a manual transmission, we are disappointed, but as I said, we already aren't buying this car for various reasons. It's unfortunate, but the vast majority of people see a stick shift as a reason not to buy a car, not vice-versa. The lack of a 6MT probably helps this car more than it hurts it.

[gblansten]

In Japan the Prelude comes with a free walker and Depends.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

It's on sale in Japan already. Owners are seeing it doing 0-60 in over 7 seconds. It's slow.

Most drivers suck and don't know how to race. I lost count of how many 14 second 1st and 2nd gen Vipers and C5 Z06s and 15 second LS1 4th gen F-Bodies I raced at the strip back in the day. People may also be testing the Preludes with stop watches.

We'll see that it does under instrumented tests. I think it will be as quick or slightly quicker than the Civic Hybrid. The Prelude and Civic Hybrid are within 20 lbs of each other. There's no reason why the Prelude would be over 1 second slower than the Civic Hybrid.

[JeffinOregon]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

There's no reason why the Prelude would be over 1 second slower than the Civic Hybrid.

Again, the Civic has a launch feature that the Prelude, by all accounts, lacks. The Prelude also has heavier wheels and brakes.

Overall, I think we should be applauding Honda for their effort in maintaining 2-door coupes in an environment where that’s a tough call on their part.

However, if we / enthusiasts type loud enough that they “turn on” this feature for the Prelude, it may help them attain sales, and reduce a potential “Quaalude” labeling based on its current state.