HONDA’S ALL-NEW PRELUDE – A TRAVELING SALVATION SHOW

HONDA’S ALL-NEW PRELUDE

A TRAVELING SALVATION SHOW

In a previous life I was selling Hondas for Jim McNatt in both Lewisville, Texas and – on the southern side of Big D – DeSoto. This was in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when Honda was offering its 3^rd-generation Prelude to American audiences. And while the 2-door Prelude generated interest, its sales were anecdotal when compared to those Accords and Civics moving off the lot. Almost 40 years later the Prelude is back, albeit with a low planning volume. With that, its sales promise to remain largely anecdotal. 

Don’t, however, blame it on its looks, ‘cuz in this view it scores high on appearance. Relative to the more prosaic (and practical!) Civic or Accord, the Prelude embraces most of what we enjoy when sheetmetal is molded into a 2-door form. Moreover, Honda’s design team eschewed what is typical in 2026; the design borders on the organic, and has no use – and makes no use – for the edgier doodads that afflict many contemporary shapes. Had this revived Prelude been drawn by an Italian design house and given a mid-engine layout, it could (presumably) be offered for three times its $42K asking price.  Maybe we’ll see that at SEMA…

Of interest to this Miata owner is the Prelude’s packaging. It is lowish, but its wide doors provide easy access, while my (eventual) walker could slip behind the front seats or into the accommodating hatch. And for this grandparent, the +2 seating configuration is golden, perfect for granddaughters – now 4 and 6 – while less so for my teenaged grandson. The Miata won’t take more than one grandchild, and a bike would need a rack, something I won’t do with a sportscar.

Before we leave the Prelude’s exterior, it’s worth noting the 19-inch Berlina (Italian for ‘sedan’, right?) Black wheels wrapped with 235/40 R19 tires. And they perfectly fill the Prelude’s wheelwells, something we can’t say for other compact front-wheel drive platforms. With that, grip seemed excellent, both in the dry Virginia heat and the last vestiges – in early September – of a summer shower. Behind the wheel/tire package are Brembo four-piston aluminum front calipers – shared with the Civic Type R – in front. And the Prelude is also fitted with the Type R’s front suspension and adaptive dampers. It is a menu appropriate to a sport mission, and would undoubtedly cost thou$ands more in the aftermarket. 

Inside, driver and the front passenger enjoy leather-trimmed sport seats with blue accent stitching, a leather-wrapped flat-bottomed (similar to the girlfriend?) steering wheel, S+ Shift alloy paddle shifters and heated front seats. Your ears will appreciate the Bose Premium sound system, while your own flat bottoms will benefit from the dual-zone automatic climate control. 

The room up front is generous, while the +2 seating in back can handle your grocery bags or 6-year old, but won’t accommodate those that are bigger or older; even if they can get back there, you’ll never get them out. Fold those rear 60/40 seats forward, however, and the bike fits (with its front wheel removed) and your boogie board will fit, but the kayak probably won’t. Regardless, when compared to that Miata it’s all plus territory, as is the Prelude’s refined ride and much lower noise level. 

For more than a few reviewers of the Prelude’s redesign, however, a conclusion is inevitably hard. That 200 combined horsepower is, for the most part, a hybrid motor providing forward motion and not – notably – the Honda’s 2.0 liter combustible four. And that motion is provided by a direct-drive transmission whose shifts are electronically simulated. In fact, while you might assume the Prelude’s S+ shift system stands for ‘Sport+’, it should actually stand for ‘Simulated’. It’s like discovering the girlfriend’s flat bottom is provided by Spanx…

But then, if you can put all of that electronic stimulation in the back of your mind rather than the front, you’ll enjoy the hell out of the Prelude’s affability. The 3200 pounds atop a wheelbase of 102 inches offers a low center of gravity, composed ride and spot-on roadability. One friend, having owned over decades both responsive sports cars and sport sedans, regards the Prelude as the best handling front-wheel drive platform he’s driven, and with a week’s perspective I’m inclined to agree. The ride and handling is close to magical, while that S+ shifting is magical – while many would wish it was still mechanical. 

The final catch is – for many – that $42K window sticker (which incorporates a Trump tariff), some $10K above a comfortably equipped Civic (with manual!) and $5K below that performance-spec’d Type R. If given $40K and told to buy a 2-door coupe, Ford offers a well-optioned Mustang and BMW will sell you a stripped 230i. And as you’d know, a wide selection of late model imports are – at around $40K – there for the taking. Few of those choices, however, are as well built, nimble when driven intown and comfortable on a week-long road trip. If packing those boxes, the Prelude checks them all.

As Neil Diamond might suggest, Honda’s Prelude is a Traveling Salvation Show…you can pack up the babies and grab the old ladies! And there’s this: In a year marked by wars in Ukraine and Iran, along with as much domestic upheaval as we’ve seen since the ‘60s, perhaps vehicles such as Honda’s Prelude offer more than salvation. I’ll call it sanctuary.