Honda Prelude review
Honda's two-door coupe is a promising new take on the hybrid sports car formula
Our opinion on the Honda Prelude
The perfect hybrid sports car still doesn’t exist, but the Honda Prelude comes close to the brief. The powertrain offers good performance rather than gut-punching power, but it’s well calibrated and the hybrid system feels more natural than any other set-up currently available. The S+ Shift tech works well, whether you take manual control or let the electronics do the work, while the agile and responsive chassis feels as if it can take on a lot more power.
Overall, the Prelude is closer in character to a grand tourer than an all-out sports car, but there’s still plenty of enjoyment to be had, while the cabin is well equipped and spacious for two and their luggage.
About the Honda Prelude
Are you in the market for a new coupé? According to the UK’s new-car sales figures, not many people are, but that hasn’t stopped the arrival of the all-new Honda Prelude. Fans of the Japanese brand will recognise the Prelude badge from its past, with five generations of coupé having come before this one. While those classic models shared running gear with the Accord family, this new version is a two-door alternative to the 11th-generation Honda Civic.
One main carry-over from the hatchback is its hybrid powertrain. Honda is no stranger to coupés with petrol-electric power, having previously sold the small, slippery and efficiency-focused Insight in the noughties and then the oddball CR-Z hybrid manual in the 2010s. The new Prelude isn’t really aiming for high efficiency figures, while its front-wheel-drive set-up with a CVT automatic gearbox could put off most driving enthusiasts, but Honda has engineered the car to help it deliver a more involving driving experience than any of its predecessors, hybrid or otherwise.
Rather than simply build a two-door Civic, Honda has draped the Prelude in a low-slung coupé body that hides a traditional 2+2 sports car configuration and delivers decent boot space, beneath a hatchback rear end.
Honda Prelude prices and latest deals
There’s just one model available at launch in high-spec Advance trim that starts from £41,000, while Honda offers a modest range of options and accessories to help personalise the Prelude for different tastes.
You can save by building your perfect Honda Prelude with the Auto Express Buy a Car service, and we have Prelude leasing deals available for those who prefer a shorter commitment.
Performance & driving experience
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While other markets persevered with a coupé version of the Honda Civic long after it went off sale in the UK, it’s all change for Honda’s mainstream two-door models with the arrival of the new Prelude. And yet much stays the same, because the latest variant (known internally as the BF1 generation) features the same platform as the Civic, and the hybrid powertrain is carried over, too.
That means the Prelude has a front-wheel-drive layout, while the powertrain is the Civic’s e:HEV system that’s based around a 2.0-litre petrol engine and two electric motors. It’s the motors that provide motive power most of the time, with the 141bhp engine acting as a generator to keep them running. The Prelude’s maximum output of 181bhp is that of the electric motors.
| Model | Power | 0-62mph | Top speed |
| Prelude 2.0 i-MMD | 181bhp | 8.2 seconds | 112mph |
Performance, 0-60mph acceleration and top speed
While the Prelude has a sporty look, don’t go thinking that it’s a successor to the now-defunct Honda Civic Type R hot hatchback. The Prelude’s claimed 0-62mph time of 8.2 seconds is actually a tenth of a second slower than the one Honda quotes for the Civic hatch, while a top speed of 117mph isn’t anything special, either. There is a sporty edge to the Prelude’s acceleration, though, courtesy of how the gearbox is set up.
Rather than send the engine revs soaring at full throttle like most CVT systems do, in S+ mode the electronics have been programmed with steps that simulate gear shifts. It’s a fairly effective set-up, although the way the transmission races to the red line in each gear is a lot faster than the car’s actual acceleration. You can take manual control, which delivers natural changes, while on downshifts and in Sport mode, the electronics blip the throttle to make them smoother.
Town driving, visibility and parking
A low-slung coupé isn’t going to deliver the best view of your surroundings, and so it proves in the Honda. You don’t end up looking at the underside of SUVs as you might do in a Mazda MX-5 or Lotus Emira, for example, but the driving position is lower than in a Civic. Since the Prelude only comes in top-spec Advance trim, the kit list does include front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera, although the image quality of the latter is quite fuzzy.
The electric motors provide instant torque, so the Prelude is quick to react off the line, although the relative lack of power at higher revs means you’re not going to win many drag races once you’re moving. Once up to urban speeds, the Prelude offers a good mix of sportiness and comfort, with a stiff chassis offset by a forgiving ride.
The steering has a decent weight, too, while the hybrid system’s transition between energy recovery and physical braking is almost imperceptible. It takes a bit of getting used to the Prelude’s push-button drive selector, but the system works quickly once you’ve got the hang of it.
Country road driving and handling
The true test of any sports car is on the open road, and here the Prelude proves to be a capable machine that feels as if it could cope with more power than it has to offer. There’s a good balance between ride and handling, with plenty of grip from the suspension and direct steering – taken from the Civic Type R – that weights up as you increase your pace and adds to the car’s sporty feel.
There are different drive modes to choose from, and selecting the Sport setting sharpens things up nicely, with a quicker throttle response on offer. Combine this with the S+ gearshift mode, and the Honda feels lively.
Point the Prelude into a corner, and the nose turns into the apex without fuss and a neutral balance that errs on the side of understeer, while the rear follows obediently. On exit, there isn’t enough power to overwhelm the front tyres, so the balance remains unaffected, allowing you to aim for the next straight. But this is where we’d like to see a bit more punch, because while the engine sounds are pleasant enough, the Honda doesn’t rocket down the straights.
Under braking, the physical discs and pads – also sourced from the Civic Type R – feel strong, although you don’t have to press on the pedal particularly hard for the hazard warning lights to activate as if you’re performing an emergency stop.
Overall, the Prelude feels like a car that is more in tune with driving at seven-tenths rather than at the very limit. Do this and it’s quite satisfying, feeling more like a sporty grand tourer than a pure-bred sports car.
Motorway driving and long-distance comfort
Travelling at the motorway limit is largely fine, although when conducting our noise tests we found that there was an obvious increase in wind noise around the door mirrors at 70mph. Combine this with a surprising amount of tyre roar, plus the fact that the engine is running full-time to back up the electric motors, and while the Prelude offers decent comfort at speed, there’s more noise in the cabin than we’d like.
"If there’s one thing that could turn the Prelude from a good car into a great one, it’s a boost in power. Tweaking the hybrid powertrain to deliver a bit more grunt would be a good start and help to distance the coupé from its hatchback sibling, but since it shares its suspension and brakes with the Civic Type R, it can’t be a big leap to make a Prelude Type R." - Dean Gibson, senior test editor.
MPG & running costs
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As with the Honda Civic that uses the same powertrain, the Prelude delivers impressive efficiency courtesy of its hybrid powertrain that relies largely on its twin electric motors ahead of the petrol engine. Honda quotes a combined return of 54.3mpg for the Prelude, which is only a couple of miles per gallon behind the Civic, at 56.5mpg.
On test, we saw a return of 47mpg, with our test route incorporating a number of dual-carriageway miles that will see the engine running for longer. If you do mostly urban trips, then the Honda should be able to deliver on the promise of its official figures, if not better them. A 40-litre fuel tank is good for a range of more than 400 miles, even if you manage to match our economy figures.
| Model | MPG | CO2 | Insurance group |
| Prelude 2.0 i-MMD | 54.3mpg | 117g/km | 33 |
Insurance groups
There’s just one trim level on offer on the Prelude, which is the top-spec Advance model, and this sits in insurance group 33. For comparison, the only other two-door coupé that matches the Prelude on price or performance is the BMW 220i, and this sits in group 28, which, incidentally, is the same as the Honda Civic.
Tax
Emissions of 117g/km would have been unheard of from any sports car even five years ago, but the hybrid system in the Prelude means it falls into the 29 per cent Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) company car tax bracket. That attracts annual costs of nearly £2,500 for lower-rate taxpayers, but that’s considerably less than you’ll need to sacrifice if you want to get behind the wheel of a BMW 220i.
Depreciation
The sole version of the Prelude has residual values of just under 50 per cent, which is roughly similar to the figures for the Civic hatch, but behind the BMW 220i, which is in the 55-57 per cent bracket, depending on spec.
Interior, design & technology
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You’re guaranteed to turn heads in the Prelude courtesy of its smooth, low-slung shape. The low bonnet and flowing curves have an almost shark-like feel, while the strip light across the rear adds a distinctive touch.
You can personalise the exterior with a number of options. As well as metallic paint in white, silver, black or blue, there’s an optional Black Pack (£1,390) that adds a black bootlid spoiler and additional black exterior detailing, while the black 19-inch alloy wheels can be swapped for a set of diamond-cut rims of the same size for £1,995.
Interior and dashboard design
There’s plenty of tech in the Prelude’s cabin that’s shared with the Civic, including the central touchscreen, air vents, climate controls and drive-selector buttons. Overall, the design is pretty straightforward without much in the way of dynamism or flair, but it’s easy to get along with, courtesy of a good balance between physical and touchscreen controls.
The standard interior scheme in the Prelude is all black, but if you choose either the Moonlit White (of our test car) or Race Blue pearlescent paint, you can add blue and white leather upholstery at no extra cost. There are also white inserts for the dashboard and doors that might not be the easiest to keep clean, but do at least give the cabin a lift.
Materials and build quality
The quality of the materials inside is decent, with softer elements for the most obvious touch points, including soft leather for the steering wheel and armrests. The air vents are controlled by small joysticks that are satisfying to use, while the way the rotary climate controls click as you use them adds a tactile feel that no touchscreen can ever replicate.
We like the standard-fit leather upholstery, although the back seats are finished in fabric, which only helps to emphasise that they’re there for occasional use beyond anything else.
Infotainment, sat-nav and stereo
Since the Prelude only comes in high-spec Advance trim, it features the same nine-inch Honda Connect touchscreen infotainment system as the top-spec Civic. This includes navigation as standard, but wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also included if you want to use your own system.
The screen itself has a decent resolution and is easy enough to navigate, and is helped by the inclusion of physical Home and Back buttons, plus a volume knob to the right of the display. The main screen has large buttons for each function, while a row of shortcuts across the bottom of the panel feature when you’re within certain sub-menus. It’s not the most responsive of set-ups, though, with loading times for the menus and route planning a little slower than we’d like.
There’s a digital display for the driver, with a 10.2-inch screen that changes configuration depending on the drive mode that you’ve selected, such as red highlights when Sport mode is activated. The trip computer is controlled via the multifunction steering wheel, and offers plenty of information." - Dean Gibson, senior test editor.
Boot space & practicality
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A low-slung coupé is never going to be the last word in practicality, but the Honda Prelude makes a decent fist of things. It’s similar in execution to the now-discontinued Audi TT, with plenty of space up front for two, a pair of tiny back seats that are only really of use as extra storage, and a hatchback rear end that allows you to make the most of the boot space on offer.
Dimensions and size
The closest rival to the Prelude is the BMW 220i, and both cars are virtually the same length, but while the BMW has a longer wheelbase, the Honda is wider. Compared with the Civic that uses the same platform as the Prelude, the coupé is slightly shorter and has a shorter wheelbase, but it’s around 80mm wider than the hatchback, which helps it to deliver a sportier drive.
| Dimensions comparison | |||
| Model | Honda Prelude | BMW 220i | Ford Mustang |
| Length | 4,532mm | 4,537mm | 4,810mm |
| Width | 1,880mm | 1,838mm | 1,916mm |
| Height | 1,349mm | 1,390mm | 1,414mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,604mm | 2,741mm | 2,719mm |
| Boot space | 264-760 litres | 390 litres | 327 litres |
Seats & passenger space
The Prelude features flush-fitting door handles that pop out when the car detects the key nearby, but you need to pull the handle twice – once to unlock the car, then again to open the door – before you can climb aboard.
The doors open wide and there’s a big enough opening for most people to get on board easily, although if you’re slightly less mobile it might be a struggle to get down to the low-set seats. Once in place, there’s plenty of wheel and seat adjustment to get comfortable, while the mirrors are large enough to boost your vision behind, and even the rear window is a decent size, giving a good view.
Considering how long the doors are, the pockets aren’t very large, with enough room for a bottle at the front and an extra section behind. The glovebox is on the small side, too, but there are two cup-holders ahead of the central armrest (at least the auto box means drinks won’t get in the way of gearshifts), while the rest itself flips up to reveal another small storage bin beneath it. A wireless charging pad is situated ahead of the drive-selection buttons, and is well recessed to ensure a phone won’t slide out under hard cornering. Above this are two USB sockets and a 12-volt connection, too.
In the back of the Prelude are a pair of token seats that are trimmed in plain black fabric – opt for the blue-and-white leather upholstery for the front seats, and you still get black fabric in the rear. The first task is attempting to access the back seats, which is made harder because neither of the front seats slides forward when you fold them to get on board. There’s next to no legroom on offer, while headroom is only any good if you tilt your head towards the tailgate glass, which gives you an extra few centimetres of space. Honda does fit two sets of Isofix points in the back, although you’d have to find a child seat that’s small enough to get into the space in the first place before using the anchors.
Boot space
We can see the back seats being more useful as auxiliary storage space when the boot is full, although the 264 litres of space on offer under the Prelude’s tailgate as standard is fairly generous. There’s a high load lip courtesy of the car’s sleek design, but the tailgate is quite large, and you can easily get two sets of golf clubs in there without a struggle. Useful features include a couple of bag hooks on either side of the load bay, lashing eyes and a lined recess under the boot floor that looks big enough to take a space-saver spare wheel, although Honda doesn’t offer one as an option. There’s a load cover that keeps things hidden from prying eyes, but it’s a rather flimsy piece of fabric that twists into place. It gets the job done, though.
If you need more room, the back seats flip forwards, and we found them easier to release by reaching through the tailgate rather than trying to access the latches from inside the cabin. There’s a slight step in the floor when they’re flat, but the longer load area should provide some added practicality.
"The Honda’s back seats really seem like they’ve been designed to fill a space rather than offer any kind of multi-seat versatility. The fact that they’re only trimmed in fabric and the integrated headrests are very small only bolsters that impression, but at least they fold to boost practicality." - Dean Gibson, senior test editor.
Reliability & safety
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With tried-and-tested Honda Civic running gear under the skin, the Prelude should prove to be a dependable machine. In the most recent Driver Power customer-satisfaction survey, Honda finished comfortably in the top half of the best car manufacturers table, taking 10th place out of 31 brands, and that was thanks in part to the reliability its cars deliver.
There are no Euro NCAP scores for the Prelude, but since it uses the same safety tech as the Civic, that car’s five-star rating from 2022 can largely be applied here. There are plenty of active systems on offer, including forward collision and lane-departure warnings, lane assist and traffic-sign recognition, although setting these systems up to your liking isn’t quite as straightforward as it is in some other cars. The lane-keeping assist and speed-limit warnings can only be deactivated via the fiddly sub-menus in the digital dials that are controlled via the steering wheel.
Honda offers a five-year service plan for all of its cars that helps owners to budget for scheduled maintenance. It costs £1,599 up front, or you can bundle it in with any finance plan that you may take out. The Prelude’s service intervals are fairly average, at 12 months or 12,500 miles, whichever comes first, while the standard Honda warranty is for three years or 90,000 miles, although there’s a range of extended warranties available at extra cost.
Buying and owning
- Best buy: Honda Prelude 2.0 i-MMD Advance
With just one model to choose from, you’re left to decide which options to add. We like the blue and white leather, so that means either white or blue pearlescent paint for the exterior, while the Black Pack adds a bit of aggression that suits the white paint scheme well.
Honda Prelude alternatives
There aren’t any other hybrid coupés on sale, and the only car that comes close to the Prelude on price and performance is the BMW 2 Series. Its rear-drive set-up is more engaging, and it would be our choice as a good-value performance car. Elsewhere, the Ford Mustang offers a lot more power from its V8 engine and is even more of a grand tourer than the Prelude. Beyond that, you’re looking at the used market for anything like the Prelude.
Frequently Asked Questions
We really liked it, but there is potential for it to be a great coupé if it had more power to go with its engaging chassis. At the moment, it lacks the outright thrills of some rival sports cars and is more of a grand tourer overall.
Deals on the Prelude and alternatives
