Is the New Honda Prelude Exciting or Disappointing? We Have Opinions
Our staff of car enthusiasts shares way-too-early thoughts on the new Prelude, which admittedly courts some controversy.
Headshot of Car and DriverBy Car and DriverPublished: Sep 6, 2025
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Here at Car and Driver, we’re not a monolith. We’re a team of hardcore car enthusiasts that spans generations, much like you, our loyal readers. And if there’s one thing all of us enthusiasts have in common, it’s that we have strong opinions. Naturally, the return of a Radwood-era icon like the Honda Prelude is a hot topic, especially since the resurrected car has stirred up some controversy by packing the same exact powertrain as the Honda Civic Hybrid and offering a fake-shift feature instead of a manual transmission.
Now, we haven’t even had a chance to drive the thing or spend meaningful time with it, so we reserve the right to formalize our final opinion at a later date. Consider our individual thoughts below like initial impressions on a first date. Maybe some of them are too harsh, maybe some ignore obvious red flags. Either way, while it’s too soon to say for sure, it’s never too soon to opine.
“I’ll have to see how it drives, but it seems like the second coming of the CR-Z.” –Mike Sutton
The Excited Ex-Owner
I have always loved the Prelude, and one of my favorite things about it was how it distinguished itself from the Accord and the Civic—whether through its styling or its powertrain or its chassis tuning. The fifth-generation car was my favorite, and I owned a 1999 example for several years and thoroughly enjoyed driving it. But the new model is much more like a member of the Civic lineup, and that’s alright by me. I’m viewing the 2026 Prelude as the reincarnation of the Civic coupe, but with a bit of extra juice thanks to its high feature content and chassis upgrades from the Type R. It may not be the true embodiment of the Prelude name, but because the latest Civic is so good, and because Honda’s hybrid powertrain works so well, I’m still excited about the sixth-gen Prelude and can’t wait to get behind the wheel. –Joey Capparella, Deputy Editor of Rankings Content
The Optimist
I’m hopeful that it will be a fun sporty coupe. We like the Civic Si and the Civic Hybrid, and 200 hp seems plenty for those cars to be fun. I think Honda should be applauded for doing this. It’s a bold move to bring back a FWD two-door form factor, since all of those ’90s-era nameplates are dead (Probe, Eclipse, MX-6, etc.). –Drew Dorian, Buyer’s Guide Managing Editor
The Reboot Fan
Just like with rehashed movies, my take has always been that the beloved original is still around to be enjoyed, so what’s the harm in it coexisting with a rebooted version? That applies to my first impressions of the reborn Prelude, which, admittedly, does make me wish it had more power than a ho-hum Civic hybrid, especially since it’ll likely cost over $40,000. For that money, I probably prefer a BMW 230i—an actual coupe with 255 horses feeding the rear wheels. But, again, I’d rather have Honda build a new hybrid-only manual-less Prelude than not build one at all. –Eric Stafford, Managing News Editor
The Wait-to-Drivers
I don’t like it any more than the first time Honda did this (CR-Z). It really depends on how it drives and how good Honda has gotten at faking it. –K.C. Colwell, Executive Editor
I agree with K.C.—I’ll have to see how it drives, but it seems like the second coming of the CR-Z. –Mike Sutton, Technical Editor
The Skeptics
With the resurgence of iconic Japanese nameplates making a comeback, the Honda Prelude joins the Toyota Supra and Acura Integra in unsolicited criticism before the car is even on the road. We care about these nameplates, so why not be critical of their return? The new Prelude returns as a hybrid, but seemingly not a performance variant. It’s just the Civic’s hybrid powertrain wrapped in coupe-like shell with a hatch instead of a traditional trunk. The design of the new Prelude reminds me of the fourth-generation Prelude, where Honda took a step away from its current design language and tried something different. Some say it looks like a Prius coupe, but you can be the judge of that. The Prelude nameplate was known for introducing the brand’s newest technology. It was the first Honda with a power-operated moonroof, it had the industry’s first four-wheel-steering system (4WS), it was the first Honda in the U.S. with a DOHC VTEC engine, and it debuted “Super Handling” with the Active Torque Transfer System (ATTS). This sixth-gen Prelude gets a few trick suspension parts from the Civic Type R and Integra Type S—a step in the right direction, but nothing new or unique that the Prelude nameplate used to stand for. Introducing a coupe in today’s market is tough, I understand that, so cost savings seem to be the driving factor for utilizing shared components from other Hondas. Maybe if this new version of the Prelude is a success, we’ll see an Si or Type SH variant like in the past, and maybe then we’ll have a more interesting and fun drivetrain. –Michael Simari, Senior Photographer
Peak Preludes of the past were front-drive sportsters with scrappy, VTEC-voiced four- cylinders. This one is a Civic Hybrid coupe. Give it the powertrain and chassis that underpins the Type-R, Honda; then it’ll be a sports coupe to get excited about. –Rich Ceppos, Buyer’s Guide Director
