Honda Prelude review

Honda is persisting with the idea of a sporty hybrid coupe. It’s an area that most carmakers haven’t even explored, but the Japanese brand has previous with the CR-Z – one of very few manual hybrid cars – and the NSX supercar. In truth, both received a lukewarm reaction from critics and a muted response from the buying public. Will it be third time’s the charm for the Honda Prelude?

You certainly get plenty of engineering effort. One of the main bits that Honda is proud of is its ‘S+ Shift’ gearbox – which introduces fake gear shifts to make the Prelude feel like a more conventional paddle-shift sports car. Prod the S+ button and the Prelude does a good impression of a dual-clutch gearbox, rather than the smooth, eco-focused eCVT it actually is. You change ‘gears’ with the paddles on the steering wheel which, in normal driving, are used to control the level of regenerative braking. Clever.

Look closer and you’ll find more of Honda’s trademark ingenuity. While most of the underneath of the car is shared with the Civic hatchback, the rear suspension comes from the Civic Type R to liven things up a bit. The seats are even very slightly asymmetrical – the driver’s seat provides more support in fast corners than the passenger seat. It’s like the car is saying “see, I am a fun car!”

And it is fun to drive, with agile handling and a revvy naturally aspirated engine. But it’s also easy to live with – it’ll return 50mpg in gentler driving, and its interior is just as well organised as other Honda models. From June 2026, Honda’s reliability is backed up by a new eight-year service-activated warranty, too.

It’s a great alternative to the BMW 2 Series 220i and the now-departed Audi TT, and boasts a similar level of performance. After all, the Prelude has never been about supercar speed. But the Audi and BMW give you the option of higher-powered versions if you want a bit more punch. It’d be great to see Honda launch a Type S model to riff on its sporting heritage.

You’ll have to be quick if you want a Prelude (or wait for a used one) – only 400 cars are coming to the UK in 2026.

Inside, it’s clear that the Prelude takes a lot from the Civic – which is no bad thing. There are lots of physical buttons for main features, and a screen that’s big enough to be useful but not too large to be overwhelming.

We’ll mention the seats again, because they’re a highlight of the cabin. Their shape and support make you feel like you’re in something more exciting than a Civic, but they’re still really comfortable – and heated for cold-weather comfort.

You also get cool blue stitching, a suede-effect bit of dashboard trim and a 12-o-clock marker on the steering wheel for a bit of racing car chic. And you can choose a gorgeous white and blue interior theme for no extra cost, which we’d heartily recommend.

At their top level, the screens are easy to work your way around – although it can get a bit fiddly within some of the submenus. If you’d rather use your phone’s apps, Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay come as standard.

The Prelude only comes in Honda’s top-spec Advance trim level, so you get plenty of features for your £40k spend – such as keyless entry, wireless phone charging, adaptive LED headlights, a Bose sound system and adaptive cruise control. It’s worth mentioning that a lot of these cost extra on a BMW 220i.

Up front, the Prelude offers decent interior space and storage for a coupe. The glovebox, door pockets and centre armrest storage spaces are all a usable size, and there’s a place for your phone and your security coffee.

The rear seats aren’t much use – you can probably tell that because they’re upholstered in plain black fabric, rather than the leather of the front seats. And they’re tiny. Ask an adult to sit back there and you won’t be able to close the tailgate, or have the front seats in a comfortable position. There are Isofix points for putting child seats in but you’ll need a chiropractor on speed dial if you’re lifting a kid in and out on a regular basis.

Best to think of the rear seats as additional luggage space, because the boot is on the small side at 264 litres. The cargo space is narrow and there’s a fair bit of bodywork to haul items over. Although, if you are hit with a surprise Ikea visit, the rear seats fold to give you up to 760 litres of Billy bookcase carrying capacity.

A 184hp hybrid engine doesn’t scream sportiness, but we already knew it was a good engine from the Civic. It’s a good-ish engine in a sportier model, too, and its 8.5-second 0-62mph time is just about competitive with the BMW 220i – which has exactly the same power output as the Prelude but is a bit quicker on paper.

When you’re taking it steady, the Prelude’s hybrid system ensures you’ll spend a chunk less on fuel than in the 220i, which is good for 44mpg. Honda reckons you’ll get 54mpg in mixed driving and as high as 64mpg in the right circumstances. Our test car was reporting 49mpg despite our best efforts of lowering it.

The Prelude is just the wrong side of £40,000, so you’ll have to pay the luxury car tax supplement until the car is six years old. That takes a dent out of the cheap day-to-day costs. In terms of insurance, the Prelude sits in a comparable insurance group to the 220i, so your premiums should be similar for both cars.

If you can get onboard with the adequate rather than exciting performance, there’s a lot to like with the Prelude.

The suspension – a mix of Civic and Civic Type R – is excellent. It’s not easy to set up a chassis to provide sporty handling and a supple ride quality, but that’s what you get in the Prelude. Honda’s effort is a bit softer over bumps than the BMW 220i, with no compromise in driver engagement.

In its normal mode, the Prelude is docile. You could forget that you’re in a sporty coupe. Its personality shifts when you hit the S+ button, and there’s a tangible sense of aggression – but again, it’s not excessive. The S+ shift mode lets the engine rev out and, unlike many hybrids, it’s actually a nice engine noise, recalling Honda’s fizzy naturally aspirated engines from the last couple of decades.

The S+ mode gives you control of the gearbox with the paddles behind the wheel. The calibration is superb, and the fake gearshifts feel completely realistic. Going up and down the ‘gearbox’ adds another level of engagement, especially on a twisty road that requires lots of acceleration and braking.

Would we like the gearshifts to feel more forceful in its sportiest mode? Possibly. There are Comfort, GT, Sport and Individual driving modes, and they could certainly feel a bit more defined. There’s room to create a faster, harder Prelude. Come on Honda, you know it’s the right thing to do…