Honda Prelude 2026 Review
After more than 20 years away, the iconic Honda Prelude is back. But can it justify its $65,000 asking price?It’s easy to dismiss the new Honda Prelude as a parts bin special slugged with a fancy body and iconic nameplate: it sits on an adapted Civic hybrid platform, leverages the same powertrain and rides on Type R-derived suspension. The brakes have been pinched off the Type R too. $65K is a lot of cash for what looks (on paper) to be a 135kW Civic coupe, but the Prelude does reasonably well in justifying its lofty asking price – mostly. It has no direct competition and drives very well, but some more thought to the spec would’ve gone a long way.
How much does the Honda Prelude cost?
At $65,000 drive-away, the 2026 Honda Prelude looks expensive for a coupe packing only 135kW, especially compared to the 174kW Toyota GR 86/Subaru BRZ twins, but when you look closer, you can start to see where the extra cash goes.
Headline equipment on the Prelude includes leather upholstery, three-way adaptive dampers and Type R suspension geometry, Brembo brakes, dual-zone climate control, a 9.0-inch infotainment system offering wireless smartphone projection, sat-nav, DAB+ digital radio, Bluetooth, Google Built-in and connected services, a 10.2-inch digital cockpit, LED lighting, heated front seats, an eight-speaker Bose sound system, wireless phone charger and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.
Missing from the ensemble is power adjustment for the front seats, driver’s lumbar adjustment and arguably ventilated seats.
The Prelude scores the full Honda Sensing safety suite with no major omissions: autonomous emergency braking, road departure mitigation, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, traffic jam assist, traffic sign recognition, blind spot monitoring with cross traffic alert and forward collision warning.
Other safety inclusions comprise automatic headlights, intelligent speed limiter, post-collision braking, front and rear parking sensors, and 10 airbags.
Under the bonnet is the same 2.0-litre e:HEV hybrid powertrain as the Civic, combining a 2.0-litre Atkinson cycle four-cylinder petrol engine with a pair of electric motors – one generator, one traction/drive – and a 1.1kWh lithium-ion battery pack for a total system output of 135kW/315Nm.
Unlike most hybrid systems though, Honda’s e:HEV system is primarily electric-drive, with the internal combustion engine acting predominantly as a generator for the drive motor and battery pack – only at mid- or high-speeds does it send power to the front axle (via the two motors).
Honda claims the system will average 4.3L/100km on the urban, combined and highway cycles.
What’s good about the Honda Prelude?
Well for starters, look at it! There’s no two ways about it; the 2026 Honda Prelude is a very pretty thing, especially in person and even more so when you consider it costs less than $70,000.
The classy exterior is matched with an elegant cabin design that screams coupe – we’re stoked Honda designed an all-new interior instead of just repackaging the Civic’s layout as per the platform – and things get even better when you realise the Prelude is a liftback… and the rear seats fold flat.
Most of the controls are easy to locate and fall easily to hand while the digital cockpit is far from the worst out there.
The seats, for the most part, are comfortable and supportive in a classic grand tourer (GT) sort of way, which is refreshing seeing as Honda is pitching the new Prelude as a ‘sporty tourer’ rather than an all-out sports or enthusiast car like the Civic Type R.
That fact makes itself immediately apparent behind the wheel where, in town, the Prelude hums around dignifiedly and fuss-free with an informative ride that’s really only undone by the sharpest of bumps, a lot of which can be attributed to the 19-inch alloy wheels and low-profile Continental PremiumContact 6 tyres.
The primarily electric-drive powertrain provides immediate, buttery smooth torque in the ‘burbs and uses noticeably less fuel than an internal combustion setup, especially in the coupe or performance market.
Take the Prelude out of town and things get even better… provided you don’t go expecting too much from the powertrain.
While the springs and dampers may have been retuned to be more relaxed than those of the Type R, the Prelude can still absolutely get its boogey on and entertain in the twisties.
Despite there being very few stretches of dry road on our test route, Honda’s new coupe clung to the tarmac like a gecko to glass and even offered, if asked politely enough, to bring its rear end into play on corner entry or lift-off.
The steering is well-weighted and direct – if a little numb – in all three drive modes (Comfort, GT, Sport) whereas the changes in suspension characteristics are far more subtle than something like a Hyundai i30 Sedan N.
Sport mode very rarely proves battering or fatiguing while Comfort does a tremendous job of ironing out backroad bumps and recovering quickly from bigger hits, but GT is undoubtedly the sweet spot in that it still lets you enjoy corners without sacrificing too much ride comfort.
Speaking of getting a wriggle on, the new ‘S+ Shift’ virtual transmission adds an extra level of involvement to the experience when really hustling in giving you some semblance of a torque converter automatic, but to tell the truth, it stayed off most of the time (when not attacking corners).
What’s not so good about the Honda Prelude?
For $65,000, the 2026 Honda Prelude really ought to pack more punch. Zero-100km/h in 8.2 seconds and 135kW/315Nm simply isn’t enough at this price point and means a standard Civic e:HEV offers the same outright performance and more practicality for $15,000 less.
Sure, it doesn’t have the Prelude’s fancy adaptive suspension or Brembo brakes, but a half decent driver on home soil will more than likely be able to keep pace with a Prelude in the vast majority of situations.
Yes, the e:HEV system offers more bottom-end torque than a Toybaru, but it can’t match something with forced induction and definitely doesn’t have the same top end rush as the free-breathing rear-drive twins.
Honda is adamant the Prelude isn’t a sports car and so such comparisons aren’t relevant, but it’s abundantly clear the chassis is capable of handling a lot more poke – the Civic Type R exists on the same platform – which in turn would go a long way in reinforcing the Prelude’s GT intent.
Look at all the great GT cars; they’re blessed with huge, powerful, torque-rich engines providing effortless roll-on performance and overtaking grunt. Yes, the Prelude packs 315Nm, but there isn’t enough shove or top end power for truly comfortable highway passing – a necessity when it comes to touring.
An extra 10-15kW would also make it more fun when having a joust and make that $65K asking price more agreeable.
On a similar note, the omission of power- and lumbar adjustment for the driver’s seat is a huge oversight for a car costing north of $60,000 and intended for big miles. The manual adjustment meant we couldn’t quite dial in our preferred backrest position and forced us to sit more upright or laid back than ideal.
The passenger seat likewise needs more rake to its cushion, which we think is too flat and makes you feel as if you’ll slide out of it during braking or heading downhill.
As for the rear seats, they’re far from the most useable units in the world but the real issue is why they’re upholstered in dark grey cloth rather than the same blue and cream leather as the rest of the cabin. Sure, it’s probably cheaper, but it looks it and undermines the rest of the interior.
Should I buy a Honda Prelude?
If the new 2026 Honda Prelude started from $57,000 or even $60,000, it’d be a resounding yes.
It’s a bloody good car and in that sense a classic Honda: well-built, refined, nice to drive and practical, but for $65,000 it really ought to have been given a bit more of the secret sauce.
The dynamics are excellent, it’s comfortable, good on fuel (when not being hustled), well-appointed, full of tech and stunning to look at… it’s just lacking a bit of extra zest to separate it from the Civic and take it half a step closer to the Type R.
We’ve (almost) made peace with the fact there won’t be a hotter version, which makes it all the more disappointing there isn’t an extra 10-15kW to play with – 135kW on a $65K coupe isn’t enough, irrespective of the intent.
But, away from that and the couple of minor seating grievances we have, the new Prelude is ultimately a very impressive package – just not as impressive as it could be.
It’s been a long time since there was a mainstream coupe that wasn’t a loud, buzzy or cramped out-and-out sports car, and that’s where Honda’s new two-door does its best work; it’s a driver’s car for the more mature buyer that can genuinely be used every day with class.
2026 Honda Prelude at a glance:
Price: $65,000 drive-away
Available: Now
Powertrain: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric
Output: 104kW/186Nm (electric motor: 135kW/315Nm)
Combined output: 135kW/315Nm
Transmission: eCVT
Fuel: 4.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 98g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested
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- Looks even better in person than photos
- Lovely chassis refinement and handling
- Easily the most daily-able sub-$80K coupe on the market
- Needs another 10-15kW to outmuscle the Civic
- Lovely seats lack adjustment, especially for the driver
- It’s very good, but doesn’t quite justify $65,000
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