The title of my post today explains much of what all the fuss is about with the new Honda Prelude. I've never seen such mixed emotions about a new car introduction. For many drivers the car is a disappointment with not enough power and no stick shift. For a smaller group of drivers, the car is exactly what they want. This post will attempt to explain why Honda got it right and the typical car enthusiast has it wrong. Those 'old school' Honda fans have not caught up with the times and it will take time for their thinking to change, if ever. We all wish we could go back to the past but the past is not coming back; we must look forward for our 'sport' to survive. Honda Prelude is the future of sporty cars for the everyday driver in the mid price space. A small but growing group of drivers are coming to know this car as THE future of fun cars. Yes, this is a new kind of sports car but it also has buckets of practicality. With the Prelude you get more than a sports car, you get a daily driver that's got room to haul luggage, golf clubs, your garage sale purchases, etc. The car is economical to drive at a combined 44 MPG, range of over 500 miles and no need to look for a charging station. Top it off with great looks and this car is the future we never dreamed possible. Honda also spiced things up with mutiple drive modes, adaptive dampers, the Type R's suspension and brakes and the all new S+ shift that simulates gear changes. I believe this car is as revolutionary as the Porsche Boxster that debuted in the late '90's.
Two pictures above show my 'as modified' with stripes and upgraded Honda Prelude wheels.
For the past couple of years Honda fans have been waiting with much anticipation about what the final production version would be after it's prototype made the rounds at all the major car shows. Most thought it would be like the original five generations of Preludes; a light, peppy, high reving sports coupe with a stick shift. What Honda brought us was a modestly powered Hybrid with no transmission, a tame four cylinder motor and dual electric motors that combined is rated at 200 HP and 232 Ft-Lbs of torque. Many call this a big fail on Honda's part but those people are missing the point. Measuring this car with standards used for 75 years like 0- 60 times and brute power is just wrong. We live in a different world where the old norms are fading and new technology is taking over and all the measures we used to use need to be replaced with things much more relevant. Now it is electrification, fuel economy, technology, handling and fun driving experience taking over for horsepower.
One thing that will not change is the driving experience. How the car makes you feel, how it looks and drives are relevant today. How fast it is 0-60 is only a small measure of the car and the lack of a stick shift is not a total loss.
The remainder of this post is my seat of the pants review having driven the Prelude in comparison with many Hondas and other cars in my recent past. My review is based on driving experience of the following cars:
Porsche Boxster S from 2001, Alfa Romeo GTV from 1972, The present generation of the Honda Civic Si, and the latest Civic Hybrid Hatchback Sport and the Civic Hybrid Hatchback, Touring.
DESIGN AND LOOKS
How does the car look? On this count the Prelude scores a 9 out of 10. It has to look good; love at first sight must be there. This category is subjective but most agree it is a 'looker'. Here's some Porsche's where you can see the styling cues that were applied to the Prelude. This includes the Taycan where lots of similarities are seen. Included are front, roofline and rear tail lights.
Porsche Taycan- Looks like the Honda Prelude
Then there's the Porsche 2014 Cayman seen below:
2014 Porsche Cayman - a similar profile
See the Cayman's swooping roofline and back window. When sitting in the Prelude looking in the rearview mirror, I swear I was in my Cayman looking at that long descending rear window in the rearview mirror. It is identical to the view in the Prelude. And yes, that's Hurley Haywood's autograph I obtained on the picture when I saw him in the Porsche Coral at the Sebring 12 Hour race many years ago.
My 2001 Porsche Boxster S
And then there's the 2001 Porsche Boxster S. When sitting in the Prelude looking forward you see the crest of the two front fenders, just like you would see sitting in the Boxster. The car has so many Porsche cues you could think, hey this is the new Porsche ________ fill in the blank!
Finally the king of the hill comparison- the familiar design of the 911:
My friend, Denny Brown's 911
And here again is that swooping roofline and large back window- like a glider/ like the Prelude. Was all this intentional? I think so. Honda took great design and made it their own with Japanese flair.
A couple of my previous Civics below:
My 2022 Honda Civic Si
HOW DOES THE PRELUDE DRIVE?
Now that I covered the design and looks, how does the Prelude drive compared to some of these cars. I can speak from experience with the cars I have owned including the current generation Civic Si, the 2001 Porsche Boxster S, the 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV and the Civic Hybrid Hatch Sport and Touring models.
This is a very quick summary of my first impression when compared to the other cars above. First let's look at the two cars most similar to the Prelude, the Civic Hatchback Hybrid Sport and the Civic Hatch Hybrid Touring. Similar in that they share the same 200HP Hybrid poweretrain. That's where the similarity ends. The Civic Hybrids have a softer suspension in all modes and there is slighly more body roll with the Hybrid Hatch models. With the Prelude in comfort it closely resembles the Hatch models but there's a distinct improvement in cornering with the Prelude, even in the Comfort mode. It corners much flatter and the Prelude seems more stable. That's the advantage of having adaptive dampers and the Type R suspension. The brakes on the Prelude are also more robust because they are Brembo brakes lifted from the Type R.
The most interesting thing I have found is how similar the Prelude driving dynamics are to the Porsche Boxster S and the Porsche Cayman. Both Porsches have more power and are lighter but the Prelude does not seem that underpowered under 50 mph and it hides its 350 pound weight disadvantage because of its 232 Ft- Lbs of instant torque from the twin electric motors. Also the turning radius on all seem fairly close which was a pleasant surprise. I mention this because it is so dramatically better than the two Civic Hybrids. Doing a U turn with the Civic takes much more room and when you consider the Prelude has 19" wheels vs the Civic's 18 inch wheels it shows the Type R suspension is genius! You would not know this is a front wheel drive car. Another factor is the Prelude's wheelbase is 102.4 inches while the Civic Hybrid Hatchback has a wheelbase of 107.7 inches. And the 2001 Porsche Boxster has a wheelbase of 95.2 inches. The way the Prelude turns when comparing to the Boxster, it doesn't feel that much different for the difference in the wheelbase of the two. Lastly, the Civic Si has a stiffer suspension than any of the cars mentioned and it does handle very well, but is not as capable as the Prelude, nor is it as fun to drive.
That's my point of this whole agrument about the Prelude being a flop on paper shows the reporters writing the reviews have not spent time driving the Prelude to see how good it is! They are making assumptions based on old stanndards for sports cars that look at 0-60 times and horsepower figures. They don't take into account the superior and instant torque of the Prelude.
And just for fun I threw in my 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV to demonstrate it's not about horsepower. It's about the whole package, including torque, overall weight, suspension tuning and wheelbase. The Alfa has 130 HP, and 134 Ft-Lbs of torque but weighs only 2150 pounds and has the shortest wheelbase of the bunch at 92.5 inches. At the time, the Alfa was THE sports car to own. All the car reviewers raved about it, yet it was slow with 0-60 timesof 8.9 seconds. So why all the haters talking about the new Prelude? I believe they are the wrong drivers for this car that is so right!
My 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV
I will be writing a second, longer term test drive where I sample the S+ mode and my impression of that new technology. So far I am completely happy with my Honda Prelude; try it, you will come to like it.
Merry Christmas to all my readers and I look forward to continuing this conversation soon. Tomorrow I leave to visit family in Rochester, NY but will be back to this desk to bring you some more of my thoughts. Cheers, Paul Ziegler, Publisher Carcamerastory.com. Follow on Instagram @wownowpics.
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