Honda Prelude review

Honda Prelude returns with an interesting hybrid system and Civic-based tech

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The Honda Prelude is back, and tested here in a prototype form on a UK circuit only, and for a few minutes only, mainly as a way to get us used to its new hybrid drivetrain, which largely uses the engine as a generator for an electric motor rather than to drive the wheels - a bit like in the Civic on which it's based, but supposedly more engaging. Lots to tell you about there. So here goes...

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DESIGN & STYLING

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The Civic donates the Prelude its architecture, plus its 2.0-litre Atkinson-cycle engine and drive system dubbed e:HEV.

It's worth spending a bit of time on this because it's not straightforward, and when the Civic first arrived, Honda used the term e-CVT or something like that, which is rather misleading.

The engine predominantly acts as a generator, because it's the electric motor, around 180bhp (tbc exactly), that drives the front wheels. 

However, Honda, like a few other companies, thinks that an electric motor on its own doesn't offer enough driver interaction. And an engine revving an engine at a constant speed is particularly annoying. 

So on the Civic, it has a system that simulates gearshifts. The engine revs change just like in a conventional purely automatic petrol car, but you can't control the revs.

The Prelude moves this system one phase onwards. Called S+Shift, the system not only simulates an eight-speed transmission, but it also lets you pick the ratios via gearshift paddles.

This means it behaves like any conventional auto in which you can select the gear via flappy paddles. The difference here is that the engine's still not actually attached to the wheels. 

Except...

Yes, there is an except. As with the Civic (and I think this is where some of the early confusion came) there is one fixed ratio in which a lock-up clutch is engaged and the engine is directly connected to the front wheels. Here it's at the ratio of eighth gear. 

This doesn't mean that every time you're in eighth it will connect the engine and wheels, but if it ever does, it'll be in that eighth ratio only.

The rest of the time this is an motor-driven car, with energy generated by internal combustion.

A few other things to note. There are three drive modes: Comfort, GT and Sport. The engine sound – and it's real sound, at actual engine revs – is amplified a little more each time.

The drive mode also changes the dynamics. The Prelude is Civic based, but with a slightly shorter wheelbase. 

The suspension hardware is mostly Civic Type R, but the spring rate and anti-roll bar stiffness is "decreased in the direction of comfort", according to Honda's Tomoyuki Yamagami, large project leader for the Prelude. 

The tyres are a bit less aggressive than the Type R's, too, being 235/40 R19 Continental Premium Contact 6s on our test car, which changes the front and rear track width very slightly.

The car's weight has yet to be disclosed, but it's in the region of 1450-1500kg and is more rear biased than in a Civic Type R because there is more hardware towards the rear. 

INTERIOR

We didn't spend long seeing the interior in the flesh - get in, get comfortable and press 'D'. But getting comfortable was easy enough, the steering wheel feels pleasingly sportif, and the instrument pack is clear. 

If you pick GT or Sport mode rather than Comfort, you get a rev counter in the dials. And there's a big S+ button on the dashboard, which the Civic lacks. Otherwise, things are very Honda-ish. Which means mostly straightforward.

We're not yet able to tell you how accommodating the rear seats or boot are. More to come on all of the practicality fronts later.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

Details and final numbers for the drivetrain have yet to be revealed, but the short of it is that the system works rather well. 

Drive is smooth, as you'd expect because it's by electric motor, but the engine note and revs are  convincingly authentic too. 

This shouldn't be a surprise, I suppose: the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N could have you convinced it has a real engine and gearbox, and it has neither. At least this car has an actual engine.

It makes a reasonably smooth note too. There's nothing outwardly sporting about it, but it's an Atkinson-cycle engine that does its best work in the mid-range anyway, so revs to 6000rpm only. 

Upshifts are incredibly smooth… because they don't exist. Downshifts too, because nothing mechanical changes in the transmission. 

But shifting will be second nature to anyone who has driven a combustion car before, or who has even spent time with a racing game. I know it's not real, but there is something about a sound, particularly on a circuit, that gives you cues as to your speed.

Braking is good, given that much of it is regenerative. Pedal feel is firm and progressive.

I can't tell you what the system feels like on the road but it could well be even more convincing there. If you just leave things in Drive and in Comfort mode, and I tried it for a lap, one imagines that on the road it'll just feel like a conventional auto, but with less (or no) transmission shunt.

RIDE & HANDLING

You don't have to have driven a Type R recently to feel that the Prelude is set up more comfortably than the sportiest Civic. It's meant to be a daily driver, they say.

Scroll through the drive modes and the dampers do get firmer and the steering heavier, but even in the most aggressive mode, this car still delivers some roll in corners that you can lean on. 

Thruxton circuit's undulations, if taken at speed, do show a bit of looseness in the car's body movements. Nothing excessive, but if you think this core Prelude is going to be a Type R replacement, think again. It's more habitable than that (and Honda won't be drawn, yet, on whether a Type R Prelude will follow it). I'd say it's less tied down as is than not only a Type R but also, say, a Toyota GR86.

Still, it turns nicely, and with a bit more weight to the rear, you can feel it tip into corners with some agility, and it hangs on pretty well. But our drive was short and primarily focused on finding out how well the drivetrain works, so this is a section that will get more attention later.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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Purchase and running costs for the Prelude are still to be detailed. But the Civic hybrid returns 56-60mpg on the combined cycle and there's no real reason for the Prelude to be significantly different from that.

The Civic, as I write, costs £35k-£40k and it wouldn't surprising if the Prelude was a bit more. We may get a steer on pricing when the car goes on sale in Japan in September 2025, but official UK prices won't appear until towards the end of the year.

VERDICT

The definitive Autocar verdict on the Prelude will have to wait until we've spent more time with the car, but on this very brief acquaintance, it's pleasing to find that the drivetrain works as it should: it'll convince you that you're changing gears to give you a frame of reference if you need one. And it makes life a bit more interesting than having an engine drone on at constant revs. 

From initial impressions, the ride and handling feel closer to a base Civic than a Type R. But there's a little sportiness and I think we'll unearth some pleasing agility later.

Matt Prior

Matt Prior
Title: Editor-at-large

Matt is Autocar’s lead features writer and presenter, is the main face of Autocar’s YouTube channel, presents the My Week In Cars podcast and has written his weekly column, Tester’s Notes, since 2013.

Matt is an automotive engineer who has been writing and talking about cars since 1997. He joined Autocar in 2005 as deputy road test editor, prior to which he was road test editor and world rally editor for Channel 4’s automotive website, 4Car. 

Into all things engineering and automotive from any era, Matt is as comfortable regularly contributing to sibling titles Move Electric and Classic & Sports Car as he is writing for Autocar. He has a racing licence, and some malfunctioning classic cars and motorbikes.