The 2026 Honda Prelude Is a Enjoyable Civic Hybrid or Sluggish Type R That’s Prettier Than Each

You’ve acquired to tread rigorously once you’re reviving an automotive icon lately. Plenty of corporations are doing it, although not all the time in essentially the most devoted manner. Honda appears to have the suitable thought with the brand new Prelude, although: a classy coupe supposed to be enjoyable however not overwhelming to drive, armed with trendy tech and strong fundamentals. That’s what the Prelude was once, and—on paper, anyway—the 2026 Prelude seems to take care of that spirit.

This was not a car that, frankly, anybody noticed coming forward of its reveal on the 2023 Japan Mobility Show. Two years on, it’s been formally revealed for North America. The first Prelude in 1 / 4 century unites the Civic Hybrid’s two-motor powertrain with the Civic Type R’s brakes and suspension for an entry-level grand tourer that figures to even be very gasoline environment friendly. And, based on Honda, it’ll be touchdown in showrooms earlier than winter hits.

If concerning the Civic Hybrid, or the CR-V Hybrid that shares its working gear, the Prelude’s topline specs received’t be stunning. It combines a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with a pair of electrical motors—a traction motor and energy generator—to ship 200 horsepower and 232 lb-ft of torque to the entrance wheels. This setup is exclusive as a result of, at low or city-cruising speeds, all thrust comes from the traction motor, both by pulling vitality from the battery or the generator, which is being pushed by the four-cylinder. Only at freeway speeds will the fuel engine push the wheels instantly.

As such, these Honda hybrids don’t actually have transmissions within the standard sense, which is the place the Prelude’s S+ paddle-shift system is available in. The automaker claims this tech, debuting on the Prelude but in addition deliberate for future hybrid fashions, “delivers quick simulated gearshift responses through seamless coordination between the engine and high-power motor, including downshift blips, rev-matching and gear holding.” S+ Mode additionally incorporates “enhanced engine sounds,” which is particularly fascinating as a result of, once more, the engine’s efficiency isn’t tied on to wheels on this automobile a lot of the time.

Of course, the pretend shifts may be prevented if the driving force likes. The Prelude’s Civic Type R-derived chassis elements, however, are core to its character and likewise come normal. The Type R’s dual-axis strut entrance suspension, adaptive dampers, and Brembo brakes incorporating four-piston calipers (completed in a particular blue, no much less) on 13.8-inch entrance rotors all ought to lend the coupe a extra sporting really feel, although Honda says it’s massaged these elements to go well with a extra comfort-minded ethos. The Prelude comes with Goodyear Eagle Touring all-season rubber by default, although Continental Extreme Contact Sport summer time tires can be supplied as a dealer-installed improve.

If you’ve been following the Prelude so far, by now you’ve probably already fashioned an opinion on its design. Personally, I feel it’s destined to be one of many best-looking new automobiles on the highway. There is a simplicity to the Prelude’s delicate surfaces and Coke-bottle proportions that calls to thoughts a few of Honda’s smartest and cleanest designs of the ’90s.

The entrance finish is sharp and low however hardly frothing on the mouth with aggression, whereas the lightbar out again retains a little bit of fifth-gen Prelude in the way in which it terminates on the fringes. It’s very refined and really tidy, although the steep rake of the rear window does seem to compromise headroom fairly a bit. Our man on the bottom chargeable for lots of the photographs you see on this story, Cy, says the brand new automobile fairly presumably pales compared to each different Prelude the place rear-seat house is worried. That’s not saying an entire lot, as a result of these have all the time been two-plus-two-style coupes, nevertheless it does affirm our suspicions from the primary time we laid eyes on the slender silhouette.

This Prelude marks the primary liftback within the nameplate’s historical past. Cargo entry, unsurprisingly, additionally appears a bit restricted—higher, maybe, than the Toyota Supra‘s weirdly bean-shaped opening, however narrower than the Nissan Z‘s, albeit with a extra conveniently low load flooring. The rear seatbacks do fold flat at the very least, permitting sufficient room for golf baggage, as each coupe should.

As for the remainder of the Prelude’s inside, “Elevated Civic” might be an apt manner of describing it. The fashionable HVAC trim of Honda’s compact sedan that usually runs the size of the sprint has been sectioned off into hexagons, with microsuede stretching from the bottom of the 9-inch infotainment display by means of the passenger’s aspect. An embroidered Prelude brand sits close to the far vent above blue stitching, and, from the photographs, anyway, it does really feel somewhat extra particular than your typical Civic’s cabin. There are two inside colorways—blue/white or black—and all Preludes have particular bolstering for the driving force’s seat with “firm padding and more prominent lower thigh bolsters” than the passenger will get.

Honda isn’t speaking about pricing simply but, however we wouldn’t anticipate a discount as a result of there’ll solely be a single trim. In addition to every thing above, the Prelude will even carry an ordinary Bose Centerpoint eight-speaker audio system with a subwoofer within the cargo space, together with the total suite of Honda Sensing assistive security tech, together with rear cross visitors and blind spot alerts. The least expensive Civic Hybrid is $30,490—which is inside a grand or two of the Civic Si—and lately you possibly can’t get a Type R for lower than $47,090. That would appear to open up an area for the Prelude within the upper-$30K to low-$40K vary.

Would that be asking an excessive amount of? There isn’t a car fairly just like the Prelude already on sale immediately, and that can make it a superb experiment to find if there actually is a marketplace for a sporty and trendy two-door chasing consolation, tech, and a slice of luxurious, reasonably than out-and-out efficiency. Let’s pray it’s not an exquisite failure.

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