This fifth-generation Honda Prelude is starting to show its age. Completely redesigned for the 1997 model year, its styling no longer cuts an edge in a trendy, fashion-conscious segment and the interior is not state of the art.
But the Honda Prelude remains a top contender among the hot sport coupes. This car a blast for people who enjoy spirited driving. Its twin-can VTEC engine sounds great and revs like there's no tomorrow. The handling this car offers is world class. Roomy, powerful, technically sophisticated, it remains the best Prelude Honda has ever built.
The two primary decisions you need to make when choosing a Prelude are: whether you want the automatic, and whether you want the SH model's high-tech handling setup. Fortunately, you can't make a mistake here because all three are brilliant cars - for different reasons. All come with the 200-horsepower VTEC engine. They all share one level of interior trim, so there are no base or upscale models and there are no options.
Equipped with the 5-speed manual, the Prelude retails for $23,500. With the 4-speed Sequential Sportshift automatic, it retails for $24,500. The Type SH, which comes with Honda's Active Torque Transfer System, goes for $26,000 and is only available with the manual gearbox.
Honda's stylists seem to have looked to the third-generation Prelude for inspiration in designing this fifth-generation model. The roofline is more formal and the overall appearance more conservative compared to the swoopy lines of generation four. The most distinctive element is a pair of vertically rectangular headlamps, reminiscent of the Mercedes SLK roadster. The Prelude's quirky styling has not improved with age. The SH comes with a rear spoiler that is available as an accessory for the other Preludes.
Underneath is some fine engineering: Honda's high-revving 2.2-liter twin-cam 16-valve VTEC aluminum four-cylinder engine delivers 200 horsepower. A four-wheel double-wishbone suspension, powerful four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, and 16-inch alloy wheels are all standard.
Like the exterior, the interior is beginning to look a little dated. Anyone familiar with previous Preludes will feel right at home in this one. The cockpit provides sports car intimacy, supportive sport bucket seats, high-quality materials, and plenty of comfort and convenience goodies. The Prelude provides surprisingly good long-haul comfort: We drove a Prelude SH more than 6000 miles in just seven days during Car and Driver's One Lap of America marathon.
This fifth-generation Prelude is longer than previous-generation models and Honda has put most of the increased length to work in the rear seat area, making it a viable place to move people. The Prelude offers decent trunk space and the rear seatbacks fold forward to expand cargo volume.
The dashboard and instrument panel features a classic Honda analog gauge package, rather than the peculiar displays stretched across the dashboard of the previous generation. The slightly taller roofline affords more glass area, which improves driver sightlines in the rear quarters, and there are several bins and pockets for stowing small stuff, a familiar Honda touch.
Standard equipment for the basic Prelude includes air conditioning, a 160-watt AM/FM/CD stereo, power moonroof, cruise control, driver's seat height adjustment, tilt steering with a leather-wrapped wheel, map lights, ignition switch light, and power windows, mirrors and locks. Type SH adds a leather shift knob. Leather seating is not an option, an effort by Honda to keep prices down.
Safety features - ABS, dual airbags, side-impact protection - are current, but not extraordinary. Honda has adopted a new Key Code security system, similar to the PASS-Key system developed by General Motors.
