Honda

Prelude

The Prelude may be a name from the past, but Honda has brought this stylish two-door coupe bang up to date. It oozes charm, is packed with tech and packs a punch too.

Test Drive

Honda Prelude (First Drive) 2025

Revivals of classic car nameplates have become increasingly common recently with the resurrection of the Renault 5 and Ford Capri amongst the wave of nostalgic launches.

And now we have the all-new Honda Prelude which draws much of its inspiration from the Civic Type R, but without quite so much firepower.

It’s a two-door coupe that boasts an exceptionally strong road presence and draws inspiration visually from a glider plane. It has certainly come a long way from the original Accord-based Prelude of old.

Eye-catching features include curvaceous streamlining with muscular haunches, narrow headlights with signature daytime running lights, a double bubble roof, along with stylish 19-inch alloys with blue brake calipers. Our test car was finished in a Racing Blue shade that added an extra £700 to the £40,995 asking price.

Moving inside, customers can select from two colour themes – white and blue or black and blue – both of which look equally striking. The cabin oozes class with high-end upholstered seats that have added bolster support which is much appreciated when fizzing through twisting country lanes. There are soft-touch surfaces along with high-end fixtures and fittings throughout. Additionally, a nice blend of physical and touchscreen controls makes for a truly user-friendly cockpit.

The front seats were powered and offer heating to fend off the winter chills, while the leather-wrapped steering wheel features thumb rests which are great when driving in a more enthusiastic manner. There are physical controls for the gears and drive modes, while the main focal point is a nine-inch colour infotainment touchscreen offering access to the many on-board features, including a pitch-perfect Bose sound system, full smartphone connectivity via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, reversing camera, Bluetooth, DAB radio and plenty more besides.

Additionally, all the vital driving data is clearly displayed on a 10.2-inch screen behind the steering wheel.

We tested the Prelude in glorious winter sunshine in Southern France and it didn’t disappoint at all. Admittedly, it’s no Type R, but it was never designed to be. It is powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, mild hybrid unit delivering 185PS and 315Nm of torque. That results in a 0-62mph sprint time of 8.2 seconds and top speed of 117mph. And, according to WLTP-testing, the Prelude can deliver a combined 45.2mpg with carbon emissions of 117g/km.

With decades of hybrid know-how to draw upon, Honda has utilised all its expertise and the Prelude features an excellent CVT set-up that is both smooth and responsive, no matter how keenly the throttle is attacked.

It’s a car that will sit effortlessly at 70mph so will be a confident motorway cruiser and is equally impressive when faced with more challenging country lanes and mountain climbs. It’s perfectly balanced through twists and turns and body sway is non-existent as the car sweeps along without a care in the world.

There are drive modes called Comfort, Sport, Individual and a default GT setting, along with modes to switch through the various power settings that favour either the EV battery, hybrid set-up or pure petrol mode.

Additionally, the Prelude has a feature that Honda is very excited to promote. It’s called S+ Shift and, when activated, simulates an eight-speed manual gearbox that is controlled via the steering wheel paddles. There is an accompanying soundtrack, but we felt it was more of a novelty feature on a car that has ample appeal elsewhere.

That’s because, with its low centre of gravity along with sporty coupe styling, the Prelude delivers engaging driving dynamics both at pace or when pootling along at casual speeds. It’s agile, deceptively refined and a pure delight to drive.

The paddles, when not in S+ Shift mode, alter the strength of the regenerative braking with seven levels to chose from. We should also mention the new Coasting mode that allows the vehicle to almost glide along when pressure is lifted from the throttle and this helps to maximise fuel efficiency.

Practicality levels are on a par with most four-seaters with ample room up front for a couple of adults, of the taller variety. The back seats are almost there just for show with barely enough leg room for a child – they are great for throwing coasts and bags on though. It’s worth mentioning anyone who suffers from claustrophobia will really struggle in the rear seats, not only due to the restricted space, but also because of the exceptionally small windows.

With the rear seats in an upright position, the boot can hold 269 litres of luggage – that’s ample for a weekly supermarket shop. This capacity increases to 663 litres with the rear seats lowered which is enough space for a couple of sets of golf clubs.

In addition, there’s plenty of storage compartments scattered throughout the cabin, including a lockable glovebox, central cubby, seat back pockets, front and rear cup holders, an area to store sunglasses, a wireless charger and some handy trays.

The Prelude is not expected to sell in large numbers, so is unlikely to be tested for an official Euro NCAP safety rating. Nevertheless, it boasts a raft of safety features and driver assistance aids, and the Japanese carmaker believes the vehicle represents another huge step towards its goal to bring traffic collision fatalities involving one of its vehicles, including motorcycles, to zero by 2050.

Expect to see a forward collision warning system, blind spot information, post collision mitigation braking, adaptive cruise control, road departure mitigation system, lane keep assist, cross traffic monitor, traffic jam assist, traffic sign recognition, plus 10 airbags as standard, including knee airbags for both front seat occupants and side airbags for rear occupants.

All in all, the all-new Honda Prelude is a very welcome revival. It’s a very capable four-seater that oozes character and delivers the goods when faced with the open road too.