2026 Honda Prelude Review: Misunderstood Greatness
The 2026 Honda Prelude is misunderstood greatness. Starting on the outside, I fell in love with the Boost Blue Pearl color, and so did everyone I as drove by them. It is also a very sleek looking design that has a sports car look to it. When it comes to wheels, the standard black 19” wheels look better than the optional machined twist design. I did struggle to come to a conclusion whether it needed a rear spoiler. Thankfully the Prelude didn’t suffer from rear lift at high speeds, so you’ll be able to have that streamlined rear design line flowing.
Getting in the Prelude, I was greeted with blue and white leather option. The seats were not only comfortable, but positioned you in a way that supported you at any points of contact with them. Fair warning, the white gets dirty pretty easily so you’ll want to buy your leather cleaner in bulk. The steering wheel, gauge cluster, and infotainment screen, are all borrowed from the Civic but with sportier touches to them. The wheel does have a flat bottom design with blue stitching, and an microsuede centerline. I don’t mind having the Honda design shift buttons, but in this car, I was reaching over for a shifter during spirited drives. To me, it means the driver’s experience would be incredible with a manual transmission offering.
Although this is a 4-seater, be prepared to plan on treating this more like a 2-seater. My 11-year old son didn’t require his usual booster seat for correct seat belt placement. With that being said, he was tall enough to have concerns of hitting his head on the C-pillar in case of a sudden change in direction or accident. The rear seats also have 2 sets of anchor points for child seats, but were unusually placed to straddle the belt buckles. My son did mention that the leg room was really spacious compared to other 2-door cars he’s sat in.
Under the hood, the 2.0L inline 4-cylinder, 2 motor hybrid, is delivering 200 horsepower and 232 lb.-ft. of torque. The Prelude has the Brembo 4-piston front brakes, adaptive damper system, and shares the chassis with the Civic Type R to provide a spectacular driver’s car. Of course everyone wants the Type R turbo engine in it, but that’s not what the Prelude has ever been. I took the Prelude to a local car show and I summarized the Prelude as Honda’s Miata. It may not be the fastest, but the feel of driving it, is exhilarating.
Overall, I was impressed with the 2026 Honda Prelude. I say its misunderstood greatness because everyone on the internet has their opinions, but until you get to know the Prelude, you’ll realize that those opinions are wrong.
