Honda Prelude Review

After a two decade absence the Prelude name returns on a sleek front-drive hybrid coupe that landed at US dealers on November 18, 2025. It shares its powertrain with the Civic Hybrid, a 2.0 liter engine and two electric motors for 200 hp and 232 lb-ft, and it borrows chassis hardware from the Civic Type R. One well equipped trim starts at $42,000, with a Bose stereo, a 9 inch Google Built-In touchscreen, and a new S+ Shift mode that simulates rev-matched downshifts.

What Honda got right is the way it looks and rides. The styling is clean and genuinely desirable, the chassis is composed and playful thanks to those Type R parts, and the hybrid returns a real world 46 mpg city. As a stylish, efficient daily coupe it works.

The disappointment is under the hood. Two hundred horsepower is modest for a car dressed as a sport coupe, and the hybrid drivetrain, however clever its simulated shifts, does not deliver the urgency enthusiasts wanted from a revived Prelude. It is quick enough, not thrilling.

Buy it if you want a handsome, frugal, reliable Honda coupe that is nicer to look at than to race. Buyers hoping for a Type R with a fastback roofline will leave wanting more power.