Iconic Sport Coupe Returns
It hasn’t been a secret Honda was bringing back the Prelude. It was given a “sneak peek” at the 2023 Los Angeles Auto Show. The first four generations of this popular sporty coupe roamed the streets between 1978 and 2001, becoming a cult favorite with tuners and customizers. The news today is the announcement that the 2026 Prelude will be in Honda dealers sometime late fall 2025.
The all-new 2026 Prelude Hybrid has a 2.0-liter I4 Atkinson-cycle engine paired with two electric motors, producing a combined 181 horsepower and 232 pound-feet of torque. Its drive modes are Comfort, GT, Sport and Individual.
– Editor Picks reviewed the 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid with the same hybrid engine set-up and were impressed with the performance. We pulled 6.2 seconds in 0-60 mph runs, which is plenty fast for a car weighing 2,935 pounds. Honda did not release the curb weight for the Prelude Hybrid, but it should be similar.
Honda also did not reveal fuel economy numbers for the Prelude but we expect it to be similar to the Civic Hybrid’s EPA numbers of 50 mpg city/47 highway and 49 combined. In our 970-mile, mostly freeway, road trip from Southern to Northern California and back, using the adaptive cruise control set between 65 and 70 mph and selecting the Normal drive mode, we averaged 50.3 miles per gallon in the Civic Hybrid.
Focused on Fun-To-Drive
Jessika Laudermilk, assistant vice president of Honda Auto Sales, says the steering and handling were designed to give “a fun-to-drive feel.” To do so the Prelude’s performance cred begins with the suspension from the Civic Type R that includes dual-axis struts up-front and a multi-link in the rear. Adaptive dampers with stabilizer bars front and rear complete the set-up. There is brake-based torque vectoring that, in Honda-speak, is called “Agile Handling Assist.” When we drive it, we will pass along the on-road details.
Stopping is from power-assisted, ventilated front and solid rear discs with the fronts getting Brembo 4-piston aluminum brake calipers. All-season 235/40R tires on 19-inch gloss Berlina Black alloy wheels are standard, with summer tires available.
The Prelude Hybrid has a sloping roofline, flush door handles and a rear light bar running edge-to-edge sitting just below a diminutive spoiler. The doors are smooth but for an air vent behind the front wheels that leads to a sculpted detail running along the door’s bottom edge. The aerodynamic front end includes an under-spoiler; headlights are mere slits on the outer edges of the smooth hood and fenders.
More Fun Inside
Inside the 2+2 seating has a 60:40 split fold down rear seat with a hatchback lift gate for access. There is a 10.2-inch configurable digital instrument cluster and a 9.0-inch high definition touchscreen with Google built-in. The wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto use the 9-speaker Bose sound system. There is wireless phone charging and the Prelude Hybrid can be a Wi-Fi hot spot.
Honda also debuts a new manual automatic transmission (more Honda-speak) S+ Shift that it claims will simulate a performance transmission experience using paddle shifters—right down to rev matching, downshift blips, gear holding and “enhanced” engine sounds. More on that once we get our fingers on those paddle shifters.
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Story by John Faulkner. Photos by Honda.
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