The new Prelude on the track at the proving grounds in Tochigi, Japan. The Prelude has rear seats and a lift back, which makes is a little more practical as a sports coupe.Jason Tchir/The Globe and Mail
The resurrected Prelude is a blast from the past – but it’s also a glimpse of Honda’s immediate future.
The stylish sports coupe, which arrives at Canadian dealerships in November, is proof that a hybrid can be as fun to drive as a gas-powered car – if not more.
Honda brought back the Prelude, which hasn’t been sold in Canada since 2001, as a front-wheel-drive hybrid-only liftback.
First, the specs: The sixth-generation Prelude has the same powertrain as the Civic Hybrid. It delivers 200 horsepower and 232 lb-ft of torque, which puts it in the same territory as the Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ, neither of which is a hybrid. But it’s a lot less thirsty than the Subaru or Toyota, with an official combined fuel consumption of 5.4 litres per 100 kilometres.
The Prelude is built on “what’s basically” the Civic Type-R platform, complete with a dual-axis front suspension, larger Brembo brakes and a standard adaptive damper system.
“The way it’s tuned is unique to this vehicle,” said Hayato Mori, vice-president of business operations for Honda Canada.
The dash of the new 2026 Prelude.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
The Prelude is Honda’s first car with S+ Shift, which simulates an automatic or, if you use the steering wheel paddles, a manual transmission, complete with simulated engine noise, upshifts and downshifts.
When Honda described S+ before I got into the car for three laps on the track at its Tochigi proving grounds in Japan, I worried it might sound and feel cheesy and unconvincing – but it wasn’t.
I did the first lap in GT mode and it was zippy and confident, but when the Honda engineer in the passenger seat hit S+, the real fun started. Suddenly, the Prelude sounded and felt like a sports car – and it made me want to hit the gas. When we finished the final lap, I climbed out with a big smile on my face.
The piped-in engine sound wasn’t intrusive. From the outside, though, the car was quiet the whole time. I wasn’t in the car long enough to poke around the interior but from a driver’s perspective it was comfortable.
The new Prelude on the track at the proving grounds in Tochigi, Japan. It delivers 200 horsepower and 232 lb-ft of torque.Jason Tchir/The Globe and Mail
Can hybrids be even more fun?
Honda’s hybrid system doesn’t have a transmission. Instead, it has two electric motors and the two-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder gas engine mostly runs to charge the battery.
“Ours will try to run as an EV 90 per cent of the time,” Mori said. “The only time the engine will power the wheels is when you’re going [highway speeds] around 120 kilometres an hour.”
The car also has a pure EV mode where the engine doesn’t run at all. Honda said that means you could potentially drive up to around two kilometres before the engine kicks in, depending on speed and road conditions.
But the car doesn’t have one-pedal driving.
Unlike some earlier hybrids from other manufacturers, the Prelude doesn’t feel like a hybrid on the road. There’s no noticeable lag when it’s switching from electric to gas. The new Prelude fits with Honda chief executive officer Toshihiro Mibe’s goal to focus on the joy of driving (Mibe said he has a red Prelude as his daily driver).
I also got to test drive a camouflaged car with the company’s next-generation hybrid system, set to roll out by 2027 – and it looked a lot like a Civic, although Honda wouldn’t confirm that.
After 24 years, the Prelude is back and it has been electrified.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
While Honda didn’t spill many details, the mystery car also had Shift S+ (and, notably, a steering-wheel-mounted shifter), but even without S+ on, the car growled like a sports car. Mori did say to expect all of Honda’s next-generation hybrids to be sportier.
Honda said hybrids count for about 40 per cent of its Canadian sales now and it hopes to boost that to 60 per cent over the next few years.
That means convincing more drivers that a hybrid doesn’t mean sacrificing power and fun for better fuel economy, Mori said.
“If you close your eyes and didn’t know it, you wouldn’t think it’s a hybrid,” Mori said of the Prelude. “I think most people think hybrids are slow … and boring.”
So, to make things really fun, could we see an even more powerful Prelude Type-R? Honda wouldn’t say.
But the appeal will depend on the price. Honda hasn’t announced pricing for the Prelude, but expects it to start somewhere in the upper-$40,000 range.
So, is there a market for a four-seater hybrid sports coupe? Honda hopes so. It thinks the car may appeal to Gen-X buyers who remember the original car.
“For empty nesters, it’s probably the perfect vehicle,” Mori said. “Although you could put a baby seat in the back if you had to.”
The Prelude is Honda’s first car with S+ Shift, which simulates an automatic or manual transmission.Jason Tchir/The Globe and Mail
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.
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