2026 Honda Prelude.
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Today, we finally get to see the interior of the all-new 2026 Honda Prelude. The new Prelude was previewed by a 2023 “concept” which was actually the production car with a few extra bits and very dark windows…
I see than there is no sunroof on the car Honda presented to the press. Which is odd since the original prelude was one of the first car I can remember that had a standard sunroof. All generations after the original followed that tradition as well. Let’s hope this is somehow still an option.
The front seats are indeed new, and look very nice. However, that flat and tiny rear bench looks more like an afterthought than a real back seat. It also doesn’t really look like something like this would pass US regulations. It might change for the North American market.
But the best news is the big hatchback. However, the cargo area still looks pretty small with the rear seats up. And again, just like in the Civic hatchback, not flat.
While the hatchback will make the car much more appealing, however, there seems to be zero headroom for eventual backseat passengers. The whole thing does feel less roomy than the previous Honda Civic Coupe. Which, I guess, might not be a problem for a car that could be competing mostly with the Toyota GR86 in the US. Which is not the roomiest coupe in the world…
The dashboard is yet another version of the 2020 Civic interior. Which is really too bad. I mean, it works. But I would expect something a bit more original in a Prelude. One original gimmick is different seats for the driver and front passenger. With more support for the driver and more comfort for the passenger.
This new Honda Prelude is basically the rebirth of the Honda Civic coupe. Almost 5 years after the sedan came out…
Honda has officially mentioned the Prelude would return to the US later this year. I’m not sure if they intend to build it over here since this will probably be a low volume model. If not, it could be taxed out of the market with new tariffs.
That back seat will pass US regulations just fine, because there aren’t many to begin with. This back seat is for insurance purposes only as a 2-seater costs more to insure than a car with a back seat, even though anyone in the back seat would likely be killed in an accident, thus increasing insurance costs. Other examples of cars with unusable back seats: Audi TT Coupe and Porsche 911 (most generations). Surprisingly, the JDM Honda CR-Z has tiny useless rear seats that the US never got for some reason.
Really hate these HOnda ineriors. So boring and cheap looking. It’s too bad Nissan is the one going under, they have much better designs, inside and out.