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The new Honda Prelude is too expensive.

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I think that $42,000 is just too much for what you get. And I’m not the only one. Ever since I’ve heard about Honda coming up with a brand new Prelude, I wanted to like it. I saw the concept at the Los Angeles auto show exactly 2 years ago and thought it was pretty nice in person. I still do. But not for $42,000…

The new Prelude is basically the Civic Coupe Honda decided not to give us with the current generation. And I think that’s the main problem. It is too close to the Civic, and it shows. The interior is a blend of the Civic and the Acura Integra. Which itself is a fancier Civic with a hatchback. In my opinion, that’s not enough to make it a Prelude. At least the exterior design is 100% different, which is fine. But the “mostly Civic” interior will not age very well.

Honda will show a brand new Civic generation late next year or early 2027. With a brand new interior. Hopefully will be much better than the current one. That will make the new Prelude interior instantly old-looking. After just a year on the market.

Its powertrain is also a Civic Hybrid with a gimmicky CVT, with the same HP. While the previous Preludes were never about horsepower, the new one costs around $10,000 more than a loaded Civic Hybrid. Unlike all previous Prelude generations, the new one does not even offer a sunroof. At all, at any price. Again, for $10,000.

If you want to spend more than a Civic and get something a bit different, a loaded Acura Integra is still about $2000 cheaper than the Prelude.

Of course, there isn’t much competition in the sporty coupe market anymore, but the Toyota GR86 starts at only $31,000! And really loaded for $37,000.

It seems Honda is really proud of their design and is betting on people spending a premium for the new Prelude. And I think they will feel the pain when that’s not working. The coupe market needs help. Overpriced cars aren’t the way to help. Very good-looking 2-door coupes for an affordable price is the only way to bring back the dying segment.

Charging over $10,000 more than the sedan will not work.

Conversation 4 comments

  1. This is a huge mistake by Honda. “Starting at $42,000” … and it has feeble power. It is going to die quickly.

  2. It’s actually MSRP $43,195 INCLUDING delivery. Honda doesn’t include the mandatory shipping in the price.

  3. I don’t think its the price that’s the issue. I think the car is just way too small for American tastes – even in a sports coupe. Making it Civic sized was a mistake. It should have split the difference between the Civic and Accord. But then Honda would have had to offer a bigger engine to handle the weight. So, I’m going to call it a cost saving development from Day1, while they funnelled all their money into EVs and the Marysville OH production site updates. Bad news in bad times.

  4. I agree with the first three comments. In 1995, I bought a Prelude S for $15,999 ($34,000 in today’s dollars). The salesperson emphasized that it was built on the Accord platform as distinct from the Integra which was also on my shopping list, but was on the Civic platform. I remember thinking that it was also a bit small on the inside. So, a slightly larger offering this time would have been really good. This present iteration was on my shopping list as a second car. I also agree that $43,00 is a bit stiff for what it offers.

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