Perception is reality. It is a reality that the Honda Prelude has long shared with its Japanese cousin, the Mazda MX-5. At various stages across its lifespan, critics mocked it as a “hairdresser’s car”, ironically ignoring the fact that hairdressers generally possess a highly stylish, up-to-date attitude.
Was the Honda Prelude Ever Really a Hairdresser’s Car?
| Generation | Years | Hairdresser rating | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | 1978-82 | Medium | A fashionable coupe rather than a sports car |
| Second | 1983-87 | Medium | Pop-up headlights and sleek aerodynamics made it a style icon, but enthusiasts respected it |
| Third | 1987-91 | Low | The world’s first mass-production four-wheel steering bought it real credibility |
| Fourth | 1992-96 | High | Curvy styling, low driving position and futuristic interior. This is the one people picture when they say it |
| Fifth | 1997-2001 | Low | The sharper wedge shape and strong H22 VTEC performance pushed it back toward the enthusiast camp |
| Sixth | 2025- | Unknown | Too new for a settled reputation, though traditionalists already see it as a stylish GT rather than a hardcore sports coupe |
Spending an extended period of time with the delightful 2026 Honda Prelude reveals a vital truth: it is an absolute winner in a class that is rapidly vanishing, which is two-door passenger cars. In fact, it now stands entirely alone with no direct competitors as a two-door personal sports hybrid coupe. It is a genuine unicorn.
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ABOVE: The Prelude
Breaking the Hybrid Curse
The Prelude comes with the deep mechanical refinement of the modern Honda stable, but it introduces something the brand should have committed to decades ago: a proper, polished hybrid drivetrain.
Historically spooked by earlier market stumbles, Honda left the Australian market starved of its best eco-tech. Unlike Toyota, whose hybrid dominance now spans almost 30 years of continuous development, Honda’s historical approach to electrification was a revolving turnstile of shifting moods:
- Mild Hybrids (IMA System): The electric motor was permanently bolted to the engine, acting strictly as a starter motor and an acceleration booster for cars like the Gen 1 Insight, Civic Hybrid, and the CR-Z. The petrol engine had to run constantly while moving, and it could never drive on pure electric power.
- Full Hybrids (i-DCD System): A mechanical clutch inside a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission allowed the car to uncouple the engine and drive purely on electricity at low speeds. This system remained restricted to overseas models like the Japanese-market Fit and Vezel hybrids.
- Performance Full Hybrids (SH-AWD System): A brilliant, complex flagship three-motor setup used on the Legend and the second-generation NSX supercar, utilising independent axle motors to actively vector torque and force the car around corners.
The 2026 Honda Prelude finally remedies this disjointed history by using Honda’s current mainstream triumph: the e:HEV system. This hybrid completely discards a traditional gearbox. Instead, the electric motor drives the front wheels 90% of the time like an EV, using the petrol engine purely as a generator. The engine only locks directly to the front wheels via a single-speed clutch during high-speed highway cruising. Thus, the Honda Prelude feels like an EV to drive.
Honda’s spec sheet calls it an E-CVT, which gives people the wrong idea. Nothing about it is continuously variable. It’s an electric motor driving the wheels, with a clutch that brings the engine in at speed.
The S+ Frisky Bliss
Predictably, the internet is already awash with demented enthusiast derision over the lack of a manual gearbox. But in a landscape where fewer than 4% of new cars sold retain the 100-year-old relic of a clutch pedal, those traditionalist complaints are irrelevant. A manual in traffic is a pain beyond human endurance.
There is a hint of fake gear steps under a stiff hoof, but S+ adds semi-manual control of those 8 fake ratios via the steering wheel paddles. It doesn’t give the manual feel the Type R and previous Preludes had, but it adds that touch of old-world charm to a new world coupe. While it runs dangerously close to naff, like all Preludes, it stays classy yet colour outside the lines.
Besides, the e:HEV powertrain delivers the gift of 135 kW of frisky bliss. Do not be fooled by the demure shadow cast by the 135 kW figure on the local spec sheet. That is the output of the electric traction motor, which does the driving. When the petrol engine locks into the drivetrain and assists that motor under peak load, the combined system output reaches the 147 kW mark quoted internationally.
While it is no Scud missile, a 7.2-second canter to 100 km/h is highly respectable for a daily driver. The internet confuses the Honda Prelude with a track car, but Honda already has a dedicated track mobile: the manual-only Civic Type R. The Accord serves as the posh four-door executive car, the rest of the fleet is made up of practical SUVs, and the Prelude steps in as the sophisticated gentleman’s personal two-door tourer.
Honouring the Lineage
This sixth-generation car is a perfect spiritual return to the low-slung, stylish dimensions that defined the nameplate’s history, adapting those classic grand touring principles for an electrified era:
- First Gen (1978-82): A premium Accord-adjacent coupe that introduced the standard power moonroof. It prioritised boxy style and fuel economy over raw power (50 to 54 kW). Dimensions: 4090 mm (L) x 1635 mm (W) x 1295 mm (H), 2400 mm wheelbase.
- Second Gen (1983-87): Sleek aerodynamics and iconic pop-up headlights turned it into a breakout sport compact icon, pushing power up to 101 kW in the Si. Dimensions: 4295 mm (L) x 1690 mm (W) x 1295 mm (H), 2450 mm wheelbase.
- Third Gen (1987-91): The pinnacle of tech significance, pioneering the world’s first mass-production mechanical four-wheel steering (4WS) system. Dimensions: 4460 mm (L) x 1695 mm (W) x 1295 mm (H), 2565 mm wheelbase.
- Fourth Gen (1992-96): Switched to a wider, curvy body with a futuristic electronic dash and the glorious debut of high-output VTEC engines (up to 142 kW). Dimensions: 4440 mm (L) x 1765 mm (W) x 1290 mm (H), 2550 mm wheelbase.
- Fifth Gen (1997-2001): Returned to a sharp wedge shape, replacing 4WS with an Active Torque Transfer System (ATTS) to sharpen handling alongside strong H22 VTEC performance (up to 162 kW). Dimensions: 4545 mm (L) x 1750 mm (W) x 1315 mm (H), 2585 mm wheelbase.
- Sixth Gen (2025- ): Measures 4522 mm long and 1880 mm wide, standing a low-slung 1355 mm tall with a 2605 mm wheelbase. It modernises the recipe with its 147 kW e:HEV hybrid powertrain. *international figure
Ultimately, the new Honda Prelude is misunderstood because people are looking at it through a boy-racer lens. It is not an uncompromised track toy, nor was it ever meant to be.
What it isn’t: A power mad sports car that corners at warp 9.99.
What it is: A highly efficient, beautiful, personal luxury coupe sailing completely adrift in a sea of beige high-riding SUVs. It is exactly the comforting, personality-driven grand tourer the modern market needs, and hopefully, wants.
Our full review will be along with the video review guest starring our favourite grumpy geezer, David. Meanwhile, full specs and details HERE. You can configure your Prelude HERE.
More Honda Stories
- 2026 Honda Prelude First Drive, the Grown-Up Momentum Coupe
- Australia’s Car Market 46% Electrified in May
- 2026 Honda HR-V eHEV RS Tops Australian Range
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Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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