Will Honda’s New Prelude Be The Best Or Worst Of Both Worlds?

The all-new Honda Prelude is less than a full year away from production. It’s coming to market, including the US and Europe, with dapper new styling too. On top of that, it should end up being the most fuel-efficient generation of the model by some margin. To make everything even sweeter, it’ll do so with just two doors, which is rare these days. Before we fret about the gas-hybrid drivetrain, let’s consider another example.

There is one gas-hybrid performance car that at least some enthusiasts seem to love. That would be none other than the BMW i8. Featuring an out-of-the-box design, it used a carbon fiber tub to keep the weight low. The battery wasn’t gigantic, measuring only 7.1 kWh, and the power on offer went to the rear wheels only. Of course, there are some gigantic differences between the i8 and what this upcoming Prelude will be and those are what make it seem like potentially the worst of both worlds.

More: Honda Prelude Prototype First Drives Reveal Paddle Shifters, Civic Interior, Fake Sounds

What We Know So Far

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The new Prelude will most likely come with front-wheel drive as standard. However, let’s add an asterisk here, as Honda hasn’t released any technical details yet, so an all-wheel-drive option isn’t entirely off the table. That said, a front-wheel-drive setup will almost inevitably mean the car understeers at the limit. Don’t get me wrong, the old one did that too, but this new car will likely weigh far more than the last Prelude did, which is not a good thing when it comes to driving dynamics. Honda certainly isn’t about to use a carbon tub to save weight either.

In addition, Honda will include two technologies that might end up being a real bummer for enthusiasts. First, the drivetrain involves an e:HEV self-charging hybrid system. So instead of having a big battery and electric motors, the Prelude uses an Atkinson cycle gas engine to charge electric motors which can drive the wheels directly.

While details are scarce at this point, if it mirrors the setup used in the CR-V and Civic hybrids, it will have one motor connected to the engine to function as a generator and another serving as the traction motor, connected by a clutch. Most of the time, the engine will power the generator, leaving the electric motor to handle lower speeds. At higher speeds, a clutch engages, letting the engine drive the wheels directly for better efficiency, according to Honda. Is that going to feel natural? Is it going to sound good? Is it going to be responsive? We’ll have to wait and see.

On top of that, it’s introducing a brand new “S+ Shift” feature. Based on what Honda tells us, it’ll simulate gear shifts, play exhaust noises in the cabin, and show “responsive meters that engage the senses” in the dash. While it sounds a bit like a CVT pretending to be a racing gearbox, Honda’s hybrid powertrain actually uses a direct-drive system with fixed gear ratios. Again, only time will tell if that feels any good to use.

Honda Reminds Us Of Its Past Hybrids – But Should It?

Honda launched an ad showing off its 25 years of hybrid tech and it includes the Prelude in a room with three other hybrids from its past: the Insight, the NSX, and the CR-Z. Clearly, this is meant to show us that the Japanese company is far from new in the game and, thus, has the expertise to make the new Prelude a success.

On the other hand, while there’s no doubting the brand’s engineering prowess, those three have one thing in common that Honda certainly hopes will not befall the Prelude: they were all commercial failures.

The Insight: A First Foray In The Hybrid Era

Launched in November 1999, the first-gen Insight was never intended to be a volume seller, but rather a way for Honda to test the waters for its hybrid technology. It utilized an aluminum structure to minimize weight and had an extremely low (for the time) drag coefficient of just 0.25, but the combination of its quirky styling and abysmal performance, as it featured a 67 hp 1.0-liter gas engine paired to a 13 hp electric motor for a combined output of 73 hp, were a turn off for buyers.

However, despite being a two-seater, the Insight’s goal wasn’t performance, but exceptional fuel economy – and with an EPA rating of 61 mpg city and 70 mpg highway, it certainly nailed that target. It also proved that people at the turn of the century weren’t interested in a car that was plain ugly, impractical and underperforming, no matter how frugal it might have been.

The NSX: A Tech-Laden Sales Flop

Fast-forward to 2016, the second-gen NSX came with lots of expectations, as it had to at least live up to the original that combined great handling and performance with top-notch quality – and made the Europeans, even high-esteemed ones like Ferrari, rethink the way they made their supercars. Its successor, though, was for a long time stuck in development hell. First announced in 2007 with the intention of being put in production by 2010 with a V10 engine, these plans were scrapped due to the 2008 economic crisis.

More: 1992 Acura NSX Unearthed After Hiding 30 Years In Storage

The project was resurrected in 2011, and the car went into production five years later. However it was vastly different: instead of a V10, it got a 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 supplemented by three electric motors, which also offered all-wheel drive. With 573 hp on tap, the new NSX certainly was no slouch, and its styling was aggressive, but unlike its predecessor, it failed to win enthusiasts’ hearts and was… well, a flop. Thus, Honda pulled the plug in November 2022, ending a historic nameplate’s rebirth as a great feat of engineering, but an absolute sales disaster.

The CR-Z: An Utterly Forgettable Curiosity

And then there’s the CR-Z. In theory, it was supposed to be the spiritual successor to the second-gen CR-X, reinterpreting the formula of a compact sporty coupe for the 21st century. In practice, it was a hybrid comprising a 111 hp 1.5-liter engine with a 13 hp electric motor and, as a nod to driving (and Honda) aficionados, the option of a manual gearbox.

More: Honda Files To Trademark CR-Z Moniker, Is A New Sports Car In The Works?

Said aficionados found out that its performance was lackluster, the handling was fine but nothing exceptional, and as for the looks, it seemed like the people who designed the front end didn’t talk to the ones who penned the (awkward) rear end. Although not a sales catastrophe like the two previous hybrids mentioned, it didn’t meet Honda’s expectations either, and was axed in 2016 after a six-year run.

So, What About The New Prelude?

Hybrids are designed to combine the best of both gas- and electric-powered vehicles. However, supercars like the Lamborghini Revuelto aside, they often end up as a compromise. This is acceptable for sedans and SUVs, where space and fuel economy rank higher in buyers’ priorities than driver engagement. But in sports coupes, especially those evoking the nostalgia of a historic nameplate, such compromises are harder to justify.

This is particularly true when a hybrid car inherits the downsides of electrification, such as added weight and the loss of visceral engagement found in traditional gas-powered models, without gaining benefits like extreme levels of power and performance.

With all this in mind, we pass the question off to you. Is the new Prelude shaping up to be the best or worst of both worlds? Give us your take in the comments below.