Is Honda’s new prologue the best or the worst?

The new Honda Prelude is less than a year away from production. It’s coming to markets including the US and Europe soon and features neat new styling. Best of all, it should end up being the most fuel-efficient generation of the segment. To make everything even sweeter, it’s accessible with just two doors, a rarity these days. Before we worry about gas hybrid powertrains, let’s consider another example.

There’s a gas-hybrid performance car that seems to be a hit with at least some enthusiasts. That is the BMW i8. It features an out-of-the-box design that uses carbon fiber tubes to keep weight low. The battery isn’t huge at only 7.1 kilowatt-hours, and it only powers the rear wheels. Of course, there are some huge differences between the i8 and the upcoming Prelude that make it look like it might be the worst of both worlds.

More: Honda Prelude prototype shows off paddle shifters, Civic interior, fake sounds for first test drive

What we know so far

The new Prelude is likely to come standard with front-wheel drive. However, let’s add an asterisk here because Honda hasn’t released any technical details yet, so an all-wheel drive option isn’t completely out of the question. That said, a front-wheel-drive setup almost inevitably means the car understeers at the limit. Don’t get me wrong, the old one did this too, but this new car will probably weigh a lot more than the previous-generation Prelude, which isn’t a good thing for driving dynamics. Honda certainly isn’t planning on using carbon fiber tubs to save weight, either.

Additionally, Honda will feature two technologies that may ultimately disappoint enthusiasts. First, the powertrain involves the e:HEV self-charging hybrid system. So instead of a big battery and an electric motor, the Prelude uses an Atkinson cycle gas engine to charge the electric motors, which drive the wheels directly.

While details are scarce at the moment, if it mirrors the setup used in the CR-V and Civic hybrids, it will have one electric motor connected to the engine as a generator and another electric motor as a traction motor, connected via a clutch. Most of the time, the engine will power the generator, while the electric motor can handle lower speeds. Honda says that at higher speeds, the clutch engages, allowing the engine to drive the wheels directly for greater efficiency. Will this feel natural? Will it sound good? Will it react? We’ll have to wait and see.

On top of that, it also introduces the new “S+ Shift” feature. According to what Honda tells us, it will simulate gear changes, play exhaust noises in the cabin, and display “responsive gauges that appeal to the senses” on the dashboard. While it sounds a bit like a CVT posing as a racing gearbox, Honda’s hybrid system actually uses a direct-drive system with a fixed gear ratio. Again, only time will tell if it works well.

Honda reminds us of its hybrid past – but should it?

Honda has unveiled an ad showcasing its 25 years of hybrid technology that puts the Prelude in a room with Honda’s other three past hybrids: the Insight, NSX and CR-Z. Obviously, this means that the Japanese company is not new to the gaming scene and therefore has the expertise to make the new Prelude a success.

On the other hand, while the brand’s engineering prowess is unquestionable, there’s one thing these three brands have in common, and Honda certainly hopes that won’t be the case with the Prelude: they’re all commercial failures.

Insight: A first foray into the hybrid era

The first-generation Insight, launched in November 1999, was never intended for volume sales, but was a way for Honda to test the waters of hybrid technology. It had aluminum construction to minimize weight and had an extremely low (for the time) drag coefficient of just 0.25, but its odd styling was combined with poor performance as it was powered by a 67-horsepower 1.0-liter gas engine with The 13-hp electric motor with a total output of 73 horsepower put buyers off.

However, despite being a two-seat model, the Insight’s goal isn’t performance, but excellent fuel economy—with EPA ratings of 61 mpg city and 70 mpg highway, it certainly delivers. It also proves that people at the turn of the century were not interested in ugly, impractical, under-performing cars, no matter how frugal they were.

NSX: Tech-heavy sales failure

Fast forward to 2016, and the second-generation NSX came with a lot of expectations, as it had to at least live up to the original, combining great handling and performance with top-notch quality and making Europeans, even the venerable People like Ferrari are rethinking the way they build supercars. However, its successor has long been mired in development woes. First announced in 2007, the plan was to go into production in 2010 with a V10 engine, but due to the 2008 economic crisis, these plans were scrapped.

More: 1992 Acura NSX revealed after 30 years of hiding

The project was restarted in 2011 and the car went into production five years later. But it’s very different: instead of a V10, it has a 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 assisted by three electric motors, and it also offers all-wheel drive. With 573 horsepower, the new NSX was certainly no slouch, and its styling was aggressive, but unlike its predecessor, it failed to win over fans and was… well, a failure. As a result, Honda discontinued production in November 2022, ending the rebirth of a historic nameplate that was a great engineering feat but an absolute sales disaster.

CR-Z: A completely forgettable curiosity

Then there’s the CR-Z. In theory, it should be the spiritual successor to the second-generation CR-X, reinterpreting the compact sports coupe formula for the 21st century. In fact, it’s a hybrid consisting of a 111-horsepower 1.5-liter engine and a 13-horsepower electric motor, and in a nod to driving (and Honda) enthusiasts, there’s also the option of a manual transmission.

More: Honda files for CR-Z trademark, is a new sports car in the works?

Fans found its performance to be bland, its handling was okay but nothing special, and as for the looks, the people who designed the front end didn’t seem to talk to the people who designed the (awkward) rear end. While it wasn’t a sales disaster like the two aforementioned hybrids, it also didn’t live up to Honda’s expectations and was axed in 2016 after a six-year run.

So, how about the new intro?

Hybrid vehicles are designed to combine the advantages of gasoline and electric vehicles. However, with the exception of supercars like the Lamborghini Revuelto, most of them end up being a compromise. This is acceptable for sedans and SUVs, where space and fuel economy are buyer priorities, not driver engagement. But in two-door sport coupes, especially ones that evoke nostalgia for a historic nameplate, this compromise is harder to justify.

This is especially true when hybrids inherit the disadvantages of electrification, such as the increased weight and reduced visceral involvement found in traditional gasoline-powered models, without gaining the benefits of extreme power and performance.

With all this in mind, we turn this question over to you. Is the new Prelude the best of both worlds or the worst? Let us know what you think in the comments below.