Honda Prelude Review: DoneDeal Cars

The Honda Prelude marks the nameplate's return to Ireland after a 25-year absence, and Honda has used the reveal to lean hard into nostalgia while badging it firmly as a sixth-generation car rather than a retro pastiche. The exterior design brief was, by Honda's own description, inspired by the shape of gliders — a low, elongated coupe silhouette with a shallow glasshouse and a hatchback-style tailgate rather than a conventional boot lid. It shares its underlying hybrid hardware with the Civic e:HEV and its chassis tuning with the Civic Type R, which shows in the proportions: a long bonnet, wide front track, and a stance that looks considerably more aggressive than a typical Honda family car.

Only one trim is offered in Ireland — badged Advance — which simplifies the buying decision but means there's no stripped-back or higher-performance alternative to choose from. It rides on 19-inch alloy wheels as standard, with a Bose sound system, heated front seats and parking sensors front and rear all included at the single price point. Five exterior colours are offered, including a new Moonlit White Pearl alongside Meteoroid Grey Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl, Rallye Red and Racing Blue Pearl — all with contrasting black detailing.

This is a car that attracted attention wherever we went with lot of thumbs-ups and positive comments over the course of our week with the car. It is simply beautiful.

This is a strict four-seater, not a five-seat family car, and that's a deliberate choice Honda has made in pursuit of a proper coupe driving position rather than outright practicality. There is a very large 663-litre boot space which is pretty useful. Getting into the rear seats involves releasing and sliding forward the front seatback manually, which is more of a faff than in a proper four-door — something to flag clearly for anyone planning to use the back seats regularly, for children or otherwise.

The cabin gets the Advance-spec kit as standard: heated front seats, a Bose audio system, and a digital instrument display alongside the touchscreen infotainment. Rear seatbacks fold in a 70:30 split to extend load space when needed, with the boot floor levelling out once folded to make sliding items in easier.

I didn't have the need to use the back seats at all, so it wasn't an issue for me but they are very tight so unless you have smaller kids then they won't be of much use.

The Prelude uses Honda's two-motor e:HEV hybrid system, pairing a 2.0-litre Atkinson-cycle petrol engine with electric motors that do the bulk of the work getting the car moving — 184hp and 315Nm of torque from the electric side gives it a noticeably eager, near-instant response off the line, similar in character to an EV, that tails off as speed builds. The official 0–100km/h time is 8.2 seconds, which is unremarkable on paper for a car with sports coupe styling, though independent testing suggests it doesn't feel as slow as the number implies, particularly with Sport mode engaged.

There's no conventional gearbox — power goes through a single-speed transmission — but Honda's S+ Shift system simulates the feel of shifting through gears, using paddle shifters to change the engine note and response artificially rather than a physical ratio change. It's a system built entirely around engagement rather than outright pace, and how convincing that feels is likely to be the single biggest factor in whether this car works for an individual buyer. At 1,480kg kerb weight, it's usefully light compared with most hybrids and EVs on Irish roads today, which should pay off in how it changes direction.

Despite the fact that it doesn't have huge numbers on paper, this is a really engaging car to drive, with great grip and rewarding handling. Proof that you don't need eye-watering power to provide a rewarding drive and my verdict at the end of the week was that it was just enough and they've actually nailed it.

The Prelude e:HEV is priced from €59,995 in Ireland, available to order across the Honda dealer network, with a single Advance specification covering the full range — so there's no lower entry point and no higher-spec alternative. Official figures put CO2 emissions at 117g/km, placing the Prelude in tax band A6 with annual motor tax of €190 — a reasonable number for a car with this much visual intent, if not class-leading.

Honda Ireland backs the Prelude with a three-year, 100,000km vehicle warranty, with the hybrid battery separately covered for eight years or 160,000km. Servicing follows Honda's on-board indicator system rather than a fixed interval, though Honda recommends an annual oil change (or every 10,000km) with the oil filter changed every two years or 20,000km. HondaCare service plans are available from €299 for the first two workshop visits.

I found this car very fuel-efficient and it certainly doesn't have the thirst of other sports cars.

Official Irish figures confirm 117g/km CO2 on the WLTP cycle, and real-world testing of the e:HEV powertrain backs that up with genuinely efficient results achievable in practice: driven with a degree of enthusiasm, consumption in the region of 5.0 l/100km is realistic, rising to around 8.0 l/100km even after spirited driving. That's a wide gap between best and worst case, which reflects how much of the fuel-saving comes down to how the electric motors are used rather than a fixed efficiency ceiling.

There's no plug-in capability — this is a full hybrid, so there's no EV-only range and no need to charge from an external source. The battery is charged entirely through regenerative braking and the engine acting as a generator, meaning day-to-day usability is identical to a conventional petrol car: fill up, drive, no charging stops to plan around.

The most direct rival is the BMW 2 Series Coupé, priced from €58,175 at Irish and it offers a proper rear-wheel-drive chassis and a choice of four- and six-cylinder petrol engines, including the significantly more powerful 230i . For buyers prioritising outright driving thrills over hybrid running costs, the BMW is the more traditional sports coupe and the one the Prelude will be judged against most directly.

Honda Prelude e:HEV Irish range and pricing (2026):

• 2.0 e:HEV Hybrid Advance (only trim available) — €59,995; 184PS (181hp) petrol-hybrid, automatic, CO2 117g/km, motor tax band A6 at €190 per year
• Standard equipment includes 19-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats, front and rear parking sensors, and a Bose sound system
• Metallic paint is a €650 option; quoted price excludes delivery and related charges but includes VAT and VRT