- A Japanese owner used a pedal trick to improve the Prelude’s launch.
- Coupe’s 0–62 time dropped from 9.2 to 7.2 seconds in follow-up tests.
- Despite gains, it’s slower than a Civic Hybrid let alone Toyota’s GR86.
The Honda Prelude is coming to roads in the U.S. very soon, and the hype is real. In Japan, chiefly older buyers ordered so many that some dealers stopped accepting new ones. We wonder if owners will end up disappointed after driving it, though. It turns out that even a pseudo launch control mode isn’t enough to make the new Prelude very quick.
But let’s rewind for a second. A couple of weeks ago, a video from Japan surfaced showing a new owner timing a zero-to-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint at a rather embarrassing 9.2 seconds.
More: Honda Responds After New Prelude Does 0-62 Slower Than A Base Corolla
At the time, we suspected he hadn’t used the launch control trick seen in the Civic Hybrid, which shares its powertrain with the Prelude. Honda insists the Prelude lacks a dedicated launch control feature, though the same pedal coordination seems to produce a similar effect.
The same owner has now posted a follow-up video, this time using that unofficial method to trigger a more aggressive start. The result was a far more respectable 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) time of 7.2 seconds, but it still trails C&D’s 6.2 second-run to 60 mph in the 2026 Civic Sport Touring Hybrid.
Then again, the difference might just come down to the driver and the road conditions, which surely play a role. Either way, it seems you’ll need to put in some effort to extract respectable numbers from the Prelude.
Now, that’s certainly quicker than earlier tests that we documented here, but it’s far from rapid. It doesn’t help things that the old Prelude was known for being a ticket to cheap speed. According to one database, it’s slower than a 1993 Prelude VTEC. Keep in mind that it was harder to launch a 93′ Prelude.
In the video below, we see the driver use the brake and accelerator at the same time to get the best launch possible. That method shaved nearly two full seconds off of previous bests reported online.
Despite the improvement, this new little Honda is still well off of the pace of cars like the Toyota GR86 to a nine-year-old Audi A3 e-Tron, as some Redditors pointed out. One wrote, “My Passport is around the same as the Prelude, and it’s the size of a small apartment.”
Honda’s two-door hybrid makes 200 hp (149 kW) from its 2.0-liter engine and two-motor system, sending power to the front wheels. It also weighs roughly 3,200 lbs (1,460 kg), much heavier than most small coupes and even some sedans.
Also: Honda Finally Built A New Prelude With Fangs And Rear Wheel Drive
On the plus side, it does use the dual-axis front suspension geometry first launched by Honda in the Civic Type R, so it should handle quite well.
No doubt, Honda is leveraging nostalgia and fuel economy figures to sell this car. Performance wasn’t the focus. Now, the question really just comes down to whether or not that approach will prove successful in the long run.
