24/05/2026

theSunday Special XIV ON SUNDAY MAY 24, 2026

You get wireless Carplay and Google software as well.

The interior is nearly identical to the Honda Civic.

Rear seats are good for kids and to keep your belongings.

ton on the centre console, the system mimics gear shifts by piping the sound into the cabin and through lightning quick power cuts. If you have ever driven a car with a dual-clutch transmission, you will know how it feels. This makes the car feel like it is shifting gears, which is essential to the excitement of a sports car. This sensation gets louder and quicker when GT mode is selected. What Honda has achieved here is nothing short of Some cars don’t need a huge amount of power to be categorised as good-handling vehicles, and the Prelude is one of them. After half a day of throwing the car around a slalom course, an acceleration test, and the south track of Sepang, one thing stood out: the Prelude is undoubt edly fun to drive when the road is right. And the “right road” for it is one that is tight and curvy. That it handles well is no surprise, as the Prelude shares its plat form, suspension components, and Brembo braking system with the fire breathing Civic Type R. However, it also comes with Enhanced Agile Handling Assist. This system automatically and gently brakes the inner wheel when cornering, acting as an anchor to help the front tuck in. You feel it most in tight corners. The front end is lively and happy to be thrown around; I reckon the Prelude will truly come alive on the small roads of Janda Baik or Fraser’s Hill rather than the wide, fast-flowing corners of Sepang. THE VERDICT Half a day with the Prelude is far from enough to tell you whether to put your money down. But just like its predeces sors, it offers revolutionary technology and a fun-to-drive character. The fact that it shares a large part of its interior with the Civic is a slight disap revolutionary. THE DRIVE

Same Brembo brakes as Civic Type R.

pointment, but it is a comfortable cabin with all the creature comforts, such as a Bose sound system and large digital dis plays, wireless CarPlay. It now comes down to how Honda Malaysia will price it. If the team pulls off a miracle and prices it close to the RM240,000 that the Prelude costs in Indonesia, they might just have a winner on their hands. If it is priced too close to the Civic Type R, they could have a social media storm on their hands. SPECIFICATIONS Engine: 2.0-litre, Atkinson-cycle, four cylinder Power: 200hp @ 5,000rpm Torque: 315Nm @ 0rpm Transmission: None (Dual motor hybrid system) Price: Not yet announced We like : S+ Shift is revolutionary; fun handling. We don’t like: Interior is too similar to the Civic.

Ample storage for long distance drives.