When this car debuted in the States, the Road & Track road test included a quote from the Honda engineers who were very proud of the fact that their hood ('bonnet', if you must) was lower than the contemporaneous mid-engined Ferrari Mondial...and the Prelude's had an engine under it.
This really was the peak of that low bonnet obsession, tilting the engine just to get it a little lower and all - well, of course it improves handling too. But it makes for a great shape with the design theme they had, although it's always a little weird how the long nose just disappears when looked from rear 3/4 angle.
Absolutely love my third gen. Bought it as my first car at 16 and still have it 4 years later. Absolute joy of a car, the amount of compliments you get in it is just astounding.
@TA Just in my short driving experience I'm seeing that. Driven a few interesting vehicles and countless uninteresting and none of them make me smile quite like my prelude. And trust me, I'm in it for the long haul. Between my parts car and close relatives automotive and manufacturing skills this baby isn't going nowhere. :)
You weren't missing out on anything with not having the 4WS - my brother had a standard (like yours) and I had a few 4WS models.... the standard model had exceptional handling, much like the 2nd generation Prelude. The 4WS, on the other hand, had abysmal handling. Far too much weight went into the system and totally messed up the balance of the car and was very noticeable in corners. If you were going under 25mph, it was fine, and kind of fun in a "watch this neat trick" kind of way... but tearing through mountain/country roads? It was absolutely terrible. Also, there was virtually no "feel" in the steering and no matter how long you drove it, the mechanics of the 4WS never really translated to cornering because as you passed a certain point in the turning radius, the 4WS kicked in and it became very unpredictable - the steering motion wasn't linear, like a normal car, it was linear up to a certain point, and then it went exponential! Add the weight to the equation, and well.... you had a much better driving car in your non-4WS Prelude. :)
I had one (1989 Yellow), and out of 30 or so cars I own since, including NSX (1995/2003), 2014 Ferrari California, 2019 Giulia QV, 4 different S2000, Integra GSR, 2 gen 5 preludes, etc, I have always kept my eyes open for another clean third gen prelude. Can never find one but the search continues.
I had to find a half decent one with n9 structural rust and spent nearly a year turning it into the car th you see in the video. It's not been cheap, but I am so glad that I did
Thanks for doing such a great review of my car James. The Prelude has for so long been overlooked, but your review will bring its existence to a whole new audience as well as sparking nostalgia in those who have owned and/or loved these cars previously
@@k20ee96 Unfortunately, no, I am definitely keeping this car. It took me a while to find the right one and a year of hard work and a lot of money to get it to the standard it is now
I always loved the look of these, I would say I prefer it with the larger wheels and suspension. The interior typical Japanese but those seats are glorious. 150bhp is not a bad output in its day. The Astra GTE and Clio Williams had similar outputs and were classed as Hot hatches.
I had a 4th Gen 2.2 VTEC import with the H22A engine - a BB4 model without the 4WS ... if the rust hadn't eaten it I would still have it too because it was a lovely car to sit in and the first car I didn't get bored of. The "space ship" dash? Just a great, comfortable and fun place to be.
You have just made my day..owned a white one virtually the same..just different wheels. Loved it but got some hairdressing jibes at the time. Great car.
I knew I guy who had one of these and he was proud of the fact that several people had asked to be let out of the car while they were a passenger because he cornered so fast, many years later he still maintains that it's the best handling car he has ever owned, and he has had a few!.
I had the previous generation, a 1987 Prelude in white. D131 RMB. Loved it - the performance, the pop up headlights, even the stock wheels. And yes, it did have a rust problem.
Enter the nostalgic era when Honda was supreme king of the four pot, I drove a Honda CRX and caught the bug of driving! The golden Prelude was the 2.4 Vtec. Thanks JayEmm for digging out this gem.
I had this car (manual) as a company car in 1988/89 (Sydney, Australia when I was 26yrs) and was a complete joy to drive even myself being 6ft 6inch! The 4WS steer system was something to get used to but such a great feature put to good use continually. It made overtaking at top speed effortless and tight turns was never a challenge. I miss that car but certainly its looks have not stood the test of time. Frankly I pretended my white prelude back in the day was the Miami Vice Testarossa !!! Now I have a BMW 2010 E64 650I. Thanks for your review!
My family had a succession of Preludes starting from the 1970's up to this model in the video. The last one, before it was stolen, was an automatic in a silver/gold colour.
I LOOOOOVED My Prelude SOOOOO much! I loved it so much I had 3 - all JDM imports to NZ, One from 1989, One from 1995 and one from 1998. All 4WS and the later two had VTEC.
I suggested this exact video to u by email a while back when u were asking for suggestions (properly lowered 4ws 3rd gen & 5th gen). I’m so glad you did it and I hope it brings the status of the car up because it is truly truly underappreciated. I have both fifth GEN and a third GEN four wheel steer and I love them to pieces and I’m sad that nothing today compares to the brilliance of this car overall. I really really really hope Honda someday can find the gumption to make a new current model one that mimics and echos all of the great points about this car.
I had this exact model, way back in the day, and absolutely loved it! I can't remember the name of the colour of mine, but it was a very dark blue metallic that pretty much looked black. I had Honda lower mine and I fitted 5-spoke 18 inch wheels - and it looked fabulous! The interior was exactly as the one James drives here, except mine had the original steering wheel. I loved the four-wheel steering but more than that, I loved the car as a whole. I traded it in for a BMW 325i and almost instantly regretted it. And I wouldn't rule out buying another Prelude again, just for the nostalgia! Great video, James, and thanks for the memories!
My first car was a 1996 Vti-R/Si-R H22 VTEC. While it was a fun first car, with only 105k km it overheated constantly and burned tonnes of oil, blowing loads of blue smoke out the tail pipes under load. Sufficed to say I needed to keep bottles of both coolant and oil in the boot for emergencies. Aside from these issues the sunroof leaked and the 4WS didn't work. Even Honda couldn't work out why it was overheating and losing all its coolant every other day. Bought for $7500, put about $4000 into repairs and sold for $6000 a year or so later. Wonderful first experience of car ownership 👍
Sounds like a warped cylinder head, I had a peugeot 205 that did similar things, two head gaskets and a cylinder head later and it still overheated, it was French after all. I don't know what excuse your honda had, it ain't French even though it sounds like it thought it was.
Thing i love about your channel James is yeah you get the Ferraris, the Lambos and Astons etc, but also the "oh yeah i remember those" cars. And for most of us who rarely even saw a ferrari growing up these kind of cars are great watching. This, the V8 75, Cossie, Astra GTE, Clio Williams and so on. Keep up the good work.
I had two of these back in the day, first one got to 178k miles before rust killed it, second one was beaten up on trackdays, 'Ring visits and charging all over the UK with my mates. They were no hot hatch but offered similar pace and cheap to run. Fond memories. Still a good looking car too, of its time etc.
I always really liked this car since I was in high school. The third generation is still one of the cleanest designs Honda has ever put out. Still looks great today, which isn't something often said about 1980s cars. I remember being shocked and saddened by the look of the fourth generation which looked radically different.
An engineering magazine labelled this as an engineers car because of 4 brilliant aspects. 1/ high strength steel for the a/b/c pillars for unparalleled visibility second to none . 2/ low front end labelled - the engineless design by Honda. 3/ a butterfly valve in the intake that opened up for more airflow above 3500rpm. 4/ first and only mechanical 4ws system in any production car. In 1987, Road & Track published a test summary that shows the 1988 Honda Prelude 2.0Si 4WS outperforming every car of that year on the slalom, with a speed of 65.5 mph (105.4 km/h), even besting exotics such as Porsche and Ferrari. For reference, the 1988 Chevrolet Corvette C4 took the same course at 64.9 mph (104.4 km/h). (From Wikipedia)
I had the next generation of the Prelude (prel-yood was how I pronounced it) with the 2.3i 4-cylinder (non-VTEC) and it drove superbly and sounded ace, as well as looked brilliant. It always makes me laugh when car manufacturers nowadays make a big thing about their cars having 4-wheel steering.
My late mum had one of these. I borrowed it frequently as a newly legal teen driver, and what a car it was. So incredibly reliable I ended up buying a Honda Accord, but i still preferred the Prelude my mum had.
Had the 1.8 EX in white ,on an E plate , sunroof, similar interior. DOHC , loved it to bits . Never let me down . Bought for £440 from Kingsland car auctions in Herefordshire. Put some black 16" s off a Honda civic on it and drove about with the seat tipped back too far !! Oh to be young again!
I had one. Great car but at the time lots of people seemed to think it was an old man's car and were surprised how well it went when I gave them a lift. Terrible handbrake issues though, same problem on the CRX. Parallel parking was amazing, put the rear wheels on the kerb and turn into the space.
About that steering input. There's a couple factors at play there. It could simply be the result of an old steering rack. I've owned 5 3rd gen preludes, some with 4ws, some without. My main prelude, though, I had converted from 2ws to 4ws with a rebuilt front rack. That rebuilt front rack is NIGHT & DAY difference in feedback and responsiveness over every car with an original rack, 2ws or 4ws. That said, it takes more turns lock to lock than, say, a Miata. So if that's what you're expecting, you'll notice something is very different. I have a Miata too and noticed the rack locks almost a whole turn sooner than the prelude, it's a much quicker ratio, meaning less turning gets more steering.
I had a white one in the mid 90s. Totally freaked passengers when I took a quick right hander in town. They thought the back end had slipped. Always funny to see them grab the door handle. Never got old.
Of all your reviews I think this one I watched with the greatest trepidation. You see, between around 1998 and 2006 I owned three 3rd generation, four-wheel steer Preludes in succession and must have covered at least 130,000 mostly fault-free miles in them. Not only were they fault-free but they were delightful, I don't have your depth, or breadth of experience but I have driven a few rather nice cars but the Prelude always seemed better when I got back into it. It is safe to say that the 4WS Prelude is one of my favourite cars ever. All of mine were 1989 cars, the first and last were manual, the second and third were higher-spec SE versions with leather and air-con (great when it worked). I also fitted 16-inch OZ alloy wheels and 205-section tyres to my second and third Preludes, which were a vast improvement on the standard size tyres. In real terms the automatic was no barrier to enjoying the Prelude and it was possibly faster in day-to-day motoring because it was that much easier to get the engine revving to make the most of the power. I think most of the fastest journeys I've ever made were at the wheel of one of my Preludes. By now you can probably tell that I could sing the praises of this particular Honda for a very long time and I haven't even touched on the topic of the steering. I thought it was superb, at any speed, on any road. On a couple of occasions I had to suddenly avoid debris in my path on the motorway, the Prelude felt as though it could sidestep like nothing else. I certainly don't recall the sensation you reported of having to use a lot of steering input for very little result. I would also say that the Prelude was more of a competitor to the Toyota Celica (which I haven't driven) and the Nissan 200SX (which I have, and rejected in favour of the Honda).
I have a 1990 Celica, if you're in the Portsmouth then you're more than welcome to get in touch and have a drive :) I can only assume that the prelude will be better though haha!
Thos really brings back memories of my younger years... had the first wedge shape one and loved it.. perfect balance, no fripperies as abs and pas, as basic as you like bit the sweetest car I had.... then a few years later I got a 4ws similar to this one. And that was nuts... rapid and could outpace almost anything at the time due to the handling. God ,those days were amazing! We may be safer, but cars are so sterile. Incidentally, I remember when it was snowing I pulled into a garage foe fuel and a guy suggested I get the tracking sorted!
Most of the time the HICAS gets binned because when (not IF!) it breaks they're a very expensive and quite difficult pain in the arsehole to fix. So its just easier and far cheaper to pop in some lockouts and call it a days work. I had a chance to drive the AWS Prelude in about 1989 when it was owned by a family friend and you've got to appreciate that things like independent rear suspension and decent handling was a novelty for most of us. So when you get cut loose as a then teenage driver coming from lumpy v8's, big 6's and jello handling it was absolutely mind blowing on our winding country roads. Maybe not the fastest, but the pace you can get in the twisties and hairpins is a word I don't use often- blistering.
My mate simply drove his Prelude out of an impossibly cramped and unmarked New Zealand skifield carpark. I stood outside thinking we would be lucky to get it out at all until evening. I stood outside ready to guide him through some complex manoeuvres and maybe push and shove a bit. We were both amazed when he simply drove out in one go just winding around impossible spaces. Even a classic mini couldn't have done it.
I remember watching something many years ago, a Honda PR man was explaining that any new innovations that Honda came out with would first find their way onto the Prelude. Hence the reason the car was called Prelude. Can’t guarantee I’m 100% correct but if someone could clarify that…..Great video by the way 👍🏻
So lovely to see this. My mum had a J reg 2.0i-16 auto with the four wheel steering. It was a wonderful thing. It was replaced by a K reg 4th gen 2.2 Vtec, which was faster and had a cool semi digi dash, but was somehow just less endearing. No pop up headlights. That was the problem
White with pop up headlamps, that's so much 80's sensory overload. I love it. I remember Mitsubishi having AWS along with a raft of other cool sounding acronyms on their GTO I'm the 90's which I hear failed to live upto the hype. I know Renault have used AWS on the GT versions of the MK3 Laguna and MK4 Mégane in recent years and despite my reservations .told the system is rather good.
We had a 1990 Prelude SR with the B21A1 engine with FRM cylinder sleeves which led to some oil consumption. It was a brilliant car until 325k km when it burned a valve so we rebuilt the head. It was a fantastic car even with 2WS. The gearshift level had a long throw but was very precise. I can't find an unmodified one now.
I had that car with 4 wheel steering and that car was super tight and any wheel movement would have made it change lanes! It drove on like it was on a rail and I had it bone stock. One the best handling cars I've had and the steering made it so different in a great way!
Wish sometimes I'd never swapped mine for a Legend Coupe but the draw of a V6 was too strong at the time. Mine was the runout, all colour coded white SEi with full grey leather interior. With the 4ws, pop up the headlamps and you could park it in some incredibly tiny spaces. The boot is quite big, I could get my 3m inflatable dinghy and outboard in it! After about a year I swapped out the head unit for a pull of face Alpine + multi changer. Loved the sunroof buttons up on the console, not hidden somewhere or up in the roof. Mine had a rear quarter electric ariel that used to retract when you pulled the boot remote so the spoiler wouldn't catch it but, only if the radio was on, if the cassette or cd was playing ariel stayed down. Can't say as I like those wheels but wasnt a big fan of the unhanded spiral originals, for a company like Honda was surprised the car looked different on the left to the right side. Thanks for reviving memories of the happy 3 years and 55k we had together.
I had a 1996 Prelude VTEC 5 speed. What a sweet ride! I traded it when the new 350z's launched in 2003, but to be honest, the Prelude was a better everyday car, hands down. One of the few cars I truly miss to this day.
Awesome car. One of these was going to be first car before my parents bought a new car and gave me their old Camry. Loved that white colour, for a white it is not boring. Nice video. Keep up the good work.
it feels like watching an episode of top gear when watching you. love the way you describe stuff and just generally talk also i want a prelude as my first car and you really helped me
When I went to buy my first 'sports car' in 2005, I test drove a 300ZX and then a 3rd gen Prelude with 4WS. The handling difference was surprising, from driving a boat to driving something that was on rails.
My first car! Mine was blue-gray metalic, redisign from 1990 with those sexy rear lights and nicer front bumper. It had alloy wheels from a Civic EG VTI. Of course it had 4ws. What a sensational car! After that one I bought Accord CL9 and right away lowered suspension on it, but it did not help. It was nover near like Prelude. I have owned a lot of cars after it, non of them particilary sporty (maybe BMW f20 118i could be considered sporty), and I have driven a lot of other cars considered sporty (Supra, Nissan silvia s 14, CRX Del Sol, Calibra) and no car I have ever driven can come even close to Prelude BA4 when it comes to handling and cornering. Additionally it is one of the most confortable cars i have driven or been driven in (Citroen BX and Mercedis E class are more comfy). I just do not know if it is a blessing or a curse that it was my first car that I owned. Nothing came close to it...
This was my first car I bought for cash, I paid 1,500 bucks for a 1990 prelude SI in red with and auto B21a1. I was 24 and just left NYC for the MidWest, and much to the shagrine of many of my neighbors I drove this around my friends loved it. Blew the timing belt chasing a girl I still miss this car.
I had a black one for most of the 1990s, but without the 4-wheel steer option. As you said, the road feel was great, it was comfortable and roomy, and the OE Alpine stereo was a cut above for its time. The seats you praised were actually manufactured by Recaro's Japanese division, and were just a bit firm for long distance travel. I road-tripped across the US many times in it, but when it was time for a fuel stop, I was always happy to get out for a little bit. When it had racked-up well over 200k miles, and its value bottomed as the expensive stuff started failing, I replaced it with a non-turbo 300ZX. For about a year, I owned both; but when I drove the Prelude, I noticed that my driving style was instinctively more aggressive-the car was just more playful and urged you on more than the Z.
I had one in 1988 and drove 100,000 miles in 2 years without any problems except for water leaking into the rear light units and that was fixed at the first service.
I have one 91' auto with leather seats and AC also got 16" wheel's but didn't lower it. 71k miles. Every time I go out I get so much attention for it, it's a pride and joy to drive it. And back in the 88' when it came out it was faster then Ferrari's in slalom, thanks to 4ws.
My friend had a red one in highschool with a freshly rebuilt engine and it was really great to drive. Not fast, but tactile and enjoyable to take up to speed or put around town
I also had this vague steering with my Accord Aerodeck. Changing out the bushes of the front radius rods for some Honda Vigor ones, made it much tighter. But man, what a fine specimen this Prelude is. Everything about the design just fits.
This was my first car--and '89 4WS with a 5-speed in black. It was a fantastic car to learn on. My parents pried it from my clenched hands, feeling it was unsafe after the power steering started going (wasn't the first issue with the car to be fair to them, haha), but I really loved the thing.
A friend had a white manual one just like it, just after we left high school. I remember stupidly reversing into it leaving a party one night, but luckily I only hit the corner of front bumper and there wasn't really any damage. They really are fun cars to drive though.
Interesting how manufacturers seem to be bringing back 4-Wheel Steering , The latest Mercedes 'W206' C-class & the latest Mercedes S-class both have 4-Wheel Steering, James another brilliant video & I'd love to see a '07-09 Honda 3.0L Legend so advanced in its day & still looks good .
I really like your car reviews for two reasons . 1 : If there is something about a car you don’t like the exhaust sound for example , you always point out if the difference is stock or due to modification . 2: You don’t criticize a GT car for not being a sports car and not criticize a sports car for not being a GT car.. My Sports car is a 2005 , ap2 , S2000 and my GT car is 5th gen Prelude SH bought new in 1999. Just like having the right tool , no what car to drive at any time based on what I want in a car and no doubt you do to. Recently there have been some who have been harsh with their review of the BRZ . That is obviously a car that’s trying to be both a sports and GT car so going to not be the best in both categories but never the less a great compromise .
I had a second gen maual which was lotsa fun. I also drove the same model vehicle as featured in this vid quite a bit too. Here in New Zealand we like to carve our roads into hillsides so the roads tend to follow some pretty severe geometry often with super tight lowspeed switchback turns aka the Alps which make driving with 4WS an absolute delight. Thats when you really get the benefit of the technology of 4WS
I loved mine. Fantastic to drive and great looking too. Lightweight, it was faster than its 2.0 engine. It still looks superb and that 4WS was brilliant.
I own a cheapish Porsche Cayman and this is still the definitive drivers car IMO. I'm going to get grief in this comments section but I love and miss my 89' Prelude so much. It has no, repeat,no torque. But the handling, 4 wheel steering, engine and build quality is sublime. It annoys me that UA-camrs highlight the positive aspects of this car as it will just drive the prices up for a good example, which I plan to own again.
I bought this car off the showroom turn table because the dealer had not received its full delivery. It was a great car right up until the automatic transmission went out at 123k miles on it and by that time the car was 11 years old and the cost of repairing the trans was more than the car was worth.
Superb car the Prelude. This was a nostalgic watch for me. My mum had one new in 1990. It was the face-lift version with the carb engine and auto box. That was replaced with an mk4 and in turn that was replaced with the last gen mk5. The mk4 was my favourite TBH.
Beautiful car. Had the pleasure of driving one from Newcastle to Liverpool, was such a smooth ride. Bought the next gen first chance I could - both great cars.
The best looking of all the generations. I can confirm that 4WS was rarely opted for on USA cars as it was an pricey option on the already expensive Prelude Si. Most Every one that I recall seeing back in the day was yellow...a really cool color back in 1988.
Hondas - I love 'em. Always fancied a Prelude, but the nearest I got was a Honda Accord Coupe 2.2i auto in the early 90s. Made in the USA, it was rwd I believe. I loved that car, it had leather, aircon and went really well. Coming out of a bend, giving it "the beans" was great, the kick down was amazing. On my 3rd Honda now, a CR-V with all the bells & whistles. I'm an old codger now, so my days of haring about the country are gone! 😔
I had an ‘85 and then an ‘88 (Si with theft proof wheel covers, look them up) I like many did not want 4WS…as a note; I believe 4WS was an option and you could not have ABS with it…one or the other LOL. Also, no Prelude EVER sold without a power sunroof! A car designer once told me that no car had as much visibility than this gen Lude and that BMW bought a couple to study the suspension set up. Car & Driver did a test of the ‘85 (2nd-Gen) and place it second to the 944 as best handling car…bested a Ferrari, 911 and a Vette…don’t remember all of it.
I had a mk1 years ago, it had manual windows with an electric roof, it was a saloon with a rear wiper! I bought it for £300 it had warped discs, a leak on the clutch reservoir, I had it for about three months and swapped it for a Datsun Stanza ‘by Nissan’ Wish I’d kept it though.
When this car debuted in the States, the Road & Track road test included a quote from the Honda engineers who were very proud of the fact that their hood ('bonnet', if you must) was lower than the contemporaneous mid-engined Ferrari Mondial...and the Prelude's had an engine under it.
I once parked my Prelude next to a mid-engined MGF and noticed that the bonnet on my car was lower.
This really was the peak of that low bonnet obsession, tilting the engine just to get it a little lower and all - well, of course it improves handling too. But it makes for a great shape with the design theme they had, although it's always a little weird how the long nose just disappears when looked from rear 3/4 angle.
@@johnscarsandstuff Sounds like you need to put some air in your tyres
why 'contemporaneous'?
@@oscarzt1652 That's what the Honda engineers were boasting about, the Mondial being taller. It must have also jutstbeen released that year.
I own two 3rd gens 88 and 89 23 year's ownership, love it always ♥
Absolutely love my third gen. Bought it as my first car at 16 and still have it 4 years later. Absolute joy of a car, the amount of compliments you get in it is just astounding.
@TA Just in my short driving experience I'm seeing that. Driven a few interesting vehicles and countless uninteresting and none of them make me smile quite like my prelude. And trust me, I'm in it for the long haul. Between my parts car and close relatives automotive and manufacturing skills this baby isn't going nowhere. :)
Best car I've ever owned, I had a '91 without the 4ws and it handled like a dream. I seriously miss it :)
I feel your pain. I also miss my CRX
Was 1991 a 4th generation? 4G were my favorite.
@@CR71243 '91 was the changeover from 3rd to 4th, mine was a 3rd gen :)
You weren't missing out on anything with not having the 4WS - my brother had a standard (like yours) and I had a few 4WS models.... the standard model had exceptional handling, much like the 2nd generation Prelude. The 4WS, on the other hand, had abysmal handling. Far too much weight went into the system and totally messed up the balance of the car and was very noticeable in corners. If you were going under 25mph, it was fine, and kind of fun in a "watch this neat trick" kind of way... but tearing through mountain/country roads? It was absolutely terrible.
Also, there was virtually no "feel" in the steering and no matter how long you drove it, the mechanics of the 4WS never really translated to cornering because as you passed a certain point in the turning radius, the 4WS kicked in and it became very unpredictable - the steering motion wasn't linear, like a normal car, it was linear up to a certain point, and then it went exponential! Add the weight to the equation, and well.... you had a much better driving car in your non-4WS Prelude. :)
Owned a 1989 legend coupe great car.
I had one (1989 Yellow), and out of 30 or so cars I own since, including NSX (1995/2003), 2014 Ferrari California, 2019 Giulia QV, 4 different S2000, Integra GSR, 2 gen 5 preludes, etc, I have always kept my eyes open for another clean third gen prelude. Can never find one but the search continues.
Nice car history, I've too been trying to find a good condition one forever, they're so hard to find
Happy to swap mine for an S2000? 😂 😂 😂
I had to find a half decent one with n9 structural rust and spent nearly a year turning it into the car th you see in the video. It's not been cheap, but I am so glad that I did
That example looks mint! Super clean well done to the owner.
Someone give this man the next 2 generation to review.
I have one too, GET STRUT BARS IN THE FRONT AND THE BACK!!!! It completely changes the feeling, best car I have ever drove
Thanks for doing such a great review of my car James. The Prelude has for so long been overlooked, but your review will bring its existence to a whole new audience as well as sparking nostalgia in those who have owned and/or loved these cars previously
For sale?
@@k20ee96 Unfortunately, no, I am definitely keeping this car. It took me a while to find the right one and a year of hard work and a lot of money to get it to the standard it is now
@@super_hondas I know exactly what you mean 😂. Congrats, it's a beauty
Stunning car 😍.
@@leostreat3573 thanks. That makes all the money and effort worthwhile
I always loved the look of these, I would say I prefer it with the larger wheels and suspension. The interior typical Japanese but those seats are glorious. 150bhp is not a bad output in its day. The Astra GTE and Clio Williams had similar outputs and were classed as Hot hatches.
Maybe lost a few HP over the years. Could be 20 down.
One of the most beautiful Hondas made.
Absolutely love the Prelude, there’s just something about them. Would love to own one some day
Can report it is an absolute joy! Had mine for 7 years now and still love every drive just as much as the day I got it!
I own a 5th gen EBP. It’s absolutely the best thing ever. Will never get rid of it.
I had a 4th Gen 2.2 VTEC import with the H22A engine - a BB4 model without the 4WS ... if the rust hadn't eaten it I would still have it too because it was a lovely car to sit in and the first car I didn't get bored of. The "space ship" dash? Just a great, comfortable and fun place to be.
you could have just spend money on it lol..
@@TheHondaTuner sure, but I wasn't in a position to do it in my 20s and run another car at the same time while the work got done.
You have just made my day..owned a white one virtually the same..just different wheels. Loved it but got some hairdressing jibes at the time.
Great car.
I knew I guy who had one of these and he was proud of the fact that several people had asked to be let out of the car while they were a passenger because he cornered so fast, many years later he still maintains that it's the best handling car he has ever owned, and he has had a few!.
I had the previous generation, a 1987 Prelude in white. D131 RMB. Loved it - the performance, the pop up headlights, even the stock wheels. And yes, it did have a rust problem.
Enter the nostalgic era when Honda was supreme king of the four pot, I drove a Honda CRX and caught the bug of driving! The golden Prelude was the 2.4 Vtec. Thanks JayEmm for digging out this gem.
I had this car (manual) as a company car in 1988/89 (Sydney, Australia when I was 26yrs) and was a complete joy to drive even myself being 6ft 6inch! The 4WS steer system was something to get used to but such a great feature put to good use continually. It made overtaking at top speed effortless and tight turns was never a challenge. I miss that car but certainly its looks have not stood the test of time. Frankly I pretended my white prelude back in the day was the Miami Vice Testarossa !!! Now I have a BMW 2010 E64 650I. Thanks for your review!
My family had a succession of Preludes starting from the 1970's up to this model in the video. The last one, before it was stolen, was an automatic in a silver/gold colour.
Loved these back in the day, along with the much lesser spotted Accord Aerodeck.
The owner has it hoovered to PERFECTION. Good to see. Detail.
I LOOOOOVED My Prelude SOOOOO much! I loved it so much I had 3 - all JDM imports to NZ, One from 1989, One from 1995 and one from 1998. All 4WS and the later two had VTEC.
Nice.
Good old vtec
Which one was the best?
I suggested this exact video to u by email a while back when u were asking for suggestions (properly lowered 4ws 3rd gen & 5th gen). I’m so glad you did it and I hope it brings the status of the car up because it is truly truly underappreciated. I have both fifth GEN and a third GEN four wheel steer and I love them to pieces and I’m sad that nothing today compares to the brilliance of this car overall. I really really really hope Honda someday can find the gumption to make a new current model one that mimics and echos all of the great points about this car.
Had two third gens, completely agree
I had this exact model, way back in the day, and absolutely loved it!
I can't remember the name of the colour of mine, but it was a very dark blue metallic that pretty much looked black.
I had Honda lower mine and I fitted 5-spoke 18 inch wheels - and it looked fabulous!
The interior was exactly as the one James drives here, except mine had the original steering wheel.
I loved the four-wheel steering but more than that, I loved the car as a whole. I traded it in for a BMW 325i and almost instantly regretted it. And I wouldn't rule out buying another Prelude again, just for the nostalgia!
Great video, James, and thanks for the memories!
My first car was a 1996 Vti-R/Si-R H22 VTEC. While it was a fun first car, with only 105k km it overheated constantly and burned tonnes of oil, blowing loads of blue smoke out the tail pipes under load. Sufficed to say I needed to keep bottles of both coolant and oil in the boot for emergencies. Aside from these issues the sunroof leaked and the 4WS didn't work. Even Honda couldn't work out why it was overheating and losing all its coolant every other day. Bought for $7500, put about $4000 into repairs and sold for $6000 a year or so later. Wonderful first experience of car ownership 👍
Sounds like a warped cylinder head, I had a peugeot 205 that did similar things, two head gaskets and a cylinder head later and it still overheated, it was French after all. I don't know what excuse your honda had, it ain't French even though it sounds like it thought it was.
Thing i love about your channel James is yeah you get the Ferraris, the Lambos and Astons etc, but also the "oh yeah i remember those" cars. And for most of us who rarely even saw a ferrari growing up these kind of cars are great watching. This, the V8 75, Cossie, Astra GTE, Clio Williams and so on. Keep up the good work.
I discovered 4wsi preludes when we bought a used 92 and after almost ten years I have no plans to let it go. Best Honda ever
I had two of these back in the day, first one got to 178k miles before rust killed it, second one was beaten up on trackdays, 'Ring visits and charging all over the UK with my mates. They were no hot hatch but offered similar pace and cheap to run. Fond memories. Still a good looking car too, of its time etc.
Very fond memories bud. Great car.
All generations of the Prelude deserve more love
I always really liked this car since I was in high school. The third generation is still one of the cleanest designs Honda has ever put out. Still looks great today, which isn't something often said about 1980s cars. I remember being shocked and saddened by the look of the fourth generation which looked radically different.
Yeah it was to bulky and heavy looking I hated it
@@vals2534 Bulky compared to what? It only weighed 1200kg.
An engineering magazine labelled this as an engineers car because of 4 brilliant aspects.
1/ high strength steel for the a/b/c pillars for unparalleled visibility second to none .
2/ low front end labelled - the engineless design by Honda.
3/ a butterfly valve in the intake that opened up for more airflow above 3500rpm.
4/ first and only mechanical 4ws system in any production car.
In 1987, Road & Track published a test summary that shows the 1988 Honda Prelude 2.0Si 4WS outperforming every car of that year on the slalom, with a speed of 65.5 mph (105.4 km/h), even besting exotics such as Porsche and Ferrari. For reference, the 1988 Chevrolet Corvette C4 took the same course at 64.9 mph (104.4 km/h).
(From Wikipedia)
I had the next generation of the Prelude (prel-yood was how I pronounced it) with the 2.3i 4-cylinder (non-VTEC) and it drove superbly and sounded ace, as well as looked brilliant. It always makes me laugh when car manufacturers nowadays make a big thing about their cars having 4-wheel steering.
Yep ..what a great dashboard the 4th gen had too.
@@Luke-PlanesTrainsDogsnCars That digital dash on the 4th gens was very Sci-Fi 90's and super cool.
So you had the ugliest one
My late mum had one of these. I borrowed it frequently as a newly legal teen driver, and what a car it was. So incredibly reliable I ended up buying a Honda Accord, but i still preferred the Prelude my mum had.
This car is my childhood hero and it deserves so much more recognition for its beauty and 4ws.
Loved this car back in the day, always thought of it as a car that you could equally wear jeans or a suit in and look smart.
Beautiful car Adrian brought. Looks absolutely mint. Incidentally, Porsche had passive rear steer on a production car in the 1970s.
My first car was a gun metal grey 1991 honda prelude cita! Loved the car and will never forget it
I love Frost white. My 1991 Civic Hatchback has its original Frost white paint.
Had the 1.8 EX in white ,on an E plate , sunroof, similar interior. DOHC , loved it to bits . Never let me down . Bought for £440 from Kingsland car auctions in Herefordshire. Put some black 16" s off a Honda civic on it and drove about with the seat tipped back too far !! Oh to be young again!
I had one. Great car but at the time lots of people seemed to think it was an old man's car and were surprised how well it went when I gave them a lift. Terrible handbrake issues though, same problem on the CRX. Parallel parking was amazing, put the rear wheels on the kerb and turn into the space.
About that steering input. There's a couple factors at play there. It could simply be the result of an old steering rack. I've owned 5 3rd gen preludes, some with 4ws, some without. My main prelude, though, I had converted from 2ws to 4ws with a rebuilt front rack. That rebuilt front rack is NIGHT & DAY difference in feedback and responsiveness over every car with an original rack, 2ws or 4ws.
That said, it takes more turns lock to lock than, say, a Miata. So if that's what you're expecting, you'll notice something is very different. I have a Miata too and noticed the rack locks almost a whole turn sooner than the prelude, it's a much quicker ratio, meaning less turning gets more steering.
I had a white one in the mid 90s. Totally freaked passengers when I took a quick right hander in town. They thought the back end had slipped. Always funny to see them grab the door handle. Never got old.
My wife had one. Bought it new in 1990. I loved it. Polar white with the wing. Wish I'd never sold it. Great review James
I drove a 4th generation 4WS Prelude - sublime steering / handling.
Of all your reviews I think this one I watched with the greatest trepidation. You see, between around 1998 and 2006 I owned three 3rd generation, four-wheel steer Preludes in succession and must have covered at least 130,000 mostly fault-free miles in them. Not only were they fault-free but they were delightful, I don't have your depth, or breadth of experience but I have driven a few rather nice cars but the Prelude always seemed better when I got back into it. It is safe to say that the 4WS Prelude is one of my favourite cars ever.
All of mine were 1989 cars, the first and last were manual, the second and third were higher-spec SE versions with leather and air-con (great when it worked). I also fitted 16-inch OZ alloy wheels and 205-section tyres to my second and third Preludes, which were a vast improvement on the standard size tyres. In real terms the automatic was no barrier to enjoying the Prelude and it was possibly faster in day-to-day motoring because it was that much easier to get the engine revving to make the most of the power. I think most of the fastest journeys I've ever made were at the wheel of one of my Preludes.
By now you can probably tell that I could sing the praises of this particular Honda for a very long time and I haven't even touched on the topic of the steering. I thought it was superb, at any speed, on any road. On a couple of occasions I had to suddenly avoid debris in my path on the motorway, the Prelude felt as though it could sidestep like nothing else. I certainly don't recall the sensation you reported of having to use a lot of steering input for very little result.
I would also say that the Prelude was more of a competitor to the Toyota Celica (which I haven't driven) and the Nissan 200SX (which I have, and rejected in favour of the Honda).
I have a 1990 Celica, if you're in the Portsmouth then you're more than welcome to get in touch and have a drive :) I can only assume that the prelude will be better though haha!
Thos really brings back memories of my younger years... had the first wedge shape one and loved it.. perfect balance, no fripperies as abs and pas, as basic as you like bit the sweetest car I had.... then a few years later I got a 4ws similar to this one. And that was nuts... rapid and could outpace almost anything at the time due to the handling.
God ,those days were amazing!
We may be safer, but cars are so sterile.
Incidentally, I remember when it was snowing I pulled into a garage foe fuel and a guy suggested I get the tracking sorted!
Most of the time the HICAS gets binned because when (not IF!) it breaks they're a very expensive and quite difficult pain in the arsehole to fix. So its just easier and far cheaper to pop in some lockouts and call it a days work. I had a chance to drive the AWS Prelude in about 1989 when it was owned by a family friend and you've got to appreciate that things like independent rear suspension and decent handling was a novelty for most of us.
So when you get cut loose as a then teenage driver coming from lumpy v8's, big 6's and jello handling it was absolutely mind blowing on our winding country roads. Maybe not the fastest, but the pace you can get in the twisties and hairpins is a word I don't use often- blistering.
I remember these in period and loving the low long bonnet line 👍
And the seats look fantastic.
My mate simply drove his Prelude out of an impossibly cramped and unmarked New Zealand skifield carpark. I stood outside thinking we would be lucky to get it out at all until evening. I stood outside ready to guide him through some complex manoeuvres and maybe push and shove a bit. We were both amazed when he simply drove out in one go just winding around impossible spaces. Even a classic mini couldn't have done it.
I remember watching something many years ago, a Honda PR man was explaining that any new innovations that Honda came out with would first find their way onto the Prelude. Hence the reason the car was called Prelude. Can’t guarantee I’m 100% correct but if someone could clarify that…..Great video by the way 👍🏻
Does that make it the spiritual predecessor to the Prologue, conceptually?
So lovely to see this. My mum had a J reg 2.0i-16 auto with the four wheel steering. It was a wonderful thing. It was replaced by a K reg 4th gen 2.2 Vtec, which was faster and had a cool semi digi dash, but was somehow just less endearing. No pop up headlights. That was the problem
I had that one too...in dark blue, with a sunroof.
it was a fine machine and had no problems with it.
I have always wanted this car back in the 80s but I love its 1st gen Prelude the most.
White with pop up headlamps, that's so much 80's sensory overload. I love it.
I remember Mitsubishi having AWS along with a raft of other cool sounding acronyms on their GTO I'm the 90's which I hear failed to live upto the hype. I know Renault have used AWS on the GT versions of the MK3 Laguna and MK4 Mégane in recent years and despite my reservations .told the system is rather good.
We had a 1990 Prelude SR with the B21A1 engine with FRM cylinder sleeves which led to some oil consumption. It was a brilliant car until 325k km when it burned a valve so we rebuilt the head. It was a fantastic car even with 2WS. The gearshift level had a long throw but was very precise. I can't find an unmodified one now.
I had that car with 4 wheel steering and that car was super tight and any wheel movement would have made it change lanes! It drove on like it was on a rail and I had it bone stock. One the best handling cars I've had and the steering made it so different in a great way!
My cuzn had the generation B4 this one..I will say riding with him was some of my best memories in a car
Wish sometimes I'd never swapped mine for a Legend Coupe but the draw of a V6 was too strong at the time. Mine was the runout, all colour coded white SEi with full grey leather interior. With the 4ws, pop up the headlamps and you could park it in some incredibly tiny spaces. The boot is quite big, I could get my 3m inflatable dinghy and outboard in it! After about a year I swapped out the head unit for a pull of face Alpine + multi changer. Loved the sunroof buttons up on the console, not hidden somewhere or up in the roof. Mine had a rear quarter electric ariel that used to retract when you pulled the boot remote so the spoiler wouldn't catch it but, only if the radio was on, if the cassette or cd was playing ariel stayed down. Can't say as I like those wheels but wasnt a big fan of the unhanded spiral originals, for a company like Honda was surprised the car looked different on the left to the right side. Thanks for reviving memories of the happy 3 years and 55k we had together.
That body style Prelude has a great feel inside with the large windshield. That’s one of the first cars I drove working at a car dealership in 1986.
I had a 1996 Prelude VTEC 5 speed. What a sweet ride! I traded it when the new 350z's launched in 2003, but to be honest, the Prelude was a better everyday car, hands down. One of the few cars I truly miss to this day.
Awesome car. One of these was going to be first car before my parents bought a new car and gave me their old Camry. Loved that white colour, for a white it is not boring. Nice video. Keep up the good work.
I find a white finish tends to suit Japanese cars of the 80's and 90's surprisingly well.
it feels like watching an episode of top gear when watching you. love the way you describe stuff and just generally talk
also i want a prelude as my first car and you really helped me
Thanks very much!
When I went to buy my first 'sports car' in 2005, I test drove a 300ZX and then a 3rd gen Prelude with 4WS. The handling difference was surprising, from driving a boat to driving something that was on rails.
Love love love this Honda, great review of an fab car, thank you.
This model of Prelude lives and thrives in Australia. I used to see them daily in different areas of Melbourne and Geelong.
Ah... back in 2004 my first car was a '88 4WS! I will ALWAYS have a soft spot for that thing!
My first car! Mine was blue-gray metalic, redisign from 1990 with those sexy rear lights and nicer front bumper. It had alloy wheels from a Civic EG VTI. Of course it had 4ws. What a sensational car! After that one I bought Accord CL9 and right away lowered suspension on it, but it did not help. It was nover near like Prelude. I have owned a lot of cars after it, non of them particilary sporty (maybe BMW f20 118i could be considered sporty), and I have driven a lot of other cars considered sporty (Supra, Nissan silvia s 14, CRX Del Sol, Calibra) and no car I have ever driven can come even close to Prelude BA4 when it comes to handling and cornering. Additionally it is one of the most confortable cars i have driven or been driven in (Citroen BX and Mercedis E class are more comfy). I just do not know if it is a blessing or a curse that it was my first car that I owned. Nothing came close to it...
As a 3rd gen owner myself, this review is pretty bang on, not the fastest car but so much fun to drive.
This was my first car I bought for cash, I paid 1,500 bucks for a 1990 prelude SI in red with and auto B21a1. I was 24 and just left NYC for the MidWest, and much to the shagrine of many of my neighbors I drove this around my friends loved it. Blew the timing belt chasing a girl I still miss this car.
That was surely the prettiest of the Preludes. Lovely looking car.
I had a black one for most of the 1990s, but without the 4-wheel steer option. As you said, the road feel was great, it was comfortable and roomy, and the OE Alpine stereo was a cut above for its time. The seats you praised were actually manufactured by Recaro's Japanese division, and were just a bit firm for long distance travel. I road-tripped across the US many times in it, but when it was time for a fuel stop, I was always happy to get out for a little bit.
When it had racked-up well over 200k miles, and its value bottomed as the expensive stuff started failing, I replaced it with a non-turbo 300ZX. For about a year, I owned both; but when I drove the Prelude, I noticed that my driving style was instinctively more aggressive-the car was just more playful and urged you on more than the Z.
I had one in 1988 and drove 100,000 miles in 2 years without any problems except for water leaking into the rear light units and that was fixed at the first service.
I remember seeing a lot of these on the roads in america back in the late 80s and 90s when I was a kid.
Thank you, this is (still) my dream car. Smiles all around!
I have one 91' auto with leather seats and AC also got 16" wheel's but didn't lower it. 71k miles. Every time I go out I get so much attention for it, it's a pride and joy to drive it. And back in the 88' when it came out it was faster then Ferrari's in slalom, thanks to 4ws.
My friend had a red one in highschool with a freshly rebuilt engine and it was really great to drive. Not fast, but tactile and enjoyable to take up to speed or put around town
Saw one of these a few weeks ago in Dublin, what a great looking car they are👌🏼
I also had this vague steering with my Accord Aerodeck. Changing out the bushes of the front radius rods for some Honda Vigor ones, made it much tighter.
But man, what a fine specimen this Prelude is. Everything about the design just fits.
This was my first car--and '89 4WS with a 5-speed in black. It was a fantastic car to learn on. My parents pried it from my clenched hands, feeling it was unsafe after the power steering started going (wasn't the first issue with the car to be fair to them, haha), but I really loved the thing.
Gorgeous bit of kit!
A friend had a white manual one just like it, just after we left high school. I remember stupidly reversing into it leaving a party one night, but luckily I only hit the corner of front bumper and there wasn't really any damage. They really are fun cars to drive though.
Growing up one of my neighbours had one in grey, loved it, infact it contributed to my getting a mk3 Supra
Interesting how manufacturers seem to be bringing back 4-Wheel Steering , The latest Mercedes 'W206' C-class & the latest Mercedes S-class both have 4-Wheel Steering, James another brilliant video & I'd love to see a '07-09 Honda 3.0L Legend so advanced in its day & still looks good .
I really like your car reviews for two reasons .
1 : If there is something about a car you don’t like the exhaust sound for example , you always point out if the difference is stock or due to modification .
2: You don’t criticize a GT car for not being a sports car and not criticize a sports car for not being a GT car..
My Sports car is a 2005 , ap2 , S2000 and my GT car is 5th gen Prelude SH bought new in 1999. Just like having the right tool , no what car to drive at any time based on what I want in a car and no doubt you do to.
Recently there have been some who have been harsh with their review of the BRZ . That is obviously a car that’s trying to be both a sports and GT car so going to not be the best in both categories but never the less a great compromise .
I had the integra of the same era. Looked just like that prelude, but hatchback. such a smooth, quiet engine.
It's so nostalgic, I used to ride in it too.And I was also building the engine for it.
I had a second gen maual which was lotsa fun. I also drove the same model vehicle as featured in this vid quite a bit too. Here in New Zealand we like to carve our roads into hillsides so the roads tend to follow some pretty severe geometry often with super tight lowspeed switchback turns aka the Alps which make driving with 4WS an absolute delight. Thats when you really get the benefit of the technology of 4WS
I loved mine. Fantastic to drive and great looking too. Lightweight, it was faster than its 2.0 engine. It still looks superb and that 4WS was brilliant.
I own a cheapish Porsche Cayman and this is still the definitive drivers car IMO. I'm going to get grief in this comments section but I love and miss my 89' Prelude so much. It has no, repeat,no torque. But the handling, 4 wheel steering, engine and build quality is sublime. It annoys me that UA-camrs highlight the positive aspects of this car as it will just drive the prices up for a good example, which I plan to own again.
I bought the later version with the VTech with the swooping dash and modified rear and it was an absolute pleasure to drive .
I bought this car off the showroom turn table because the dealer had not received its full delivery. It was a great car right up until the automatic transmission went out at 123k miles on it and by that time the car was 11 years old and the cost of repairing the trans was more than the car was worth.
Superb car the Prelude. This was a nostalgic watch for me. My mum had one new in 1990. It was the face-lift version with the carb engine and auto box. That was replaced with an mk4 and in turn that was replaced with the last gen mk5. The mk4 was my favourite TBH.
Beautiful car. Had the pleasure of driving one from Newcastle to Liverpool, was such a smooth ride. Bought the next gen first chance I could - both great cars.
Not me watching this to feel even better about buying mine last year. Also big ups to cpt frost was stoked to see the feature here
The best looking of all the generations. I can confirm that 4WS was rarely opted for on USA cars as it was an pricey option on the already expensive Prelude Si. Most Every one that I recall seeing back in the day was yellow...a really cool color back in 1988.
I owned an 89 and a 90 SI series .....great cars....feels like driving a go cart
Hondas - I love 'em. Always fancied a Prelude, but the nearest I got was a Honda Accord Coupe 2.2i auto in the early 90s. Made in the USA, it was rwd I believe. I loved that car, it had leather, aircon and went really well. Coming out of a bend, giving it "the beans" was great, the kick down was amazing. On my 3rd Honda now, a CR-V with all the bells & whistles. I'm an old codger now, so my days of haring about the country are gone! 😔
Always like this and that's a lovely clean one. Any JDM cars from the 90s for me are classics Honda engineers always had something up their sleeves
I had an ‘85 and then an ‘88 (Si with theft proof wheel covers, look them up) I like many did not want 4WS…as a note; I believe 4WS was an option and you could not have ABS with it…one or the other LOL. Also, no Prelude EVER sold without a power sunroof! A car designer once told me that no car had as much visibility than this gen Lude and that BMW bought a couple to study the suspension set up. Car & Driver did a test of the ‘85 (2nd-Gen) and place it second to the 944 as best handling car…bested a Ferrari, 911 and a Vette…don’t remember all of it.
Me n adrian are mates n I have a white 3rd gen too,a carb model without 4ws.
He put his heart n soul into it n its awesome.
Thanks Barry. You've put your heart and soul into yours too!
these kind of cars over any porsche or ferrari review, lovely!
Man i always loved these, hate myself for not buying one a few years ago
I had a mk1 years ago, it had manual windows with an electric roof, it was a saloon with a rear wiper!
I bought it for £300 it had warped discs, a leak on the clutch reservoir, I had it for about three months and swapped it for a Datsun Stanza ‘by Nissan’
Wish I’d kept it though.
My dad nearly bought a Integra of similar age my mum talked him out of it. Gutted
Stanza would feel like tinplate even compares to the lightweight 910kg 1st gen Prelude!