Prelude for sports car comfort

Dec 29 2008 Peter Hayward

HONDA'S Prelude was initially a coupe version of the Accord saloon but then became a model in its own right.

All are stylish, sleek and pack good or excellent performance. This was one of the first cars to offer anti-lock brakes as standard.

Engines have only ever been petrol and latterly were 2.0 or 2.2-litres, with five speed manual or four speed automatic gearbox.

All come with Honda's legendary reliability of course, which is second to none. In fact, the engines have always been at the top of the technology ladder for their day.

They are smooth, refined and high revving, yet will also happily pull the car through town at walking pace in top gear.

All Preludes have good handling and road holding, point and shoot power steering and excellent brakes.

But where they score over others is in the way they show that sports cars don't have to be uncomfortable, giving a pretty good ride over most surfaces.

Interior

Rear legroom and space is pretty small for what is quite a big car but the boot is a decent size.

Economy won't be up to much if you use the power and make sure you can afford the fairly steep insurance before you buy one. Service history is a great plus.

FAST FACTS

Honda Prelude 2.0

Price : Pay about £2,500 for an '00 W-reg 2.0, £3,400 for an '01 51-reg 2000 Sport

Mechanical : 132bhp, 1,997cc, 4cyl petrol engine driving the front wheels via a 5spd manual gearbox

Max speed : 125mph

0-62mph : 9 secs

Combined mpg : 28

Insurance group : 15

Marks : 9/10

Main rival : BMW 3-Series coupe