Opinions on the last gen Prelude?

"mkbruin, Atlas VP" (mkbruin) 07/28/2014 at 13:36 • Filed to: None

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I'm on the hunt for my next DD, and I'm not too particular. What does Oppo think about the Prelude?

For Sweden > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:37

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That's like asking "What does Oppo think about the Miata?"

AM3R > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:38

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Finding a clean one might be tough. The aftermarket for them is huge though.

Diesel > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:38

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I worked at a dealership when these came out, they were probably my favorite car on the lot.

mr_gofast > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:39

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jkm7680 > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:40

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Anything that's modified, I'd personally avoid. If you can find a clean one for a good price, jump on it.

macanamera > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:41

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Personally, I love it. Especially the gen you posted.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:42

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It's a handsome looker, one of the best to come out of Japan. Obviously, modded ones are to be avoided, some people might not know what they're doing...

jariten1781 > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:43

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Better than 4th gen, worse than 3rd.

Ducky > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:43

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personally, it just feels like a long Civic that takes 93 to me. If you want a fast FWD coupe this is about the best you'll do though.

Lekker > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:44

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Had a 94, and I can vouch for how fun they are to DD. And I personally think it looks great. Fast enough to shame a Mustang, I averaged 26mpg even when I gave it the welly, AND cheap to repair. It really is a win-win.

Milky > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:44

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I just hate how they look RWD. Why is there space between the front wheel and the door?! Tell me why?!?!

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:45

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Ask Aquila121, he's got one. It's modded to the gills though...because racecar. Seriously, he tracks it.

GhostZ > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:46

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I've seen a turbocharged VTEC one with a few other performance mods. I was legitimately fast. Only in a straight line though.

f86sabre > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:46

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N51fanatic > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:48

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in red with the factory body kit, these were sexy. If you can find one with a stick and the 4 wheel steering, even better. I bet a car as described with less than 100k would fetch an 8k ask.

ly2v8-Brian > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:49

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It's not bad for a wrong wheel drive car.

William Byrd > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:52

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I had a 2001, Electron Blue. 5spd, decent room inside, decent MPG. But it's not terribly fast. 200hp was pretty solid at the time, but for some reason mine never felt that quick. Great looking car though and I still take note when I see one. It's the car that got me into racing, did fairly well at AutoX.

feather-throttle-not-hair > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:56

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one of my all time favorites. IMHO, best fwd honda engine, awesome styling, great for fwd handling and a sweet sweet shifter.

thebigbossyboss > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 13:58

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Oppo naut Mountain command has one.

Nice car. Over priced.

Manny05x > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 14:04

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i love these.

n54 & s38 > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 14:06

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They're ok. My best friend has one although his is now beat to shit. Revvy little engines, nice shifters. Was never that impressed with the handling though. Feel very front-heavy to me with a lot of understeer.

schwartz > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 14:10

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Oppo thinks you should get a Miata as that is the answer to every question.

bob and john > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 14:10

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not bad cars, however:
motors liked to burn oil. something to do with the cylinder liners
"vtec kicked in bro"
over priced for what they are, thanks to the aformentioned vtec bros
May or may not have rust issues
good luck finding a clean one.

Textured Soy Protein > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 14:19

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I like them. The styling isn't quite as nice as the 4th gen, and the interior is kinda plain. But good quality, nice to drive, decent engine, fun handling.

Really the only problem is finding one that hasn't been beat to hell by a succession of owners with decreasing net worths.

Textured Soy Protein > Milky 07/28/2014 at 14:20

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But that looks good though. Would you rather have giganto front overhang?

Nothing > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 14:27

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My friends had one. I liked driving it, it was a decent car. Then it got rear ended, was totaled....by a Miata.

Thinking back, in the early '90s we were quite the Honday family. My sis had an '91 si. I drove her car all of the time. One of my other sisters had a '93 Integra sedan (replaced it with a Vigor after it got totaled by an F250), and at the time I had a '85 CRX si. Another sis had a nice '90 Accord 5 spd.

thebigbossyboss > bob and john 07/28/2014 at 14:42

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My thoughts exactly. Nice cars, over priced.

TotallyThatStupid > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 15:00

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I always liked these, so much more so than the generation immediately preceding it (the one that looked like a melted Oldsmobile). These last-gen cars reminded me of a grown-up 2nd-generation combined with a 1st-gen Acura Legend coupe - not at all a bad thing.

The only one of these 'Ludes I've driven was an automatic which, while not as engaging as a 5-speed, was still all kinds of fun in an old-skool Honda way, especially on the backroads. And I agree - good luck on finding a clean, unmolested 5-speed.

MonkeePuzzle > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 15:14

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paging MountainCommand

my opinion, styling wise it should have been a RWD, I'm not huge fan of the look of the front seats, love evrything else. big engines, vtec options, 2000 era styling, Honda, love the squared headlights.

sad that this dash had to go away, it was awesome

miadaman? yes please > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 15:18

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I currently dd a 5th gen, my observations are as follow:

- back seat sits 1 comfortably (if he seats across)
- H22A engine is rock solid, high revving but burns lots of oil, you will need to top off every gas up
- very short gearing, easily cruise at 4k+ rev at highway speed
- 5MT is the way to go, especially in 97-98 year lots of problem with the auto tranny
- 4 wheel steering is pretty gimmicky, but only available in 4th gen
- sleek body, engine bay is extra long for some reason, which attributes to its 64/36 weight distribution and therefore handles like a pig sometimes. You can try get SH which offsets it a bit by using ATTS (first production car to have torque vectoring)
- car is very low even at stock, still many people decide to basically scrap tarmac by lowering it further
- pretty heavy for a 2+2, curb at ~3000lb
- I usually get around 23MPG 70% hwy, yes it takes premium
- It is not particularly fast, vtec is cool but you probably burn about a dollar worth of oil every second you're in it.
- very easy to work on, Haynes manual available everywhere for free
- quarterpanel rust is hopeless
- usually not heavily modified

Oh yes, you WILL smile everytime you climb into it.

phenotyp > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 15:21

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Love it. Pretty much everything about it. Best-handling FWD I've ever experienced, by a very big margin.

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 15:24

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I prefer the 1st and 4th generations, myself. However, I am slightly biased, since I have a friend who owns one of each.

justinf > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 15:27

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It was a great car for the late 90's, but it became largely irrelevant in the early 2000's. The RSX with its superior K20 engine (ivtec) was the future. The Prelude was also too heavy and too expensive. Still, I love its classic lines. I've owned two of them and do not regret the experience at all :]

Money Hustard > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 15:41

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Always been a fav of mine on the styling front. Kind of silly proportions and layout, but that's what makes it so pretty.

I'm a fan.

Milky > Textured Soy Protein 07/28/2014 at 16:07

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It looks good because its a lie! Also the engine isn't any further back in the engine bay, so I'm just going to assume this car has the biggest footwells ever.

MountainCommand > mkbruin, Atlas VP 07/28/2014 at 22:45

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Ask me any questions you want. Ill answer everything from the good to the bad. This is my DD and i am in love every time i drive it. You wont regret getting one. And from the many others who i know personally, and from those on the forums who have sold theirs, they all regretted selling them. Hit me up here or if you wanna chat on email just add an @gmail to my oppo name. I could go on and on about how great of a daily driver this car is... so ill just leave it at that. Plus the prelude community is great (for the most part). Its not your typical honda ricer crowd like civics and integras.

MountainCommand > Milky 07/28/2014 at 22:49

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yes the footwells are very nicely sized. Perfect for me at 6'2''. PLENTY of leg room for activities.

r32-34's have that same gap dude.

MountainCommand > bob and john 07/28/2014 at 22:50

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They are coming down in price a lot depending on where in the US you live. The south has some smoking deals on clean preludes. If you live in the north, north east, a clean prelude can cost you.

MountainCommand > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully 07/28/2014 at 22:51

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Dat first gen! They have a cast iron block!

aquila121 > miadaman? yes please 07/28/2014 at 23:04

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This list is pretty much all you need to know. I'll add that the visibility from the driver's seat is excellent, the pedal placement is only bettered by the Integra (in Honda family), and the gauges are super-easy to read. ATTS is great when pushing at 9/10ths or above, but not often noticed otherwise. The SH will run you more when replacing the clutch. I had one of these (base) for a daily driver for three years until it was totaled by someone running a red light. I bought it back, had it fixed as best I could, and made a track/autocross car out of mine.

I have yet to regret this decision.

Milky > MountainCommand 07/28/2014 at 23:43

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They have the same gap as almost all RWD (biased) cars, because the engine goes partly behind the strut towers!!

Sorry not trying to rag on your car personally, I've just never understood this about Preludes.

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > MountainCommand 07/29/2014 at 12:39

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Yep. It's a 79 with the CVCC and it still weighs less than 2000 lbs. That, and it's got less than 70k on it, all original miles.

MountainCommand > Milky 07/29/2014 at 20:50

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You have to understand the prelude has always been a fwd car. From 1979-2001, the prelude was hondas flagship/testbed of technology on fwd vehicles. Im sure the long front end helped spread the weight out over a further distance, proving possibly better handling characteristics. Or something like that. The proportions have always stayed fairly similar between all the generations, except the 4th gen step child haha.

I personally think of a prelude as my poorman's skyline.