What Does the 2026 Honda Prelude Compete Against?

There are a few small fun cars the reborn Prelude will face—and only some come from the same parent company.

The Honda Prelude is back! After a quarter century, Honda has revived the badge to stick it on the back of a hybrid-powered coupe. With 200 horsepower and two doors, the Prelude arrives in a very different market than it exited at the turn of the century. What exactly does Honda’s pretty coupe compete against?

From hot hatches to rear-drive coupes, pony cars to convertibles, here are the main vehicles we suspect buyers will be cross-shopping with the Prelude when it arrives this fall.

The most obvious cross-town rivalry is with another small, four-cylinder coupe; two in fact, in the Toyota GR 86 and Subaru BRZ. Despite similarities in size and power, the Toyobaru twins follow a different coupe philosophy: rear-drive, light, and simple. There’s a manual transmission on offer—and to be honest, it’s the better way to experience the 228-horsepower flat-four in these two. The workmanlike cabins can’t hold a candle to the fancy-pants interior of the Prelude, but it’s likely the Toyota and Subaru will significantly undercut the Honda.

Toyota has been working on its own reborn model the last few years, as the Celica is in active development. There is no confirmation of when we’ll see it or what might power it, so while a Celica versus Prelude comparison sounds like millennial nostalgia-bait, we’re likely a few years away from making that a reality.

Naturally we were going to include the affordable, enthusiast Civic model in this round-up. It shares a platform with the Prelude after all, and up until 2020 there was even a coupe! Honda looks to be targeting different ends of the enthusiast spectrum with these two models now: the Prelude steps into a powerful, grand tourer role, while the Si—now sedan-only—is the bare-essentials, manual-transmission-only affair. It’s likely that the Si will still have a considerable price advantage, especially in America where it doesn’t come as well-equipped as in Canada. Buyers will simply have twice as many 200-horsepower, fun-to-drive Honda options.

Er, make that three. If the Prelude is a swankier, more upmarket alternative to a Civic, well, that’s kind of the Integra’s modus operandi, isn’t it? Like the Civic, the Integra does not come in two-door form, so the Prelude is unique there. The Integra A-Spec offers the same sweet six-speed manual as the Si, and pairs it with adaptive dampers (like the Prelude), a high-end leather interior (like the Prelude), and a useful liftback shape (like the Prelude). The Integra also has one of the best audio systems at this end of the market in its ELS 3D Audio setup.

The original RSX, known as the Integra everywhere else in the world, contributed to the death of the Prelude last time. In an SUV-obsessed market, can they both coexist this time around?

Yes, we’re going there. If you want an affordable, stylish two-door, the Mustang fits the bill. Sure, it’s substantially bigger, heavier, and more powerful than the Prelude, and the plasticky cabin isn’t going to win any style awards. Yet at $33,915 (including destination) to statt the Mustang undercuts the Integra, and is likely to do so with the Prelude as well. A nicely-optioned EcoBoost Premium will run $39,540, and if you’re feeling spendy, there’s always the option of a convertible too.

Newly refreshed for 2025, Volkswagen’s GTI remains the consummate all-rounder in the enthusiast realm. It’s quick, it’s comfortable, and it blends a practical hatchback shape with elevated cabin materials. The GTI lost its manual transmission option this year, but the DSG remains a pitch-perfect match, offering up quick shifts when having fun, and doing a good job of keeping its cool during the everyday commute. There are sharper choices for under $40,000, but not many that do everything so darned well.

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