The new 2026 Honda Prelude might not be as exciting as you might expect. This new version isn’t supposed to be a tossable sports car, which is a bit of a bummer.
Every time you turn around it seems like another car with a manual transmission is gone from the mix. Some automakers have ditched the sticks altogether, but others are stubbornly trying to keep them in the mix. Ford, Toyota, and Volkswagen seem to enjoy the manual offerings, while Dodge and Porsche have turned away from them. Other brands are on the fence, but Honda is working on a manual transmission for its future EVs.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the new Honda Prelude will have a stick shift in any version. Instead of creating serious excitement about the return of this car, Honda dialed things down.
Forget sporty fun in the Prelude
When you learn everything about the new Prelude, you might wonder why Honda bothered bringing back the nameplate if they weren’t going to honor it properly. The concept model was presented at last year’s Japan Mobility Show, giving us a look at what this new car should offer. The look of the new Prelude is on point, but it’s missing some of what you want.
The dialed-back nature of this new car is so much so that Honda’s Chief Engineer, Tomoyuki Yamagami, told the media in attendance:
“This isn’t going to be the sportiest, zippiest car that’s going to be tossed into the circuits, so that’s one thing. This is going to be the Prelude for all of the electric vehicles that Honda is going to be launching.”
The clever play on the name of the car and using the word prelude for its actual meaning is nice, but nobody wants to see this nameplate as a boring and mundane car.
No stick shift
In addition to confirming the pedestrian nature of the new Honda Prelude, the car was introduced as a vehicle without a manual transmission. The original models of this car came with stick shifts, which meant rowing your gear and enjoying an engaging driving experience.
Not only will this new Honda be void of a manual transmission, but it will also come with the same hybrid powertrain as the Honda Civic Hybrid for 2025. This car has 200 horsepower and 232 lb-ft of torque: not exactly screaming performance numbers. Additionally, the Civic hybrid uses a CVT, which, for some drivers, is worse than not offering a manual transmission in the new Prelude.
Maybe there’s a bright spot
Although the Prelude has the same hybrid powertrain as the Civic Hybrid, it’s expected to be tuned differently, giving you more power from the system than in the Civic. If Honda wants to actually entice some drivers, they will add an 8-speed automatic transmission to the mix as well.
In addition to a much better power system, the sporty styling of this new Honda will certainly make some tongues wag and mouths drool. The concept model came with swoopy lines and style to bring back a storied nameplate that went out of production after the 2001 model year.
Is Honda working on manuals for EVs?
The continued demise of manual transmissions will continue as long as new models come out without a stick shifter. The onset of EVs means fewer manuals because electric vehicles don’t require them. That said, Honda is working on a dedicated family of what they call the 0 Series EVs and they have developed a synthetic manual transmission for future EVs. We haven’t heard anything about putting this into production yet, but it could happen in the future.
Pump up the sound
In addition to a system that feels like a manual transmission for EVs, Honda is working on a new digital UX system that will allow you to choose the engine sounds you want to hear during acceleration. This system can give you the sounds of shifting gears, accelerating, and braking. This system could also be available in the next set of 0 Series electric vehicles that will begin to be built in Canada beginning in 2028.
Could the Prelude become more exciting
The power figures might give us something to smile about when the new Honda Prelude arrives, but the addition of a manual transmission or at least an 8-speed automatic will make things better. When the Prelude becomes an EV, it could have the new synthetic manual transmission, the UX powertrain sound system, and more power than it has in its hybrid form. Maybe there’s hope for this Prelude after all.
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