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 own two 3rd gens 88 and 89 23 year's ownership, love it always ♥

Best car I've ever owned, I had a '91 without the 4ws and it handled like a dream. I seriously miss it :)

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.

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.

That example looks mint! Super clean well done to the owner. Someone give this man the next 2 generation to review.

Absolutely love the Prelude, there’s just something about them. Would love to own one some day

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.

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

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 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.

I have one too, GET STRUT BARS IN THE FRONT AND THE BACK!!!! It completely changes the feeling, best car I have ever drove

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)

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.

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 had a 1991 SI 4WS with a B21A. The B21A was a 2.1L with some kind of experimental composite cylinder lining. Supposedly, Honda used the platform to test new features. The B21A would eventually burn oil and there was little to be done other than a rebuild. I bought mine for $1000 and sold it for $1000 when it was starting to slip, it was then turned into a race car. Great car, one of the best I have ever driven and I have driven some of the best.

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 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 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 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!

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.

All generations of the Prelude deserve more love

Beautiful car Adrian brought. Looks absolutely mint. Incidentally, Porsche had passive rear steer on a production car in the 1970s.

Love love love this Honda, great review of an fab car, thank you.

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 👍

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.

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.

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.

Jay, you're really hitting your stride! Keep up the great work!

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.

Been a very very long time since I've seen one. This is why I love your channel you always get awesome cars

So glad I subscribed, I adore these cars

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.

Yes Jay! Owned two, been looking forward to this!

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

You are pulling out some right cars to review and cars that aren't the obvious choices. Good work 👍

Ah... back in 2004 my first car was a '88 4WS! I will ALWAYS have a soft spot for that thing!

Thank you, this is (still) my dream car. Smiles all around!

Such a cool car, thanks Jay!!

I remember these in period and loving the low long bonnet line 👍 And the seats look fantastic.

I have always wanted this car back in the 80s but I love its 1st gen Prelude the most.

My first car was a gun metal grey 1991 honda prelude cita! Loved the car and will never forget it

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.

The Timeless Prelude with the famous 4WS

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.

Gorgeous bit of kit!

I've had a couple of these and loved them.

I drove a 4th generation 4WS Prelude - sublime steering / handling.

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.

That was surely the prettiest of the Preludes. Lovely looking car.

Fun review. Thank you

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).

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.

My cuzn had the generation B4 this one..I will say riding with him was some of my best memories in a car

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...

Fantastic turning footage of the rear wheels..... That is, always was, a beautiful car

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.

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.

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!

Saw one of these a few weeks ago in Dublin, what a great looking car they are👌🏼

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

This car is my childhood hero and it deserves so much more recognition for its beauty and 4ws.

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.

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

One of the most beautiful Hondas made.

It's so nostalgic, I used to ride in it too.And I was also building the engine for it.

I remember seeing a lot of these on the roads in america back in the late 80s and 90s when I was a kid.

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.

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 👍🏻

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.

I love Frost white. My 1991 Civic Hatchback has its original Frost white paint.

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.

Growing up one of my neighbours had one in grey, loved it, infact it contributed to my getting a mk3 Supra

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

This is a bit of me, 1980/1990 cars I brought a Calibra Turbo 15 years ago best car I've had use it every day I won't sell it I'll be buried in it.

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 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

Love the quality and diversity of your videos as always.. I liked your review on the 1.6 swift sport an I wonder if you'll ever get chance to test the newer 1.4 turbo one 👀 hybrid version or not would be interesting to see what you think .. none hybrid version is better imo 😅

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

Yes what a wonderful car. Just beautiful.

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.

I owned an 89 and a 90 SI series .....great cars....feels like driving a go cart

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

Back in the day, I really admired how clever Honda was in using a simple, well-engineered mechanical design to bring four-wheel steering to the market. Still prefer the 89 CRX Si, but this was another feather in their cap. Great review.

I bought the later version with the VTech with the swooping dash and modified rear and it was an absolute pleasure to drive .

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!

I loved this car as a kid

thats the exact model i had in white just my old car i absolutely loved it

these kind of cars over any porsche or ferrari review, lovely!

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.

Loved my Prelude BB2

Always wanted a Prelude, could never find one In manual. Thanks for sharing.

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.

This exact model was my first car. Fun little ride.

I had the integra of the same era. Looked just like that prelude, but hatchback. such a smooth, quiet engine.

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.

Always been a Honda Fan boy. Love em. 👍