Categories: Cars

Here’s How We’d Design the Honda Prelude of Our Dreams

Earlier this week, Honda announced the Prelude’s starting price. Today, you can finally build one for yourself. The Prelude configurator is now live on the Honda website, but you probably won’t be able to waste the whole day—or even a few hours—building your perfect Honda coupe, as there are only a handful of available options.

The 2026 Prelude starts at $43,195, including the $1,195 destination charge, which is expensive. That said, it does come well-equipped, featuring the Civic Type R’s front suspension, adaptive dampers, and brakes. It also has standard 19-inch wheels and leather-trimmed seats.

Honda’s online configurator first presents two options: The Prelude Hybrid or the Prelude Hybrid Two-Tone. The Two-Tone is $500 more expensive to start and comes with a black roof, but it limits you to the White Frost Pearl exterior color, which is a required $655 option, bringing its starting price to $44,350.

That’s too limiting for me, personally, so I’m going with the regular Prelude Hybrid. There’s only one powertrain option—a 200-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder hybrid. Honda also doesn’t offer the car with a manual transmission—the Prelude instead simulates an eight-speed gearbox.

Photo by: Honda

With that choice made, next is color. Honda offers just five exterior colors, three of which are free: Crystal Black Pearl, Meteorite Gray Metallic, and Rallye Red. Two optional paint colors are available:

Boost Pearl Blue ($455)
Winter Frost ($655)

I like cars with color, so I’d spend the extra $455 for Boost Blue Pearl. It feels like Honda designed the Prelude to wear this specific color.

Next is the interior, with Honda offering two choices. The standard cabin features black leather, but you can opt for the blue-and-white combination. This option adds white trim to the doors, dashboard, and center console with blue and white front seats.

It looks nice and is standard on the Two-Tone trim, but I prefer the black interior. The fact that the exterior blue and interior blue don’t match bugs me.

Photo by: Honda

Photo by: Honda

Photos by: Honda

Next are wheels, and Honda offers only one option—19-inch gloss-black, machined-finished alloys. They’re $2,000 extra, and clash with the blue paint, so I’d choose the standard 19-inch Berlina black alloys.

The packages Honda offers on both Prelude trims are all dealer-installed upgrades, and there are four of them:

All-Season Protection Package I ($470)
All-Season Protection Package II ($435)
Cargo Protection Package ($485)
Protection Package ($370)

I wouldn’t opt for any of these, which all offer some combination of the splash guard set, cargo tray, wheel locks, all-season floor mats, and seatback protector. These are also available as individual accessories, which is the last thing in the configurator.

Photo by: Honda

Goodies include black door mirror covers ($80), which are standard on the Two-Tone trim, gloss-black emblems ($175), a tailgate spoiler ($500), and a front underbody spoiler ($350). These are all options I’d get, but there are more if you want them:

Car Cover ($250)
Door Visors ($215)
Logo Pattern Projector ($200)
Protection Film Package ($200)
Rear Fender Protection Film ($75)
Splash Guard Set ($135)
Valve Stem Caps ($25)
Black Wheel Locks ($100)
All-Season Floro Mats ($200)
Cargo Tray ($135)
Cargo Cover ($150)
Illuminated Door Sill Trim ($330)
Interior Illumination Kit ($200)
Seat Back Protector ($150)
Engine Block Heater ($120)

If you opt for the Prelude Two-Tone, upgrade the wheels, and add every available accessory, your Prelude would cost $48,665. It’s doubtful that any buyer would spec their Prelude like this, but there aren’t many options available.

The Prelude I would spec, with Boost Blue Pearl, the 19-inch Berlina black wheels, and a handful of visual accessories, comes out to $44,755. Would you pay that much for a hybrid Honda, and if so, how would you spec your Prelude? Let us know in the comments.