Will the New Honda Prelude Have a Manual? Here’s Why We Don’t Think So

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Will the New Honda Prelude Have a Manual? Here’s Why We Don’t Think So

Why the Honda Prelude Probably Won’t Have a ManualHonda

Honda confirmed the

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will return for a sixth generation in Europe, with sales starting as early as next year.

The only confirmed powertrain detail is that the future Prelude will be a hybrid.

With that in mind, we think it is unlikely the reborn coupe will be offered with a manual transmission.

Here at Car and Driver, we love a manual gearbox. You’d be hard-pressed to find a group of adults more enamored with three-pedal transportation than our staff. But that doesn’t mean we think that all manual transmissions are equal. Among the remaining few, the gearboxes in the current

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and the

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are close to the pinnacle. With Honda’s confirmation this summer that the sixth-generation Prelude will be sold in Europe as early as next year, you might think we’re overjoyed at the thought of another manual Honda. You’d be wrong.

A Stick-Shift Prelude Is Unlikely

It’s not that we don’t like the idea of a manual Prelude in theory, it’s that we don’t think it will happen. While Honda has sold manual hybrids before with the Civic, the Insight, and

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, it’s a lot less likely this time around.

So far, the only powertrain detail that Honda has confirmed is that the reborn coupe will be a hybrid. That suggests it’ll feature the gas-fed 2.0-liter four-cylinder and two-motor hybrid system found in the

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, the

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, and the

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models. The Accord and CR-V both generate 204 horsepower, and the Civic makes an even 200 ponies.

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Honda

Unfortunately, adding a manual wouldn’t be as simple as replacing the hybrid’s transmission with, say, the Civic Si’s six-speed unit. That’s because Honda’s current hybrid system operates without a transmission—or at least what we would normally consider a transmission. Instead, the drive ratios are fixed, and the engine works in harmony with two electric motors to switch between electric-only, gasoline-only, and blended gas and electric without shifting gears. The smaller motor mostly operates as a generator, while the larger one helps drive the wheels. At higher speeds (i.e. on the highway), the engine can connect to the drive wheels via a clutch and gets assistance from the secondary motor when necessary.

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While enthusiasts are rightfully excited about the prospect of a new Prelude, it almost certainly won’t sell in big numbers. The idea of Honda investing the necessary resources into redesigning its clever hybrid system just to accommodate a third pedal for a low-volume coupe sounds unlikely to us. Instead, we could see Honda eventually go in the same direction as

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.

Car and Driver reached out to Honda to ask about the potential for a manual Prelude. A company spokesperson left the door open to interpretation, saying “Honda is always pursuing driving pleasure. This alongside maintaining Honda’s ‘fun to drive’ [ethos] is at the heart of the Prelude Concept.”

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