Honda Prelude review

Long story short, it's £40,995. Honda worked hard to find a figure high enough to justify its appearance in our showrooms but low enough to tempt people from a BMW. And avoid the shock value the FL5 Civic Type R caused when its RRP breached fifty grand...

Nevertheless, the Prelude’s profit margin will be negligible and the 500 or so cars Honda UK expects to import annually will be sold as halo products to knowing enthusiasts, we suspect. With the Type R now retired in our market, this coupe picks up its mantle as brand leader. Which makes its £5k premium over an identically powered ZR-V crossover seem all the better value.

And it ought to prove cheap to run; Honda claims 54.3mpg and we scored 40.3 in mixed, but typically vigorous use that incorporated an afternoon on the spectacular Route Napoleon. In everyday use it ought to prove notably more frugal.

Black is the only standard colour, with white, grey and its bold, signature blue all optional. There are styling packs available on top of that, not to mention a burgeoning aftermarket scene with Mugen already releasing body kits and aero devices. It’ll probably prove pricey to ship some of that across to Britain - but don’t let us stop you.

Its BMW 220i Coupe arch-rival starts at a whisker under £40k with an identical 181bhp, swifter 7.5sec dash to 62mph and thirstier 44.1mpg. It’ll better accommodate rear passengers and you may rejoice in its more traditional rear-wheel-drive layout and regular 2.0-litre petrol turbo/eight-speed automatic drivetrain. But it won’t attract the fascinated inquisition of other road users anywhere near as much.