by J.J. Gertler

Taking a New Road

Quick Look: 1992 Honda Prelude Si
Honda is moving in new directions. You can see that plainly in the styling of the new Civic and Prelude, and you can certainly feel it on the road.

That's the impression I was left with following a brief opportunity to drive the new Honda Prelude Si.

As a regular CRX Si owner disenchanted with the direction the CRX's successor is taking, I was interested in what Honda saw as the upgrade path. Candor compels me to note that while I am familiar with most current Honda products and have ridden as a passenger in a recent Prelude, I have not previously driven one.

The new Prelude looks better in person than in pictures. The body has many more curves than we're used to in Honda products, but is as precisely built.

The initial impression on sitting in the car (at least, to a CRX owner) is its solidity. This is a cabin-class, long-range cruising automobile. Many former options, including stereo, are included on even the base Preludes; power windows and mirrors and cruise control are standard on the Si. This results in a complete automobile, but somewhat unfortunate sticker prices.

A driver's-side air bag is standard (with one on the passenger's side on the 4WS model), so no mice are present. The seats are initially quite soft, with a firmer layer underneath, and are very comfortable. Interior materials are excellent, in the Honda manner.

However, the Honda manner -- or at least its philosophy -- has changed noticeably with the Prelude in three other areas, two of which are quite noticeable from the inside.

First, the dash, while sporting clear instruments, has shifted from the driver-oriented cockpit style to what I think of as a more GM-like appearance. The instruments are not grouped in a binnacle in front of the driver, but spread across a wide, slot-like dash which spans the width of the car. Temperature and fuel gauges are halfway to the passenger's seat. The center console, containing heater and radio controls, is no longer canted toward the driver, but offers equal access to the passenger.

The other apparent philosophy change is in outward visibility. Honda used to take great pride in the excellent view from inside their cars; the sales brochure for my CRX notes with pride its "280 degrees of outward visibility," and previous Hondas including Preludes have been notable for their airy cabins. The thick C pillars of the new Prelude, however, reduce both outward vision and the airiness of the interior noticeably. They do not intrude in normal driving, but the overall sensation is much more of being indoors than in previous Hondas. And unlike the CRX, Civic or Accord, you can see a fair bit of the Prelude's hood, albeit not enough to give an instinctive sense of where the front corners are.

The rear seats are not generous, but should be sufficient for those occasions when you wish your 2-seater had that extra place just to take somebody across town or to the airport. They will also hold a child's car seat adequately. Both back seats fold down, allowing access to the tall but abbreviated trunk; I suspect that the seats will be folded down frequently if your shopping runs to any items more voluminous than groceries.

ON THE ROAD

The 2.6 liter Si engine starts eagerly. The clutch in our test car was a bit stiff, but not unduly so for a new car.

The shifter is a surprise. It's a stubby, squarish knob similar to that in the Accord, with short throws and, in our test car, a most un-Honda-like vagueness and cheap feel. It felt more like a K-car transmission than anything from Suzuka. The gate is not well defined, and engagement is detectable only by a light click through the shifter. I'll admit to being spoiled by the best FWD shifter in the business, but this was far from the mark, and would lead me to believe that the sample car was not representative of the line -- or at least I hope so.

The biggest surprise of the new Prelude, and the biggest philosophy change for Honda, is how the 2.6 liter Si motor pulls the car. It doesn't, at least not as well as it should. It is clearly a strong engine, and it's possible to run out of speedometer, but that will take you a while. Acceleration isn't bad, but you sense right away that this is a *lot* of car. The Prelude is HEAVY, and its sub-30 MPG EPA numbers reflect that.

That said, the Prelude is a very nice car to drive. It is extremely quiet on the highway, in a league with some very serious luxury sedans. The engine seems quite far away, and those used to a different class of automobile will need to listen much more sharply for shift points. Braking is adequate, and the ABS does its work quietly and with little fuss.

Handling is, in a word, Germanic. It feels more like a BMW than several current BMWs do. The Prelude is too much car to toss, as such, but it turns in crisply -- due in part to the standard Michelins -- and with surprisingly little body roll. You can tuck the nose in by lifting the throttle, but the fore-and-aft balance of the car is not upset. The handling is almost eerily precise for such a heavy-feeling car. It will go where you point it, but unlike its smaller stablemates, the Prelude doesn't have fun doing so; it is more serious, more deliberate. The variable-assist steering is a bit overboosted at 55 and above, but retains good feel at around-town speeds.

In short, the 1992 Honda Prelude Si is a new class of car for Honda. The name is misapplied; this car is no longer the Prelude to anything. It has arrived. But where? It's a splendid tourer, and on a 1200-mile run in the CRX last week, I found myself wishing I'd been able to keep the Prelude a little longer. But come fill-up time, or monthly payment time -- especially given the competition in the $16-to-20,000 bracket -- I think I'd regret it.

If Honda were to come in with a less heavily-optioned Prelude, below the current base model, with a good bit less weight and a driver-oriented dash, they could have the dominant car in the class. As it is, I told my wife that after she read the brochure, she could toss it. This isn't a bad car. But it's not quite the car for me.

Go to Honda