We finally have an in-depth look at the interior of the all-new Honda Prelude, thanks to Unadon, a Japanese YouTuber with an interest in vintage JDM cars. In his video, Unadon does a thorough walkaround of the Prelude, as well as some driving impressions, while on a closed track.
At the last Tokyo Auto Salon, we were able to get an up-close look at what the production-ready Honda Prelude will probably look like. And it seems there isn’t much interest in its driving style due to the lack of a manual option. Instead, Honda put their faith in S+Shift Technology—a new automated gearbox that should work seamlessly with its hybrid system. It’s no manual, but it’s exciting stuff, in our opinion.
There has been a lot of speculation as to what the interior will look like, given the Prelude’s futuristic shape, and Honda’s Man Maximum, Machine Minimum design language. We can speculate a little less as Unadon revealed that the interior of the Prelude looks... like a Honda. While that sounds underwhelming, it might pay off in the long term. Let’s talk about it.
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If you’ve had the pleasure of hopping into a brand-new Honda Civic (pictured below) or City, you’ll start to build a stark familiarity with Honda interiors. The layout is essentially the same, with the honeycomb air vents stretching across the front, and trios of climate control buttons spaced evenly by the center console. It’s clean and simple, and we can’t blame Honda for the ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ approach.
What’s mainly different on the Prelude, is a new honeycomb pattern on the shorter air vents, and the use of buttons on the gearbox instead of a traditional shifter. The S+ button has also been added to the center console, next to the drive mode selector. To make room for these buttons, the cupholders have been pushed back.
The backseat looks tight, which is something you’d expect from a car like the Prelude. The bench seat is angled and looks firm enough for quick laps around a track, if you really needed to fit someone back there.
Some may be disappointed that the interior isn’t as exciting as the exterior, but this type of design is meant to be a catch-all layout that remains intuitive with any driver. If the Prelude gets the global release it deserves, then this simple interior may be the safest course of action for Honda.
