If you thought the demise of the Honda Civic Coupe and Honda Accord Coupe meant the brand was done with its two-doors, think again. Honda showed a very modern take on a two-door coupe in a concept at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show, and it appeared again looking production-ready at the Tokyo auto show in the spring of 2025. And much to the delight of nostalgic enthusiasts, they gave it a familiar name. Say hello to Honda Prelude, which we expect is now very close to the final form we’ll see when the car launches for the 2026 model year.
Honda Canada is promoting the upcoming Prelude on its website, confirming that we can expect see this hybrid sports coupe in Canadian dealerships. Here’s everything we know so far about the 2026 Honda Prelude. Be sure to bookmark this page: we’ll update it as we receive more information.
2026 Honda Prelude in Canada: What We Know So Far
- 2026 Honda Prelude styling
- 2026 Honda Prelude interior design and practicality
- 2026 Honda Prelude engines, motors and drive
- 2026 Honda Prelude price and release date
2026 Honda Prelude styling
The upcoming Honda Prelude — not to be confused with the Prologue, Honda’s dedicated electric vehicle — reaches back to a storied performance-oriented automotive nameplate first seen in 1978. We take this as a hint that Honda sees the Prelude as having an important role in the brand’s future, not only in its electrification strategy but also in maintaining a sporty image.
On the new Honda Prelude concept car, the LED lightbar and angled headlamps, and the overall otherwise minimalist look, suggest a confident simplicity. We’re not sure we’re fans of stamping “Honda” across the rear end in title case instead of upper case, though: it’s a surprising departure from visual symmetry. It’s entirely possible this styling won’t make it to production.
2026 Honda Prelude interior design and practicality
As expected, the earliest images of the Prelude’s interior suggest close ties with the Honda Civic compact car and Accord mid-size car. It does appear to have a back seat, though space is expected to be at a premium. The prototype features a premium-looking navy and cream colour scheme and has a number of things in common with its four-door cousins, particularly the more upscale Acura Integra. These include a touchscreen infotainment system at the top of the dashboard, a lower set of climate control buttons and dials, and a toggle for drive modes.
Three elements in the Prelude’s interior stand out. One is the gear selector, which uses the button and trigger style currently seen in other Honda vehicles including the Passport and Odyssey. The others are a set of steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters and an S+ Shift button, which suggests the lack of a geared transmission in the Prelude’s drivetrain won’t hold it back from delivering a sporty driving experience.
Interestingly, Honda has indicated that the driver’s seat and front passenger seat will have different designs in the Prelude. The driver’s seat offers more lateral support — again suggesting that throwing it around in corners is the plan — while the front passenger seat has more padding and is designed more around long-term comfort.
2026 Honda Prelude engines, motors and drive
As of this writing, little official information has been released about the Honda Prelude’s powertrain. It will be a dedicated hybrid sporting a 2.0-litre four-cylinder gas engine and a pair of electric motors, the same setup as what’s currently used in the Honda Accord Hybrid and Honda Civic Hybrid. Whether Honda will be able to squeeze more power out of it for the Prelude is yet to be determined.
This powertrain likely means the Prelude is configured with the electro-continuously variable transmission (eCVT) used in the Civic Hybrid and Accord Hybrid, suggesting a manual transmission such as that in the Civic Type R sports car is almost certainly off the table. All-wheel drive (AWD) is probably not in the cards either: while the Honda CR-V uses a three-motor AWD hybrid powertrain, the Prelude’s sedan and hatchback stablemates come only with a front-wheel drive (FWD) layout.
As noted above, the Prelude includes some features that add to the joy of driving such as paddle shifters and an S+ button, suggesting Honda will position the Prelude more as a sporty hybrid than a pure fuel efficiency exercise.
2026 Honda Prelude price and release date
Official pricing details for the 2026 Honda Prelude have not been announced. If we piggyback off the guesses being tossed around in the U.S. market, we’d bet this new Honda will start in Canada at roughly $40,000. Watch for additional updates as we get closer to production for North America, which is expected to begin sometime in the latter half of 2025.