tuous shape, one that flows smoothly from nose to tail. A steeply sloped rear window replaces the traditional Prelude notchback roofline. The design of the rear end is particularly daring, with triangular taillights and extremely rounded and taped rear quarters.
In a departure from Honda traditions, this Prelude has a slightly higher cowl to go with the softer contours, and it give the car a more massive visual presence. We didn't really notice the higher cowl from inside though, because the dashboard is such a surprise. The Prelude has no clearly |
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defined instrument binnacle in front of the driver. Instead, the instruments are arrayed in a five-inch-high strip that stretches the full width of the dashboard and even onto the door panels. Call us curmudgeons, but we are not sure we like Honda's idea of more exciting interior styling.
Don't get us wrong: we have no complaints about the way the cockpit works. The driving position is excellent, the seats are comfortable, the instruments are properly visible, and the switches are all within reach. The swoopier roofline has taken a bite out of rear head room, but transporting |
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four adults has never been a priority for Prelude.
Next, Honda engineers provided more power for new Prelude. The bas S model borrows the SOHC, sixteen-valve, all-aluminum 2.2-liter four complete with balance shafts from the current Accord. With 135 horsepower, this base engine is within five horses of the most powerful previous Prelude engine. The more expensive Si models get a 2.3-liter version of this engine fitted with a DOHC head; it develops 160 horsepower. For the Japanese market, a variable-valve-timing (VTEC) ver- |
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