Honda Prelude 2.2i

Author's product rating:   

Safety	Excellent
Comfort	Excellent
Road Handling	Excellent
Looks	Excellent
Features	Excellent

Advantages:	Fast, reliable, not as heavy on fuel as other sports cars
Disadvantages:	folding mirrors may cause trouble in winter

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

If you're looking for a head turning car for not a lot of money then this it it. My advice go for the tip-tronic not the manual as they are a much better drive. Also if you are going to go for an import (can get better deals and a car that has a better spec and much lower mileage) check out some of the supermarket sites for insurance, they don't penalise you for having a grey-import. Although please remember if you are buying a grey-import you may have to have a rear fog light fitted if the garage or previous owner hasn't already had it done.
The only down side I've discovered so far is that the wing mirrors which fold in (very useful if parking in a tight space!) can jam in the winter if salt and grit get into the mechanism, but this can be easily solved by using a little bit of washing up liquid and gentle (and I mean gentle!) manipulation. Overall the Prelude is a great buy, cheap to run compared to most other sports cars and doesn't cost the earth for insurance.

0-60? Well its about 6.4-6.5 seconds. So its faster than a Porsche Boxster and about the same as a Chrysler Crossfire. Top speed? Not sure, but the guage does go up to 184 (I'm too chicken and I like my license too much to try it). 200+ bhp. So its all round value for money. Another thing about the Preludes is they aren't that common (Blue is apparently the most common colour for Preludes). Another point to note, please remember this car is a 2+2, i.e. although it does have a back seat its not like a proper 4/5 seat car. Comparing this to a friends Audi TT Coupe there is more room in the back of the Prelude (I've had two friends, one who is 6ft tall in the back of mine and they thought it was reasonable comfortable for the back of a sports car. So if you want something a bit different then go for one of these, there was a shape change in the Prelude around a P plate (1996) and the new shape has square lights (similar to the last of the Toyota supras), the older shape has horizontal rectangular lights and in my personal opinion I prefer the newer shape although there are still many really nice examples of the older shape on the road (and that can be snapped up for a very reasonable price!)