1997 Honda Prelude Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Owned from March 2003 to April 2005. This was my second car, purchased as a replacement for my '88 Prelude which was wrecked after 3 months of ownership. Overall it was very reliable. Had to replace the transmission in late 2004 which cost me $2700 - the only major repair needed - but what a repair! Car developed some squeaks and rattles around that point as well. Started to consume oil a bit in the final 6 months I had it, though only about a quart a month. Purchased at 70k miles, traded in at 112k, so it received a fair amount of wear and tear from me. Great handling, made every commute entertaining. Great engine sounds at the VTEC crossover point at 5000 RPM. This tended to encourage, um, shall we say, spirited driving, which may have contributed to so-so fuel economy. I observed 17-20 city mpg and 25-28 highway mpg for the time I had the car. Eventually traded the Prelude in for a 2002 Acura CL. The Prelude felt less solid and was slower in a straight line than the CL, but it was easier to drive fast, and was more fun to whip around corners and have fun with.Jan 03, 2013

Performance- Deep gears for cruising the freeway, very light for braking, amazing handling for a FWD, precision engine design so no worries about driving without warming it up, great power for a NA engine. Build Quality- In its entire life it has only needed the typical repairs. No surprises minus when a high school kid ran him over. Zero head room though if your tall. Hopefully you have a sun roof to drive with your head sticking up through. Appearance- My personal opinion is beautiful for a 97' Cost of Ownership- Cheap on the repairs. Rough on the gas with premium and all. Fun Factor. If you like sport compacts and you want a FWD look no further.Mar 21, 2011

Well the performance is good, Except when she gets up there in KMs ahahah. Breaking well everyone knows its about the kind of brakes ya got where you live if its better to have disc brakes of Drum. We Completely redid the car over but must be done again, it was Black at one time with no wing, rims or lip kit. Its not that Great on Gas because it Revs so high Especially for Highway Driving, if you had a loud Exhaust it would Probably drive you Crazy. I Got a Borla Exhaust on it and Have a sub and Aftermarket speakers and Stereo in it. So yeah thats all i got for now! ahahahDec 16, 2010

Performance: Great acceleration from a 2.2L 4 cylinder engine, especially once you rev it up to 5,700+ RPM and VTEC kicks in. It'll pin you against your seat when your not ready for it. Stock brake system is fantastic but larger calipers wouldn't hurt when you need some hard braking. Handling is pretty good for a FWD car, the SH model handles a little bit better with a slightly different suspension setup but the stock base model has a very rigid frame and is low enough to the ground that it'll hold through those corners pretty damn well. Build Quality: My car being 12 years old now has 243,000 miles on it. When I acquired it the engine was broken. Bottom end had just been rebuilt with all brand new seals. Acquired a cylinder head that only had about 18,000 miles on it. Engines together now and feels strong. Only other thing not working right now is the stereo broke. Was planning on putting in an aftermarket stereo anyway. Appearance: Interior is very simple done, terrible cup holders. Looks very nice on the inside. The black interior is wonderful and very comfortable. Exterior styling is one of the main reasons I bought the car. Just looks very sleek and beautiful. Cost of Ownership: Gets about 28 mpg driving around town as long as you stay out of VTEC. Maintenance for me has been very cheap as I can do my own oil changes and brakes. It's a Honda so it's pretty cheap for parts and I do the labor myself. Fun Factor: This car is very fun to drive, definitely a great cheap car to get some nice performance out of. Zero to sixty stock in 6.5 seconds. Oct 23, 2010

SH and means it! Super handling, tight steering, power breaks, fast. Put in a cold air intake, carbon fiber hood, and new black rims and wheels. I love to drive it! Pretty good gas mileage..about 24 mpg. Drives solid and feels like solid quality. No rattling or squeaking ever. Low low low to the ground, and absolutely beautiful. My little racer :]Aug 04, 2009

Personally I love the exterior styling of the Prelude, which still looks fresh 12 years after its debut. Performance wise, it combines fun, tossable handling and snappy (but not overwhelming) acceleration with decent city mileage. Best of all, I have yet to face a serious maintenance issue. On the downside, premium gas and poor highway efficiency drive up the costs of road trips, and the dark interior will only hold two adults comfortably. Jul 16, 2009

Though i've only had this car for a short period of time, this is an amazing car. after i had an accident with it, it was still moving without any problems. the seats are comfortable. and the pick up is amazing. a lot of power, especially for a 97 4-banger. the stock audio system is great too, car looks great as well, looks new, even though its twelve years old. when i crashed i felt safe as you could feel in a car accident.Aug 25, 2008

2 seat sports coupe. 1997 was the first year for the 5th (and last) generation of the Prelude. There were minimal changes from 97 to the end which came in 01 when the S2000 was introduced. The car has a 2.2liter 4 cylinder engine that makes 200hp, and 156 ft/lbs of torque. This is good for a mid 7 second sprint to 60mph and a (slow) 1/4 mile of about 15.5 seconds. I consider the Prelude to be respectably quick when compared to modern 4 and 6 cylinder cars.Feb 25, 2008

To this day I still do a double take whenever I see a 5th gen Prelude on the road, it's such a beautiful looking car. This was a fun car, and reliable for the most part. I was a bit surprised by how thirsty it was and requiring premium, considering it's a 4-cylinder. Fuel economy is on par with my previous V6 Jetta and Passat. But I guess that's the high winding VTEC's fault. I really would have liked to keep this car longer. But when I saw my current '02 Miata, I couldn't pass it up. Once I bought that, the Prelude became redundant. There can be only one sporty 2-door in my garage. But I guess it was good timing, the guy who bought it from me started having transmission troubles shortly thereafter. Maybe it's him (dude tried to shift from 3rd into reverse at 40mph while on the test drive) or maybe I dodged another bullet, I don't know. Service date: 25 July 2006 to 27 July 2007 (sold). Gasoline used: 93 octane over nearly 10,000 miles averaging 25.67 mpg. Per gallon price ranged from $1.889 (11/1/06) to $3.199 (8/10/06). Historical perspective, in the 1 year and 29 times I gassed up this Prelude, the only time I paid less than $2 per gallon was the 11/1/06 fillup. 4 times I paid over $3 per gallon, during the first 3 fillups and the final fillup. The rest of the time it was in the $2 range.Jan 05, 2008