MotorWeek | Retro Review: '88 Honda Prelude 4WS

well hello and welcome to motor week 88 for glad to have you with us if you watch the automobile industry closely you've no doubt noticed that the 1980s have seen a lot of technical advances first there was on-road four-wheel drive for sedans then came anti-lock brakes and for 1988 four-wheel steering the Japanese have pioneered four-wheel steering in the 80s and they have raced to introduce it Honda has come to the u.s. first with it choosing their enormous li successful Prelude si for its introduction but will the new system really make a difference or has Honda just added a very expensive gimmick the Honda Prelude si with four-wheel steering looks about like any other Prelude si only badges on the door pillars tell you it's different so if you're the kind of person who likes to be the first on your block with a new toy don't be disappointed if nobody else takes note but maybe having four wheels turn it once is enough for your ego and knowing how it happens is quite interesting the Honda four-wheel steering is the first such system sold here and unlike others to follow its purely mechanical turn the steering wheel less than two hundred forty six degrees and the rear wheels will turn up to one and a half degrees in the same direction as the front ones this in theory should improve handling at higher speeds turn the steering wheel more than two hundred forty six degrees and the rear wheel steer up to five and a third degrees in the direction opposite the front ones this gives better low speed maneuverability it also shortens the turning circle to a very compact 33 feet from underneath things don't look too complex but the gears arrangement inside this rear steering box is a marvel it takes its commands from a shaft connected to the front steering box wheel motion is then transmitted along conventional looking links while reliability shouldn't be a worry we'd hate to see the repair bill after a rear-end collision so does a four-wheel steer prelude handle any differently well it's very hard to tell the two wheel steer prelude is already a great handling sporty coupe the four-wheel steer prelude doesn't feel too much different in the slalom you can go a little faster and turn a little later without having to tail in come on you so far we found four wheel steer cars to be less than a second faster at a slalom than similar to will steer cars as speeds climb however it is apparent that 4-wheel steering gives the driver a little more room for error both Mazda and Porsche have rear suspension systems that provide the same outcome without the complexity of extra steering gear and in everyday driving you will be hard-pressed to notice any real advantage to the preludes four-wheel steering but the story is much different at crawl speeds ever been boxed in getting into and out of tight parking spaces and the prelude four-wheel steer is a snap although since the car turned sharper than you'd expect parking takes some practice but there's more to the 88 Prelude than 4-wheel steering such as a 0 to 60 time of 9 seconds and a quarter-mile run that ends in 17 seconds at 81 miles per hour those good times are due to the Prelude s i--'s new 2-liter double overhead cam 16-valve 4-cylinder engine compared to last year's SI engine horsepower is up 23 percent to 135 and torque 11% to 127 pound-feet it works best when mated to Honda's excellent 5-speed manual transmission and electronically-controlled four-speed automatic is also available braking is accomplished by four-wheel disc which bring the praises down from 55 with an average distance of only 106 feet stability is good the rear brakes do have a tendency to lock our test cars control in panic stops was somewhat difficult but despite all the technical hoopla we should point out that the 88 preludes changes are not all mechanical the still familiar exterior has improved looks and aerodynamics the front end has been smoothed out with a new ground hugging air dam added the engine has been canted rearward so the hood line could be lowered substantially to improve the drivers forward visibility visibility has also been improved by narrowing the roof pillars glass area has been increased by 20% but honda claims the new roof is stronger than the old one despite its new trimmer lines and the rear end has also changed with last year separate spoiler now integrated into the trunk lid inside there's less textured plastic and more room typically the dash is well laid out with all controls clearly marked and easy to reach gauges are good but basic wouldn't mind seeing a voltmeter or oil pressure gauge added in the future the front bucket seats are firm but very comfortable support his good adjustments are manual but they make it easy to tailor the seat to any driver front seats include door mounted passive seatbelts we have to live with them but we would like to see a more convenient control lever for the tilt wheel it's too far down the steering column but we have no complaints about the steering wheel-mounted cruise control buttons that let you keep your hands on the wheel we're also impressed by the easy-to-use climate controls and the excellent cassette stereo it uses two antennas for improved radio reception the rear seat is typical for a two-door coupe it loses points for legroom but gain some for shoulder belts the trunk offers plenty of luggage space and a moderate lift / and loading big suitcases is easy despite a short opening there's even more luggage space if you fold rear seatback flat the EPA estimates the preludes fuel economy to be twenty-three city twenty-seven highway are mixed driving Luke returned to moderate 25 miles per gallon but there's nothing moderate about the price virtually everything is standard on a prelude si including the electric moonroof so the base price is a substantial sixteen thousand six hundred forty five dollars add another thirteen hundred dollars if you want four-wheel steering so our test car cost seventeen thousand nine hundred forty five dollars that's expensive to begin with and thirteen hundred dollars for easier parking does seem excessive in our safety check the prelude si four-wheel steer passes on all but one count it still doesn't have anti-lock brakes our list of hits include the prelude stylish new exterior improved interior and better acceleration from its new engine we also love the low speed maneuverability of four-wheel steering mrs. R to its high price and overly touchy brakes but lest we forget there's another issue here the preludes four-wheel steering it's great for City hardly noticeable at speed expensive we'd like to see it on a much larger luxury car or on an off-road four-wheel-drive wagon its advantages could really make a difference on such vehicles and its price could be more easily absorb of course the four-wheel steering is only an option and without it the prelude still steers better than ever

Channel: MotorWeek

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Keywords: Clean, Pickups, MPG, Hybrid, MotorWeek, Gasoline, Diesel, Pickup Trucks, PBS, Utilities, Fuel, Trucks, EV, CUVs, Ltd (Organization Founder) MotorWeek (Award-Winning Work), SUV, Road Test, PHEV, Exotic, SUVs, Automotive, Car, Fuel Economy, Fast, CUV, Review, Cars, Honda Prelude (Automobile Model) Honda Motor Company Honda Motor Company, Speed, Electric Vehicle, Track, Consumer

Id: DSo6ZALWa9g

Length: 7min 50sec (470 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 10 2014

Reddit Comments

[u/justawelder]

Brother's girlfriend had this car. I never got to drive it :( was in really good condition, but they got rid of it because the timing belt snapped.