Faults:

Water pump died at 145K, easy fix.

C.V. joints needed replacing as well.

The back seats are tiny (but it's a 2 door, so its what you would expect).

If you're in Vtec, gas will be guzzled like crazy.

General Comments:

The Prelude is a seriously awesome car, I bought my car for 3K (NZ), which was a good deal.

The engine is simply amazing; the 2.2 DOHC VTEC pulls, and pulls hard from about 5000rpm all the way to redline. However if you change from 1st down to 2nd, you must take the car to 7800-8000rpm so you're not out of the VTEC range when you hit 2nd.

My car had a few mods done to it; intake, headers and exhaust.

Another surprising aspect of this car is the torque. A lot of people think it's the horse power that wins races, and it's not generally true. Horse power sells the car. Torque wins the races. And for a 4 cylinder engine, this car has a lot of torque; 217NM.

If you want to feel the true potential of this car, you have to be on the move; 3rd gear at 5500rpm, you can keep up or even beat some turbo cars. I have taken out many turbo cars that have a lot more power than me.

Brakes are fine; I had no issues with brakes. The handling in my car was a bit sluggish (I had factory springs), but it can be easily fixed with a set of aftermarket coil over suspension.

Overall the Honda Prelude is one of the fastest cars in its price range, and has no problem keeping up with some cars double its price. If you want a cheap car with a lot of go, the Prelude is the one to go for.

Faults:

I've owned this car for 8 months now, I purchased it at a Auction for a total of $4450! The best deal ever.

So far so good this car hasn't given a single mechanical problem.

General Comments:

In case you're wondering my car looks like the 1993-1996 models even though its listed as 1991.

What can I say? It's a Honda. Which means quality over all. Since this is a V-TEC model I'll start with performance.

I'm not sure of how quick it is, but its definitely between 6.8 and 7.5 seconds from 0-100km per hour. My friend owns a 1996 Nissan Skyline sedan 2.5L automatic. On the straight he had the advantage for the first 20-25 metres, after I reach 7000rpm in second gear I caught up very quickly.

WARNING: V-TEC CAN BE VERY ADDICTIVE.

If I drive under 3000rpm this car can be pretty economical for a 2.2L engine.

On the inside it is very comfortable for the driver and the front passenger. The back seats though are not really suitable for people over the height of 1.5m tall. I'm just over 1.85m tall and If I sit in the back behind the driver's seat; after I adjust the seat so that I may drive and give maximum space for the back passenger; My head is uncomfortably pushing against the rear window. Not is it uncomfortable, but if the car were to roll adult passengers would likely die from severe head injuries. So basically the back seats are for little kids.

The boot space is reasonable for a sports car and has a hatch behind the right-back passenger seat that allows long objects such as fishing rods, skis, ski poles, snowboards etc.

Unfortunately insurance can be pretty pricey especially if your under 21 and living in New Zealand. At the moment I'm 18 and paying $78 per month for third party insurance including fire, and wind shield protection.

I was aware that some red cars built before 1993 may be prone to sun damage (red fades) I read about it, but this was information based on the Toyota Mr2.

The auction warehouse where I bought my car was in-doors and due to low-light I didn't notice the sun damage until a couple of days later.

If you are thinking about purchasing a Honda Prelude check for the following:

1. If it has a sun roof check the under the rubber seals for rust. This is extremely expensive to fix.

2. If the car is red, check for shades of pink.

Over all this is a great car for how much it costs.

Faults:

The whole Aerial with electric motor needed replacing when I first bought it. Aftermarket replacement item is much cheaper than factory genuine part. as is the case with parts for any Honda. Don't say I didn't warn you.

General Comments:

Even though I have many sports cars to own ahead of me, I think I will always have fond memories of this car. Even though the 4WS is the talking point, this car is one of those cars that is more than the sum of it's parts. For a two litre of it's age is quite astounding, here in Australia it was seen as being ahead of it's time, like most Japanese sports/luxury cars of the time. The only complaints is the lack of "grunt" down low, under 3500rpm Most cars will leave you in their wake until you hit 5000rpm, by then their long gone, so forget about the traffic light Grand Prix.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

This car handles the best of any I have owned; I love the 4 wheel steering. The motor is good for 215 kph (130 mph) around here.

Styling is still up to date and the paint work (white) is still in great condition.

Automatic now has very sudden shifts, which is the only disappointing thing.