Honda Prelude (BB) review: the last Honda coupe engineered to prove a point
3.8/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy a BB Prelude for what it does, not for what it costs to keep running: the Type S with ATTS turns in with a sharpness no other front-driver of its era matched, and the H22A VTEC engine rewards being revved out rather than short-shifted. It is not a sensible used buy in Bahrain - parts come from Japan or the US, specialists are few, and the automatic-gearbox cars have none of the appeal - but a well-kept manual Type S is one of the last honest enthusiast Hondas money can still buy used.
Pros
- Active Torque Transfer System on Type S is unique torque-vectoring engineering for a front-driver of its era
- H22A VTEC rewards high revs with genuine performance
- Distinctive, still-appreciating enthusiast coupe rather than a common used-car-lot model
- Manual Type S handling is sharper than most front-wheel-drive rivals from the same years
Cons
- Never sold new in Bahrain - every car is a Japanese or North American grey import
- Parts and ATTS-specialist mechanics are scarce locally
- Small 2+2 cabin and boot, stiff low-speed ride
- Automatic-gearbox cars lose the differential and most of the appeal
Honda built the fifth-generation Prelude at a point when it still believed a front-wheel-drive coupe could out-corner cars with the engine over the driven wheels. The Type S grade got Honda's Active Torque Transfer System, a mechanical differential that actively shuffles torque between the front wheels under power - a genuinely unusual piece of engineering for 1997, and still the reason enthusiasts seek this car out today.
The H22A 2.2-litre VTEC engine is the other half of the argument. It does very little below 5,000 rpm and everything above it, pulling hard to a 7,200 rpm cam changeover and beyond. Driven gently it feels unremarkable; driven the way Honda intended, it is one of the more rewarding four-cylinders of its generation.
Ownership reality in Bahrain
This is not a car sold new here, and it has not been for two decades - every BB Prelude on Bahraini roads arrived as a Japanese or North American grey import. That means panel and trim parts, ATTS components and even some engine parts are sourced from Japan or the US rather than a local dealer parts counter, and the mechanics who know the platform well are a short list, not a long one.
Heat is a real factor. The H22A tolerates Bahrain's summers reasonably well if the cooling system has been kept up, but a neglected radiator or a tired VTEC solenoid on a 25-plus-year-old car will show up faster here than in a milder climate. Buy on service history, not on shine.
What to buy, what to avoid
The manual Type S or SiR with ATTS is the car to want; the four-speed automatic loses the differential and most of the reason to choose a Prelude over a cheaper coupe. Avoid a car with an unclear import history or one that has clearly been driven hard without matching maintenance records - VTEC engines forgive high revs, not skipped oil changes.
Three months in, the flaw most owners notice is the same one Honda's own engineers accepted: this is a 2+2 with a small boot and a stiff low-speed ride, tuned entirely around what it does above 5,000 rpm. It is not the daily-driver coupe a modern buyer might expect from the badge.