Honda's Prelude was about to join the ranks of the dearly departed. Like

so many sport coupes, its sales were slow, and there was informed speculation

of the Prelude's impending demise, even within American Honda, speculation

that was magnified by Honda's typical tight security concerning future

products.

Well, it's a year later and we're pleased to say that all the speculative

doom-and-gloom, our own included, was wrong. There's a new Prelude for

1997, fifth generation in this popular series, roomier, more powerful and

more technically sophisticated than generation four. In a word, better.

this creative engineering company has come up with yet another gee-whiz

innovation to add to the mix.

Honda calls it the Active Torque Transfer System (ATTS), and it seems

likely to take front-drive performance cars another step closer to parity

with their rear-drive competitors in terms of absolute handling. ATTS distinguishes

the standard Prelude from the SH model, our test subject.

Here's how it works. When a front-drive car hustles around a corner,

its front tires have to perform an extra function--power transfer--that

the front tires on a rear-driver don't. That's why even very good-handling

front-drive cars like the Prelude are more prone to understeer than their

rear-drive counterparts.

Understeer describes a car's resistance to turn-in. The faster the entry

speed to a given corner, the more the car wants to go straight ahead.

ATTS addresses this trait through a clever set of mechanical functions

that automatically transfers available engine torque--as much as 80%--to

the outside front wheel, and also increases its rotational speed by as

much as 15%.

Putting the extra power into the outside front wheel, which typically

bears the heaviest load in hard cornering, compensates for the extra load

and restores balance.

It's a typical Honda solution to a problem no one else has really managed

to solve--and it works.

This is a slightly bigger Prelude. The wheelbase has been stretched

almost an inch and a half, overall length has increased by 3.2 inches,

height by an inch. It's also a smidge heavier, partly because of the dimensional

increases, partly because Honda's chassis engineers have gone through the

platform from stem to stern to increase overall rigidity. Dramatically.

We're impressed by the results, because the previous bodyshell was already

one of the best in its class in terms of stiffness, which is the cornerstone

of ride and handling development. Like the last generation, the new Prelude

uses Honda's double wishbone suspension fore and aft, with disc brakes

on all four aluminum alloy, which have increased an inch in diameter to

16 inches.

Honda's stylists seem to have looked to the third generation Prelude

for inspiration in designing the latest. The roofline is more formal and

the overall appearance more conservative compared to the swoopy lines of

generation four. The most distinctive element is a pair of high-output

vertically rectangular headlamps, remiscent of the new Mercedes SLK roadster.

The new Prelude comes in just two models--standard and SH--with one

engine. This means bad news and good news. The bad news is that last year's

less expensive (and less powerful) S and Si versions have disappeared from

the lineup. The good news is that the surviving engine is the 2.2-liter

dohc 16-valve VTEC aluminum four-cylinder, slightly uprated to a sizzling

195 horsepower for the new car.

Honda also offers a new automatic transmission option for the Prelude,

a four-speed called the Sequential SportShift, that allows the driver to

shift manually as well as operate in full automatic mode. Similar in concept

to the Chrysler AutoStick, it adds more driving fun to automatic editions,

but also adds weight and cost, and subtracts from all-around performance.

Besides the extra mass, AutoStick editions also come to the party with

five less hp.

the new one. The cockpit still provides the same blend of sports car intimacy,

supportive sport bucket seats, high quality materials and plentiful comfort/convenience

amenities as its predecessor.

But there are also a couple of welcome improvements. Honda has put most

of the new car's increased length to work in the rear seat area, which

makes it useful as a people perch, rather than mere parcel shelf status.

And there's also an extra cubic foot of space under the rear decklid, and

the rear seatbacks now fold forward to expand cargo volume.

Just as welcome is the new dashboard and instrument panel, which reverts

to a classic Honda gauge package rather than the peculiar, spread-out displays

of the previous model. The slightly taller roofline affords more glass

area, which improves driver sightlines in the rear quarters, and there

are several bins and pockets for stowing small stuff, another typical Honda

touch.

Standard equipment for the basic Prelude includes air conditioning,

a 160-watt AM/FM/CD sound system, power moonroof, cruise control, driver's

seat height adjustment, tilt steering with a leather-wrapped wheel, map

lights, ignition switch light and power windows, mirrors and locks.

Besides ATTS, the SH version adds leather wrapping to the shift knob,

and the rear spoiler with integrated LED brake light. The automatic, a

$1000 option, is available only on the standard Prelude. And leather seating

has disappeared from the option list, an effort by Honda--questionable,

in our view--to keep prices down.

Safety features--ABS, dual airbags, side impact protection--are contemporary,

but not extraordinary, though Honda has adopted a new Key Code security

system, similar to the PASS-KEY system developed by General Motors.

valve Timing and lift Electronic Control--system, but the configuration

employed in the Prelude is still the most stimulating. Using two sets of

cam lobes per shaft--one set mild, the second aggressive--the mechanically

activated system engages the second set of lobes at about 5200 rpm and

voila!--we have liftoff.

In the lower gears, particularly, power comes on with a dramatic rush

reminiscent of some turbocharged cars, transforming the engine from mild

to wild. At maximum thrust, the little 2.2-liter engine propels the Prelude

to 60 mph in about seven seconds, making an engagingly refined snarl while

doing so.

The five-speed gearbox is precise, although the gear ratios aren't quite

as close as they were in previous VTEC-power Preludes, probably for a little

better fuel economy.

Honda's painstaking work with the chassis is immediately apparent in

hard cornering, even in the basic car. And the function of the ATTS wizardry

in our SH tester lends an amazing new dimension to front-drive motoring.

When cornering speed increases, it simply makes the driver forget that

understeer ever existed. Transitions are instantaneous, steering responses

scalpel-sharp.

The only trouble with ATTS--and we're not at all sure this can even

be classified as a problem--is that you have to drive the car quite briskly

to experience its magic.

The only other mild negative to emerge from our Prelude driving experience

was ride quality that is distinctly firm. This is a very sporty setup,

and it doesn't let you forget its thoroughbred sinews for a minute.

ranks at the head of the small sport coupe class. With prices starting

at $23,595, it's far from cheap. But for the accomplished driver who appreciates

refined, technically advanced sporting machinery with few compromises,

the new Prelude is a must-drive.