I have never fully understood the difference between the Prelude and the Honda Accord coupé. The first-generation Prelude was built on the first-generation Honda Accord platform, so why did the third-generation Accord re-introduce a coupé? The third-generation Accord also aligned with the design of the Prelude, CR-X and Integra, so they all featured pop-up headlights. This made it even more difficult to distinguish them from each other.
We’ll probably never know the true answer to why it was re-introduced, but let’s put the Prelude and the Accord coupé side by side and compare them.
| Prelude | Accord coupé | |
| Length | 4,460 mm (175.6 in) | 4,564 mm (179.7 in) |
| Width | 1,709 mm (67.3 in) | 1,695 mm (67 in) |
| Height | 1,295 mm (51 in) | 1,336 mm (52.6 in) |
| Wheelbase | 2,565 mm (101 in) | 2,600 mm (102.4 in) |
As you can see, the difference in dimensions is marginal. The Accord coupé is only 10 centimetres (4 inches) longer, 1.6 centimetres (0.3 inches) wider and 4 centimetres (1.6 inches) higher. The wheelbase is also almost equal.
In terms of engines, the difference is much bigger. Where the Accord coupé features the Honda A20A1 and A20A3 engines, the Prelude features the B20 in both single and double-overhead-cam variants. The Accord coupé is aimed clearly much more towards leisure cruising in a GT variant of the Accord, while the Prelude is aimed towards performance.
To settle the debate once and for all, here is a mashup of the two:
Yes, they really look almost identical to each other!
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