Lude Generation

Hi guys,

This is my first post. I've been interested in buying a 5th generation Prelude for some time and would appreciate any feedback.

How many drive their (5th generation) Prelude every day, as a daily commuter?

Are these cars ideal for such purposes. Whats a realistic MPG for urban / rural driving, considering their age now?

Looking at various sources, the majority appear to be priced at less than £3000, even for mint examples. Thats ALOT of car for very little money !?

Any advice, warnings, or guidance prior to me contemplating a purchase?

Many thanks in advance!

Welcome to LG!!

Most one here will be using there 5th as a daily, me included. Dont expect a lot of room in the rear though. The Lude is perfect for two people and it has a decent sized boot. Expect MPG's of low 20's for urban and freaking insane rural driving, whole tank MPG's of between 20 & 30 MPG.

Apart from looking for rust on the arches, door pillars, and sills, the main thing to look out for is 4 wheel steering and other electrical issues. All warning lights should illuminate @ position I and all should go out when the engine starts. If the warning lights do not illuminate at all it could be that a previous owner has removed the warning bulb .

Edit - ha ha "freaking insane" word filter.

All Honda can be used daily. Reliability isn't an issue. Apart from stick calipers and rust.
Expect 25-35mpg average depending on route.

1st post for me too.

I get 35-40 on my Lude, if you drive it with economy in mind you can easily get a lot better than the general average.

I also get 50+ out of 1.4 civic so I guess I'm just good at economy driving. All comes down to patience!

I daily my lude and its great, apart from boot space I can't fault it. Havn't driven mine for too long though so hey.

Check around the black plastic strip on rear arches for rust.

I payed £1675 for a real nice looking 98 4WS Motegi Black Top. Interior is spotless, exterior is 90%. Engine is bang on. 100k miles with full Honda service history.

Don't pay more than £2000!

Deffo a daily but you will notice a hole in your pocket if you move from a diesel or a small petrol.

Vtec will take you down to 12mpg when hammering it but economy driving will return 35-38 on a run. I normally see 350-400 miles out of a 60l tank.

Yes, it is a lot of car for little money. If you are serious about driving I would look for a 2WS model. pref with LSD. Otherwise the 4WS system is great, up to a point, when hammering it and helps with parking and general mooching about.

Look for a clean UKDM motegi, late model 99+ as they have the redtop 200bhp engine. rear calipers stick as said but as long as you keep to a good service schedule it will see you many smiles.


If you can find one, and you dont mind the japtax on the insurance(150-250+), look for a Type S. This is the top dogs as far as the 5th gen went and has a number of comfort, suspension, differential and engine modifications as standard.

lewd lude lover wrote: Yes, it is a lot of car for little money. If you are serious about driving I would look for a 2WS model. pref with LSD. Otherwise the 4WS system is great, up to a point, when hammering it and helps with parking and general mooching about.

Just to clarify, you shouldn't ever reach the limitations of the 4WS on the road, if you do, you're driving like a tool
Good advice from everyone so far, I have a 4th so won't wade in with any specifics, just to say my Prelude is pretty far from stock and it's my daily, zero complaints here.

I drive mine to work everyday, 8 miles each way with a mix of country roads and town driving. I average around 27 MPG.

lewd lude lover wrote:If you are serious about driving I would look for a 2WS model

Why is that?

bennyboy wrote:you shouldn't ever reach the limitations of the 4WS on the road

Or the track

OK, but a LOT less likely on the road yes

I'm not having a go. I learnt to drive on track in my 4WS 5th before I got my 2WS 4th and got into some crazy jobby without the 4WS spazzing out and throwing me off the track. The track instructor dude was even impressed with it as he thought it was going to be a hinderance. Check this clip out, I hare into a corner at more than 70, the back end swings out, the 4WS brings it back into line again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kg0SwcjlPE&t=5m0s