Honda EV Sedan and Crossover

[DeluxeStang]

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a63351735/honda-0-series-ev-sedan-suv-ces-2025/

 

We've seen the sedan before, this appears to be a slightly more toned down version and closer to what the actual car will look like. I can't tell if I love or hate it, same with the crossover lol. It's very bold, but it looks awkward from some angles. 

 

But I'd love to see more of this. It's clear the front of the sedan was inspired less by conventional sedans, and more by wedge shaped supercars. I'd love for Ford to try something similar with Ford GT elements or something. 

[Sherminator98]

That Sedan/Saloon is awful-it looks like someone stepped on a Lambo and added two extra doors to it. 

The SUV looks decent till you get past the D pillar and its just a mess. Seems like Honda's designers can't design an attractive Crossover style vehicle because the previous ones (the old crosstour/ZDX) they've done have been just as awful as this. 

 

Edited January 8 by Sherminator98

[DeluxeStang]

3 hours ago, Sherminator98 said:

That Sedan/Saloon is awful-it looks like someone stepped on a Lambo and added two extra doors to it. 

The SUV looks decent till you get past the D pillar and its just a mess. Seems like Honda's designers can't design an attractive Crossover style vehicle because the previous ones (the old crosstour/ZDX) they've done have been just as awful as this. 

 

I think it's mostly the rear on both of them for sure. The sedan is bold, and definitely won't be to everyone's liking, I just admire the unique approach. It would look a lot better with a more conventional sedan fastback roofline rather than the wagon like shape it has going on. I'd also prefer it if it had some sort of prominent shoulder line instead of the slab sides it has now. But it has potential imo. 

 

I agree on the suv, the decision to terminate the side glass so far forward makes the ass look bulky and disproportionate, the taillight also isn't gonna be liked by most people.

[CurtisH]

I don’t really care for either of those. 

[tbone]

More dumpster fires🤦‍♂️

[Sherminator98]

A buddy of mine said the sedan looks like the result of a one night stand between the cybertruck and a lambo lol 

[Rick73]

That Honda’s next new car’s styling is completely different says it all.  From my perspective anyway.

 

 

[jpd80]

On 1/10/2025 at 1:59 AM, Rick73 said:

That Honda’s next new car’s styling is completely different says it all.  From my perspective anyway.

 

 

Why do they do that, the roofline makes the back seat headroom useless for adults, it’s far worse than a Mustang.

[DeluxeStang]

While the execution could be better, I like the idea. EVs need to be areo driven, supercars are about as areo driven as it gets, and manage to do so while still looking great. Instead of starting with normal looking cars and slapping areo bits on them that work, but result in an odd looking design, it would be cool to see brands go the other way. Start with a supercar shape, and find ways to make it more practical while still looking great. 

 

Something like this would make a killer sedan if you reworked the roofline slightly to give it more space. It's just about taking a new perspective. Supercars have low noses, which is great for areo, they have cab forward proportions, which improves interior space. 

 

I don't see Ford bringing back a generic sedan, but if they made an more aspirational sedan that looked anything like that, and called it the Galaxy, I'd be all over it. 

[twintornados]

12 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:

While the execution could be better, I like the idea. EVs need to be areo driven....

Like this?

[Rick73]

17 hours ago, jpd80 said:

Why do they do that, the roofline makes the back seat headroom useless for adults, it’s far worse than a Mustang.

Agree, and it’s not the only 2-door with a roofline that drops off in a similar manner.  Actually, looking at profile of Tesla Cybercab, which is only a 2-seater, roof proportions and slope look similar to me.  That’s why I thought the Cybercab platform could support a 2+2 coupe with tiny rear seat for those who rarely use it.

 

If Honda raised the Prelude’s roof over the rear seat, I think it would end up looking closer to the 4-door Civic Hatchback, which to me doesn’t look right.  I like the Civic in many ways but not its appearance.  Civic Hatchback below:

 

 

The general profile that looks better to my eyes is what coincidentally happens to yield low drag coefficients.  The new Skoda roofline seen below was used to create a reported Cd of 0.225.  I like appearance better than Civic, and also its shorter overhangs.  Profile looks similar to a Model Y but slightly smaller.

 

 

And of course the newly updated Tesla Model Y Juniper that was just revealed in China.  As with Skoda, the Cd was reduced to increase range.  Reports claim Model Y coefficient of drag was reduced from 0.23 to 0.22.  Its roofline over back seat is much higher as well compared to Honda Prelude concept.

 

[DeluxeStang]

5 hours ago, twintornados said:

Like this?

That's not bad, but the mustang isn't super areo driven, especially for a sports car. The grille is a little higher than a lot of sports cars, with a larger frontal area, stuff with longer hoods also don't seem to be very areo efficient. I'm not against it, a mustang with a low front end and a short hood would be areo efficient, but would look all sorts of wrong. I'm ok with the mustang being less aerodynamic while prioritizing looks. 

[DeluxeStang]

Because we're tying this conversation directly into Ford sedans, I don't want to see a new fusion or Tarus, not really, that doesn't align with Ford's new strategy. The best approach imo would be to create two desirable sedans that covered as much area, and appealed to as wide of a net of consumers as possible with just two offerings. 

 

A V8 powered RWD mustang sedan, and a cheaper, all electric sedan with looks similar to the red rendering. You'd have the boxy sedan, the curvy sedan, the V8 and the EV, RWD or presumably all wheel drive, different price points and driving characteristics, etc. Two cars that both stood on their own, and didn't cannibalize sales from one another. 

[DeluxeStang]

19 hours ago, jpd80 said:

Why do they do that, the roofline makes the back seat headroom useless for adults, it’s far worse than a Mustang.

It looks like warmed over ass too. I genuinely have no idea why you'd shape a roofline like that rather than let it taper more gradually like the mustang's. They created something less attractive, and less practical, that's just... wow. 

[Rick73]

43 minutes ago, DeluxeStang said:

I genuinely have no idea why you'd shape a roofline like that rather than let it taper more gradually like the mustang's.

What do you see as biggest difference?  I’m not sure what you mean.  I don’t like the Prelude’s transition from windshield to roofline tapering down, it appears more abrupt and also more forward, but the actual tapering down seems similar to me.  I’m sure I’m missing something because this is definitely not my field.

[jpd80]

5 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:

Because we're tying this conversation directly into Ford sedans, I don't want to see a new fusion or Tarus, not really, that doesn't align with Ford's new strategy. The best approach imo would be to create two desirable sedans that covered as much area, and appealed to as wide of a net of consumers as possible with just two offerings. 

 

A V8 powered RWD mustang sedan, and a cheaper, all electric sedan with looks similar to the red rendering. You'd have the boxy sedan, the curvy sedan, the V8 and the EV, RWD or presumably all wheel drive, different price points and driving characteristics, etc. Two cars that both stood on their own, and didn't cannibalize sales from one another. 

This is the reverse problem that Ford Australia had when it was proposing a global RWD platform based on the Falcon

and its derivatives. The changes required to make a true Mustang had to be more than just a two door Falcon.

Think about that for a moment, once a new vehicle  is more differentiated than a derivative (>50% parts share)

the costs start to skyrocket. Once that happens, a dedicated project is probably better suited and then, the business case better be justified or it won’t past muster. Holden found that one out when developing the Zeta Camaro, the amount of changes required to make that Camaro and set it apart for the Commodore, meant it cost a fortune. Holden engineers estimated that savings from using Zeta vs dedicated platform was roughly 12%, so still worthwhile.

 

The other big issue here is that Ford would be railing up against tougher CAFE requirements for a car vs Truck/Utility.

The bean counter come back with show us why we should invest in a sedan whe we can be better returns for that

funding elsewhere (opportunity cost). I understand what you’re trying to do here and honestly, I feel the same but

if this was ever going to happen, it would have done so ten years ago with the ending of Aussie Falcon & Territory.

Edited January 11 by jpd80

[jpd80]

4 hours ago, Rick73 said:

What do you see as biggest difference?  I’m not sure what you mean.  I don’t like the Prelude’s transition from windshield to roofline tapering down, it appears more abrupt and also more forward, but the actual tapering down seems similar to me.  I’m sure I’m missing something because this is definitely not my field.

It’s basically four door coupe vs a sedan with more useable rear seating.

Priorities are important here, Honda should know who will buy this car and why….

[DeluxeStang]

4 hours ago, Rick73 said:

What do you see as biggest difference?  I’m not sure what you mean.  I don’t like the Prelude’s transition from windshield to roofline tapering down, it appears more abrupt and also more forward, but the actual tapering down seems similar to me.  I’m sure I’m missing something because this is definitely not my field.

Just the way it slopes down. The mustang was a more consistent angle to the roof where it's basically the same angle all the way to the decklid. Whereas that Honda, the windshield is more steep, the roof starts to slope back down more dramatically, but then levels out a bit more near the end. It's not a consistent angle, and just looks funky. 

[Rick73]

22 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:

Just the way it slopes down. The mustang was a more consistent angle to the roof where it's basically the same angle all the way to the decklid. Whereas that Honda, the windshield is more steep, the roof starts to slope back down more dramatically, but then levels out a bit more near the end. It's not a consistent angle, and just looks funky. 

Thanks for clarification.  Whatever production Honda Prelude becomes, I hope the aerodynamic drag is very low, and combined with 2-motor e-CVT hybrid powertrain that fuel economy is so good that it challenges real-world CO2 emissions from common BEVs.  Other than a few German cars, I don’t recall any ICE or hybrid with Cd as low as best BEVs.