Honda Prelude vs HSV Colorado

What's the difference?

Honda is a company that rarely looks back.

Badge aside, the resurrected Prelude series is more about being revolutionary than retro, with not even any classic-era styling cues (though a few likely Porsche ones).

In fact, Honda made it clear this was created as a hybrid sports car first, with the name settled on later. Probably by marketing.

It could just as easily have been branded Integra, which – given the shared Civic platform and liftback when previous Preludes had two doors only – might have been the case, except that name is already on an Acura and Chinese GAC version of Honda’s venerable small car.

That said, its new sports car is arguably more Prelude in spirit than even some of the past originals were anyway, and then some, and here’s why.

The SportsCat Series II is perhaps not the kind of HSV we've grown accustomed to over the years. But that’s ok. Because HSV is no longer the brand we’ve grown accustomed to, either. Their core product has changed, you see. And so their core buyer has changed right along with it.

In fact, HSV sees itself as almost starting again; rebuilding its customer base (and even its newsletter subscriber base) as it shifts from power-soaked Commodores to imported Camaros and this: the Holden Colorado-based SportsCat Series II.

It looks tough, and has better equipment and finishes than the Holden, but there is not one kilowatt of extra power on offer from its diesel - yep, diesel - engine. 

“We see it as performance, just a different kind of performance,” HSV tells us, pointing to the ute's off-road chops rather than any blistering power figures.

So does this Colorado-turned-SportsCat live up to HSV’s history? And more importantly, does it paint a rosy picture of HSV’s future?