You can tell Honda was trying to manage expectations when it emailed me to stress that "the Prelude is not a sports car." And I can understand why. On paper, the specs make the sleek coupe—technically a three-door hatch—seem underwhelming. Especially if you start comparing it to alternatives.

A Mazda MX-5 or Subaru BRZ weighs hundreds of pounds less, and the Subaru packs more power than the Prelude's 200 hp (149 kW). A Volkswagen Golf GTI weighs about the same as the Prelude at 3,261 lbs (1,479 kg), but it delivers 20 percent more power and offers rear seats that actually accommodate adults. But after a week with the bright blue Prelude, it's hard to care about the specs. This might be one of the best cars we'll drive all year.

Then again, looking back across the previous five generations, the Prelude was never really a sports car. It has always been a technology showcase for Honda, introducing features like fuel injection, four-wheel steering, variable valve timing, and active torque transfer. For the sixth-generation Prelude, the headline feature is Honda's S+ shift, which adds some sporty character to the OEM's four-cylinder hybrid.

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This month, Rivian begins customer deliveries of the highly anticipated R2 model that aims to bring the startup’s aspirational adventure lifestyle to the mainstream EV market. That has required cutting costs, scaling production, and reaching new customers—a big brief, then, for the diminutive R2.

To show exactly how a startup transitions to a mass-market automaker, Rivian hosted a picturesque media event in Utah that included both on and off-road driving in the Launch Edition that stickers for just under $60,000 (including destination). We also got plenty of access to the technological development that underpins the brand’s critical electric crossover.

The R2 almost perfectly matches the dimensions of today's best-selling US cars. This dedicated two-row model, versus the R1’s three-row S or pickup truck T, measures 185.9 inches (4,722 mm) long, or about 1 inch (25.4 mm) longer than a Honda CRV. The R1’s instantly recognizable profile and design language carry through, but unique packaging requirements dictated nifty design solutions.

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