10 Biggest News Stories of the Week: Honda Prelude Pulls Ahead, Hyundai Santa Cruz Is Late
It’s a pretty pricey, non-luxury, not-very-fast, not-quite-a-sports-car vehicle in a body style few care about anymore using a platform, suspension system and other attributes from more popular or more exciting models. Dare to be different? So long as you’re exactly the particular pick-me person who’d cotton to a car this quirky, then Cars.com reviewer Conner Golden thinks you just might love the 2026 Honda Prelude — as noted in his comprehensive critique of the hybrid-powered sporty coupe, one of our most popular articles of the past week.
Related: 10 Biggest News Stories of the Month: Subaru Outback Leaves Volvo XC40 in the Wilderness
Sharing a gas-electric hybrid powertrain (and most specs) with the Civic hybrid, a canyon-carving-capable adaptive suspension setup with the Civic Type R and a $40,000-plus price tier with … well, a lower-tier BMW, one might expect a practical, fuel-efficient, impressively performing and premium experience. The Prelude delivers on at least some of that, with an automaker-estimated 46/41/44 mpg city/highway/combined fuel economy, notably entertaining and well-controlled handling, and elevated interior appointments. What it lacks is sports-car speed, Civic space (of the rear-passenger variety), and a clear justification for paying many thousands of dollars more than higher-performance coupes and just a few thousand dollars less than a bonafide luxury model. But it’s certainly “not like the other girls,” and that counts for a lot in an automotive landscape jammed with samey-samey SUVs.
Could the 2026 Honda Prelude be a harbinger of changing tastes to come? Get our full take by following the link below to the No. 3 article on the week’s countdown of most read stories.
From a new production car unlikely to put up big sales numbers to a pickup truck that already hasn’t and is thusly purported to be discontinuing production, our report on the presumed demise of the Hyundai Santa Cruz lands in the fifth-place position. The compact pickup truck arrived roughly five years ago as a would-be rival to the enthusiastically received, superior and successful Ford Maverick but couldn’t come close in sales (or, it’s worth noting, quality). While official word from Hyundai has yet to come, the sun appears to be setting on the Santa Cruz.
For everything we know on the Hyundai Santa Cruz’s future — as well as the automaker’s future pickup plans — follow the link below to the No. 5 news story of the week.
Beyond all that, we’ve got headlines on the Subaru Outback, Kia Sorento, cheap new cars, cheap electric vehicles, cheap SUVs, cheap pickup trucks and much more — so don’t stop reading till the digits double. Here are the top 10 news stories Cars.com readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:
1. The 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness Is All the Off-Roader (Most) People Need: Review
2. Here Are the 10 Cheapest New Cars You Can Buy Right Now
3. The 2026 Honda Prelude Is a Niche Car for a Niche Person: Review
4. How to Survive Subzero Temps With an EV: Tips From Our Experts
5. Report: Hyundai to Discontinue Santa Cruz Compact Pickup Truck
6. Here Are the 11 Cheapest Electric Vehicles You Can Buy
7. What Does the New Car Loan Interest Deduction Mean for Consumers?
8. Here Are the 10 Cheapest New SUVs You Can Buy Right Now
9. Is the Kia Sorento a Good SUV? 5 Pros, 2 Cons
10. Here Are the 10 Cheapest Pickup Trucks You Can Buy Right Now
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