Honda Prelude received by judges of the European Car of the Year accolade for 1988, finished third in a contest where the Peugeot 405 was the runaway winner and the Citroen AX came second. This was one of the best performances by a Japanese built or branded car until the Nissan Micra won the award five years later. In 1987, "Road & Track" published a test summary that shows the 1988 Honda Prelude 2.0Si 4WS outperforming every car of that year on the slalom, with a speed of , even besting exotics such as Porsche and Ferrari. For reference, the 1988 Chevrolet
Continental Irish Car of the Year winners, "Continental Irish Small Car of the Year", "Continental Irish Compact Family Car of the Year", "Continental Irish Family Car of the Year", "Continental Irish Executive / Luxury Car of the Year", and the "Continental Irish Performance Car of the Year". It also has a ""Continental Irish Van of the Year"", The winner of that category for 2017 is the Citroën Dispatch. Ford has won the competition seven times, with the Ford Mondeo winning the overall title the most times for an individual model. The award for 2017 went to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, marking the first time the prestigious award