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
European Car of the Year one of the first production cars to feature a rotary engine. Peugeot claimed the accolade for the first time with the 1969 award, which was won by its 504 saloon, a large family car which offered a high standard of interior comfort and build quality. The Fiat 128 was the next winner of the award, while a year later the innovative new Citroen GS family saloon won the award. Fiat became the first manufacturer to win the award for a third time when its 127 supermini won the 1972 title. The next winner of the award was the Audi 80,