all i have to say is that any car can perform better than the competition when you do the right work. i have a girl that i work who has a prelude from that same gen. she has the 2.0 S.I. AWS. and she said that it was fast so i took it for a little spin and found out that my friends 93 civic DX is faster with only 102 hp. but i loved the all wheel steering. the car has potential the 2.1 may have a little more but its not really too much to worry about.