Both drivers being of equal manual driving ability, the Si would stick around the first 100 feet, but after that the 5th gen would leave it in the dust. The Si has the bulk of its torque available about 1000 rpm lower since its a larger block, but once VTEC kicks in, forget it. That goes for 4th gen VTEC models as well. The engine is essentialy the same as in all fifth gen, with minor hp tweaks (190 from 1992-1996, 195 for 1997-1998, 200 for 1999-2001). If the fourth gen Preludes had a more conservative instrument cluster, I would like the car more (I have never liked electronic speedometers), but the performance has always been there.