The latest from Honda is the new Accord Crosstour ? and there?s an Acura version of the same vehicle. I don?t remember what it?s called right offhand, but you can bet it?s got some string of letters that includes ?X? in the name.
The first thing to know about the Crosstour is that it?s big. Really Big. It?s the behemoth of bigness, shopping at the big & tall store, eating at Bob’s Big Boy. I parked the Crosstour next to an F150 pickup truck this weekend ? they were the same size. The Crosstour is about 18 inches longer than the Lexus RX330 I parked next to at the gym this morning.
I have to remind myself that bigness isn?t badness, and the size of the Crosstour has some advantages. For example, in our weekly Extended Family Test Drive, the Crosstour carried 4 adults and a teenager with great comfort, and you could park an entire Honda Fit in the trunk of the Crosstour and still have room for soccer balls.
Driving the Crosstour is lovely. It drives like a much smaller SUV, and more to the point, it drives like a car. It?s peppy, courtesy of a 271 horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine and 5 speed automatic transmission with All Wheel Drive. Even as big as it is, the Crosstour gets 17 MPG city and 25 highway. Remember, it?s a Honda ? that means it?s well-built and engineered very nicely.
The interior is nice ? with heated leather, GPS Navigation, Bluetooth, nice stereo with satellite, aux, CD, and so on. You get zone climate, cruise ? everything in the world that automakers are putting in cars is in the Crosstour. The seats are comfortable, the dash is handsome and functional, and everything is just as it should be, in true Honda style.
But God help me, this thing is ugly. The Crosstour looks like the giant mutant love child of a Jaguar XKR coupe and a Pontiac Aztek. If you could manage to never look at it, it would be a car you could really love. This car is the combination of wondrous Honda engineering and ergonomics mated with ?what were they thinking?? bodywork.
What the Crosstour really is, then, is your father?s 1977 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon, revised and updated for 2010. It will haul an entire little league baseball team and all their equipment, and it will carry it all in comfort. A realtor friend of mine thought it looked like a great car for hauling clients and his family, so looks really aren?t everything.
The Honda Accord Crosstour 4WD EX-L Nav was the test vehicle, and it stickers out at $36,930, including destination and fondling fees. That?s a great price, and the base price of $29,670 makes the Crosstour an affordable choice for families.
[Rating:8/10]
