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| Not your average sedan, hatchback, crossover... er, well the new 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour is certainly an original. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press) |
I'm a big fan of Honda cars and SUVs. I like the way Honda stuck to their guns when others were building behemoth SUVs and cars with big engines that suck away natural resources. Small displacement engines with big output have been the rule at Honda. What's more, “Safety for Everyone” is a marketing tagline that's more than hype, as Honda builds some of the safest cars on the market. So why am I scratching my head about the 2010 Crosstour?
My first reaction to the Crosstour as I rounded the corner to my home, seeing it parked in the driveway, was “Wow, that sure is ugly!” There's no middle ground here folks, as during ten days of testing, reactions were strongly in favor or against the unique styling, with no middle ground comments. It somewhat resembles BMW's new X6 Crossover Utility, which I think is also butt ugly. A sloping hood, tall cabin, and high, rounded rear deck are tied together with various creases and character lines to create what I think is a very busy design, sure to cost extra insurance dough due to the complex stampings of body panels.
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| From certain angles it doesn't look ungainly at all. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press) |
And this is a large car, with a wheelbase of 110 inches and an overall length of 4,999 mm (196.8 inches). That's nearly seventeen feet of automobile. In comparison, the wonderful Honda Pilot SUV has a wheelbase of 2,769 mm (109 inches) and an overall length of 4,851 mm (191 inches). The Crosstour has a 1,453-litre (51.3-cubic foot) cargo capacity, the Pilot an 2,463-litre (87.0-cubic foot) capacity. The Crosstour seats five, the Pilot eight. Both have available four-wheel drive systems. Pilot MSRP is $36,820 – Crosstour MSRP is $34,900.
So the big question here is why? Why would I buy an oddly styled vehicle that has less cargo capacity, carries three fewer passengers and costs $1,775 more than a Honda Pilot?
