2010 Honda Crosstour

Honda bases its roomy, versatile new Accord Crosstour on its popular Accord sedan. It thus adds a vehicle with a respected nameplate and proven components to the hot crossover market and provides a strong addition to its lineup.

Rivals include the Toyota Venza, Ford Edge and Nissan Murano crossovers.

The Crosstour combines features of the Accord with the versatile characteristics of a  crossover, which is a combination car and sport-utility vehicle. For one thing the Crosstour comes only as a hatchback, while the Accord has a regular trunk.

As Honda puts it, it "starts with the top-level refinement of the Accord V-6 sedan and further expands utility with a sleek-yet-functional profile for increased cargo space."  The Crosstour and Accord share approximately 60 percent of their parts, including the powertrain, chassis and instrument panel.

Larger and heavier than the Accord, the Crosstour is sportier than a conventional crossover, although it's designed more for comfort and utility than sportiness. Some may feel its distinctive styling looks sleek. Others may think it looks rather bulky, despite its aerodynamic shape and sharply sloping roofline styled to conceal a cargo area that can adapt to large objects that exceed the capacity of a normal sedan.

In either case, darker colors work best with the Crosstour, which has nicely chromed dual exhaust outlets.

The Crosstour is longer, wider and higher than the Accord sedan--and several hundred pounds heavier, at 3,852 to 4,070 pounds. It also has much more cargo space than the Accord, even without its rear seatbacks folded forward. And its hatch provides easy access to the large cargo area.

The Crosstour has standard front-wheel drive, but is available with all-wheel drive, which isn't offered for the front-drive-only Accord.

Assembled in Ohio, the Crosstour comes as the front-drive EX and higher-line EX-L, which is offered with front- or all-wheel drive.

List prices range from $29,670 for the base model to $36,220 for the all-wheel-drive EX-L with a navigation system.

There really is no "entry" Crosstour. Even the EX comes with many comfort, convenience and safety items. They include dual-zone automatic climate control with second-row ventilation, power moonroof, AM-FM 6-disc audio system with 7 speakers, tilt/telescopic steering wheel, power front seats and cruise control.

There also are illuminated steering-wheel-mounted audio and cruise controls and power door locks, windows and heated, folding side mirrors--besides 17-inch alloy wheels.

The EX-L items include available all-wheel drive, leather-trimmed seats with heated front seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, "memory" driver's seat, USB audio interface and 18-inch alloy wheels with lower-profile tires for slightly sharper handling.

Then there's the EX-L's available automatic Real Time all-wheel-drive system that enhances all-weather and light-duty off-road capabilities. It provides extra grip for rain, snow, dirt roads and sandy conditions without the weight, fuel economy and handling performance drawbacks of a conventional four-wheel-drive system. Power is  shot to the rear wheels only when there's insufficient traction for the front-wheel-drive system.

The all-wheel-drive system is is available by itself or with a satellite-linked navigation system.

Safety features for both trim levels include electronic stability control, front-side and side- curtain air bags with a rollover sensor and anti-lock brakes with electronic brake distribution and brake assist.      

While the Accord comes with a four-cylinder or V-6 engine, the Crosstour only has a 271-horsepower V-6, which it shares with the Accord. The engine can deactivate up to half of its cylinders when less power is needed while cruising or decelerating.

Despite the Crosstour's weight, the smooth, quiet engine provides fast merging and 65-75 mph passing times. It's hooked to a crisp-shifting five-speed automatic transmission that integrates a new downshift rev-match feature for smooth, sporty manual downshifts.

There are no steering wheel shift paddles, but one can upshift or downshift with the console-mounted transmission lever. The automatic is programmed to suppress unwanted upshifts when cornering for better control in curves.

Estimated fuel economy for the front-drive version is 18 mpg in the city and 27 on highways. It's 17 and 25 with all-wheel drive. Only regular-grade fuel is needed.

Steering is firm and accurate. The ride is supple even over poor pavement, and handling is quite good for such a heavy vehicle. A nicely designed all-independent suspension helps out here, although the Crosstour is designed more for ride comfort than tackling twisting roads. The brake pedal has a progressive action that allows consistently smooth stops.  

Large outside door handles and wide-opening doorways help provide easy entry, although it takes a little extra effort to get in and out of the Crosstrour than in the Accord. Large outside mirrors help rear visibility--a good thing because there is a split-window rear view.

The quiet interior is upscale, with easily read backlit gauges. Climate controls are large, and sound system controls are fairly large. Front console cupholders are conveniently placed and have a  cover when not in use. Front power windows can be easily stopped after their automatic up-down feature is used. That's virtually impossible on some vehicles.

The front bucket seats are supportive when snaking through curves, but the high, hard middle of the rear seat makes the Crosstour only comfortable for four occupants. The middle of the rear seat is best left to the fold-down armrest that has twin cupholders. However, there is plenty of rear-seat room for long-legged rear occupants.

Cabin storage is decent with such items as front door pockets, although rear door pockets are too small to be of much use.

Loading cargo is a breeze because the large hatch opening is low and wide. Seatbacks sit flat when moved forward to increase cargo capacity. The nicely shaped cargo area has a hidden, easily removable utility box under the floor. There are reversible cargo area floor panels for dirty objects.

There's an impressive 25.7 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats upright and a really impressive 51.3 cubic feet with the seatbacks folded forward, not counting the 2.9 cubic foot box. The Accord sedan has only 14 cubic feet of cargo space.

The hood glides open on twin struts and has an inside cover for noise isolation, although the hatch only has a partial inside covering. Finding the outside hood release is difficult  unless you know exactly where it's located However, most fluid filler areas can be easily reached.

The Accord Crosstour's absence of a four-cylinder engine or a marginally equipped base model shows that it's aimed at a generally older, more affluent crowd. But its added utility over a sedan should be attractive to younger folks with the money for it.