2010 Honda Accord Crosstour Review and Prices

Styling: The 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour effectively restores to Honda’s popular Accord line the station wagon it’s lacked – in the U.S. anyway – for over a decade. But the 2011 Crosstour is more than merely an Accord sedan with an elongated roof over a carpeted cargo bay. It’s a grab for niche buyers with a taste for sport-utility image but no appetite for the bulk of a conventional SUV. The same rationale is behind Toyota’s Camry-based Venza (the 2010 Acura ZDX crossover from Honda’s premium division uses the truckier Acura MDX SUV as its source). Like the car on which it’s based, the Accord Crosstour holds five passengers on two seating rows. An evolution of car’s grille marks Crosstour as a member of the Accord family and it’s just 2.5 inches longer overall than an Accord sedan. But the Crosstour has its own body panels and in stance and proportion is far different from the car. It’s 2 inches wider, and taller by a whopping 7.6 inches. The seating position is elevated for a more commanding view of the road. With sloped fastback roofline, Crosstour is really a four-door hatchback. It has 51.3 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seatbacks folded, plus an additional 1.9 cubic feet in a removable plastic bin beneath the rear load floor. That volume dwarfs the Accord sedan’s 14-cubic-foot trunk but falls short of the Venza and even the Subaru Outback wagon, both of which boast more than 70 cubic feet with rear seatbacks folded. Those rivals also have, respectively, 8.1 and 8.7 inches of ground clearance. Honda says Crosstour’s ground clearance is 8.1 inches for the majority of the underbody but that specifications list just 6 inches – about the same as Accord sedan’s -- to account for small, aerodynamic-enhancing plastic “strakes” fitted below the front valance. Crosstour shares its general dashboard and passenger-compartment design with the Accord. To improve the driver’s rearward visibility, the nearly horizontal rear window is supplemented by a vertical glass panel in the hatchlid. The 2010 Accord Crosstour comes in two trim levels: EX and upscale EX-L. Both have dual-exhaust outlets and except for 17-inch alloy wheels on the EX and fancier 18-inch alloys on the EX-L, have identical exterior styling.

Mechanical: The 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour comes with a single-overhead-cam 3.5-liter V-6 borrowed from the Accord. It rates an identical 271 horsepower and 254 pound-feet of torque. As in Accord, the V-6 gets Honda’s Variable Cylinder Management system that saves gas by automatically shutting off two or three cylinders in low-demand conditions. Venza and several other rivals have a six-speed automatic transmission, many with manual-type shift levers or steering-wheel paddles. The 2010 Crosstour sticks with a five-speed automatic transmission with no separate manual gate or paddles. It is, however, the first Honda-brand vehicle with software that enhances gear-holding capability in corners and more closely matches engine rpm for smoother transitions when the driver does manually move the lever to a lower gear. As in Accord, the basic powertrain is front-wheel drive. The Crosstour EX-L model is available with Honda’s Real-time 4WD. This isn’t really four-wheel drive, but a crossover-conventional all-wheel drive (AWD) system that improves wet-road grip by automatically reapportioning power to the rear wheels when the front tires slip and automatically reverting to front-wheel drive when traction is restored. Not intended for off-road use, Crosstour’s AWD does not include low-range gearing or a provision to lock in a front-rear torque split. Crosstour outweighs the comparable Accord sedan by about 300 pounds, and by about 500 pounds with AWD. Honda beefs up Accord’s all-independent suspension for duty in the heftier crossover and substitutes constant-ratio power steering for the car’s less-linear variable ratio. All Crosstours come with four-wheel antilock disc brakes and traction control. Towing capacity is 1,500 pounds, enough to trailer a small watercraft or light all-terrain vehicle. (Venza’s towing capacity is 3,500 pounds.) The Crosstour does introduce to the Honda line Active Sound Control. Like Active Noise Cancellation in the Accord, it employs the audio system to acoustically counteract unwanted mechanical, road, and wind noise, but Honda says it’s more effective and tuned to admit pleasing engine notes.

Features: The 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour is positioned as the ultimate Accord, and Honda limits its debut edition to the EX and EX-L designations used for top-line versions of all its vehicles. Standard on every 2010 Crosstour are torso-protecting front side airbags and head-protecting curtain side airbags for both seating rows. Dual-zone automatic air conditioning with second row ventilation, cruise control, auto up/down front side windows, fog lights, and heated mirrors also are standard. A power moonroof is included, but a larger panoramic roof isn’t offered. Crosstour has a manual tilt/telescope steering wheel with audio and cruise buttons; EX-L models add buttons for their standard Bluetooth cell-phone link. The rear seat is split 60/40 and folds to create a flat load floor without removing the headrests; seatback releases are included near the hatch opening. There’s 25.7 cubic feet of cargo room with the seatbacks up. The carpeted cover of the cargo bin doubles as the load floor and flips to create a hard plastic surface. The audio system is 360-watt 6-disc-changer unit with 7 speakers including a subwoofer; it includes an auxiliary jack for iPods and the like. EX-L models add XM satellite radio and upgrade with better speakers and a USB iPod interface. The EX-L also comes standard with leather upholstery and is the only Crosstour model available with a navigation system.