2010 Honda Accord CrossTour EX-L V6 2WD Automatic
Toyota VenzaBased on Accord chassis, Ohio-built vehicle to arrive soon
Honda is joining the growing list of manufacturers introducing sport-utility vehicles that look like sedans or sport coupes, which, remembering a certain American Motors vehicle of the 1980s, isn't an entirely new concept.
The crossover sedan from Honda, called the Accord Crosstour, arrives this fall and will be built on the chassis of the Accord sedan. The vehicle will be built at the East Liberty, Ohio, assembly plant.
A similar sedan-crossover model was introduced last fall by Toyota as the Venza, and a higher-end model with the same design arrives later this year from Acura, Honda's luxury brand. That vehicle is the ZDX, which essentially is an upscale version of the Crosstour.
BMW introduced the similar X6 crossover sedan for 2008, which has the same design concept but a much higher price - ranging into the mid-$60,000s.
Honda's Crosstour looks a lot like a four-door hatchback version of the Accord, but it also bears some resemblance to the AMC Eagle of the mid-1980s, which some say was the first crossover utility vehicle (defined as a cross between a car and an SUV).
I tested one of the AMC Eagles in 1985 and thought it was a pretty decent vehicle until I got it stuck up to its frame in the sand outside of Phoenix. It had tricked me into thinking that with its fourwheel drive, the Eagle could take on the desert just like a Jeep CJ.
But I forgot about the need for large tires and low-range gearing, neither of which was offered on the Eagle.
Likewise, the crossover sedans we're seeing on the market today aren't sandrunners, even when they're equipped with all-wheel drive.
Honda hasn't said yet whether the Crosstour will be offered with all-wheel drive, but early reports hint that it will be available. Even if it is, the system won't have the traditional low-range gearing of true off-road vehicles, and it certainly won't be capable of serious trail riding.
It will have both a higher profile and more ground clearance than the typical sedan, in keeping with its crossover utility vehicle design. Standard will be front-wheel drive.
"Our concept is to broaden the appeal of the Accord lineup by leveraging traditional Accord strengths of fun-to-drive performance and handling while also adapting to dramatic shifts in the light-truck marketplace," American Honda Motor Co. Vice President said Erik Berkman, American Honda Motor Co. vice president.
The roofline curves down to the rear bumper, unlike the boxy rear ends of traditional SUVs and most crossovers.
Despite the steeply raked roof, the Crosstour will have ample cargo space that can handle larger items that wouldn't fit in a sedan's trunk. The rear liftgate allows for easy loading of bulky items. The middle seat will have a fold-down design to expand the cargo area.
The driving position, higher than that of the typical sedan, is one of the features giving the Crosstour the feel of a utility vehicle.
"We know SUV buyers like the commanding view of the road that comes with a high eye-point, and (they) like the comforts of ... an SUV," Berkman said.
"This vehicle meets the needs of buyers looking for those attributes, yet (who) at the same time want an image that is different from a conventional SUV."
No prices have been announced yet, but the Crosstour will be positioned as the top of the Accord line when it goes on sale later this year, Honda said.
That should mean that the base price will be about $30,000, as prices for the 2010 Accord range from $20,905 to $31,155 (plus $710 freight).
Specifications and other details of the Crosstour have not been released, including what engine and transmission choices will be offered.
But the vehicle probably will be available with the same engines used in the Accord sedan. Those include a 190-horsepower, 2.4-liter fourcylinder and a 271-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6, which also is the engine offered in the Pilot, a crossover utility vehicle based on the Accord. Because the recent spikes in gasoline prices spurred consumer interest in the four-cylinder engines, Honda would be remiss not to offer a four in the Crosstour.
Although Honda offers five- and six-speed manual transmissions in the Accord, I would expect the Crosstour to be available only with an automatic.
Honda offers a five-speed automatic in the 2010 Accord, which probably will be the same transmission used in the Crosstour.
But Honda could take the 3.7-liter engine of the Acura ZDX, along with its new six-speed automatic transmission, and use those in the Crosstour. That engine also is used in the Acura MDX, which is a fancy version of the Pilot.
Both of these Acura models are based on the Accord chassis, as well.
The 3.7-liter engine turns out 300 horsepower and 270 foot-pounds of torque.
No fuel-economy ratings have been announced yet for the Crosstour. But the Accord with the four-cylinder engine and automatic transmission is rated at 21 mpg city/31 highway, while the V-6 model is rated at 19 city/29 highway.
The Pilot, with the V-6 engine and automatic transmission, has ratings of 17 city/23 highway when equipped with front-wheel drive and 16 city/22 highway with all-wheel drive.
Acura's new ZDX has ratings of 16 city/22 highway and comes only with allwheel drive.
Source;
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2009/09/26/cars.html?sid=101
EAST LIBERTY, Ohio
Honda is supposed to release some official pic's on the Crosstour today, so stay posted.
Above is the latest, below are the two previous.
Its been official since early July that the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour will arrive in showrooms this fall. But now Honda is running a teaser and countdown on its Future Cars site for the upcoming crossover/tourer previewing a September 1 'sneak preview' date, and it has also released a second teaser - a close crop of the headlight - via its Facebook page. The previous teaser showed part of the grille.
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Having already confirmed the name of its new Accord-based crossover, Honda is now starting the promotional campaign for the Crosstour with the release of the first teaser shot. It will be followed by more cryptic photographs over the next 11 days as the Japanese automaker wants to build some hype around the crossover prior to the vehicle's official unveiling on September 1st. The first image shows the Crosstour's front grille which is different than the one found on the Accord Coupe and Sedan models - if you just whispered 'big deal' no worries, we agree with you 100 per cent...
Move aside Toyota Venza, Honda has unveiled its latest offering: the Honda Accord Crosstour. And this time it’s official. The Accord CUV - not station wagon - will go on sale this fall as a 2010 model.Source; http://japancarblog.com/honda-confirms-accord-crosstour-coming-fall-2009/
Once again, our spy photographers caught up with Honda’s upcoming Accord-based crossover - not far from where we originally shot it earlier in the week, but this time we managed to get a bit closer! Honda fans have been asking lots of questions and speculating, and we think this newest set of photos will satisfy most.In response to Toyota’s recently launched Venza crossover, Honda is preparing a new CUV based on the Accord. Believed to be called the CrossTour, the latest shots show reveal the forthcoming CUV’s interior as well as engine bay. Although visually similar to the upcoming Acura ZDX, the CrossTour will not ride on the ZDX’s platform.
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With all the rumors that have been flying around lately, there has been some confusion surrounding the "CrossTour". I now have some information that I can share, and it came directly from Honda PR.
Crosstour We've heard whispers of this product for so long it seems that it's been under development forever. We don't have any confirmation on the name yet, but Honda recently registered the Crosstour name, so at the moment it makes the most sense. A flurry of spyshots of a cleverly disguised test mule for this vehicle provided plenty of fodder for internet discussions over the past year or so, but we're still waiting to catch a glimpse of how it will look in production sheetmetal. So far, those spy photos have eluded us. We don't know a lot about this vehicle but there is at least some consistency in the rumors that we've been hearing. First of all, it will be based upon the Accord platform. It will be larger than a CR-V, yet smaller than the Pilot, and priced accordingly (one source tells us it will be equipped to match the Venza for the most part, yet it will undercut it in price). Drivetrains are expected to also be borrowed from the Accord, which would most likely mean you'll get your choice of 4-cyl or 6-cylinder power. Since it will supposedly be equipped to take on the Venza, our guess is that the Crosstour will also offer VTM-4. We've heard a tentative launch date of November, 2009, but we're also told that it could be moved up slightly or even pushed back to early 2010; the decision will be based upon Honda's inventory levels and the overall state of the economy as those dates get closer.
It looks like Honda’s readying a new model to challenge Toyota’s all-new Venza. Spy shots of the station wagon (what it really is) show a slighty enlarged blend of the American Accord and the European Accord Tourer. The test car reportedly carried a “Latitude” badge but trademark records from December 16, 2008 hint the Honda might name it the “Crosstour” instead.
