Honda CrossTour Coming This Fall to Compete With Toyota Venza

We’ve been waiting for Honda to come up with an Accord-based crossover since the moment Toyota pulled the wraps off its Camry-based Venza concept at the North American International Auto Show last year.

It’s no surprise that Honda would build a vehicle to go head-to-head with the Venza (pictured above) and apparently the company isn’t willing to let Toyota build up a dominating market presence, as the CrossTour (as it is reported to be called) will hit dealerships as early as October 26th. Some rumors, however, have the launch date set for early 2010.

As expected the CrossTour will be based on the Accord platform, and will be just 2.5-inches taller that the popular sedan. It will also be 7-inches longer than the Venza, opening up the possibility that it could have a third row. Considering the Venza doesn’t however, the CrossTour will most likely stick to just to rows of seats.

The added space will allow the rear of the CrossTour to function more like a truck bed. And Honda will offer a hard plastic bed liner as an option.

Unlike the Venza the CrossTour will not be offered with a four-cylinder powerplant – just the V6. There will aso be no manual option.

Most likely the reason for the lack of a four-cylinder is due to Honda pushing up the car’s launch date. As the curb weight is certain to be a few hundred pounds over that of the Accord, the Accord’s inline-four would most likely not be up to the task. After all, the four-cylinder in the Venza is a larger and more powerful motor than in the Camry. That being said, there’s a possibility that a four-cylinder will be made available in the future.

Both a front wheel drive an all-wheel drive model will be offered as well as options like a power liftgate.

[Source: Temple of Vtec]