2013 Honda Crosstour Concept Announced: 2012 New York Auto Show Preview
With a less-than-impressive track record and generally poor customer reception, it’s remarkable that Honda continues to work on making the Crosstour a palatable vehicle.
Nonetheless, the Japanese automaker is soldiering on, most recently announcing today that it will debut the 2013 Crosstour concept at the upcoming New York Auto Show.
It’s been a sad tale — that of the frankencar Honda originally branded as an Accord, but the Crosstour hasn’t just stayed in the company’s lineup. Instead it’s enjoyed continued evolution in an insistant effort by the company to make the car sell, despite dissenting consumer feedback.
The most recent of those evolutions was an added four-cylinder engine, which was meant to make the not-crossover appealing to a wider audience. Unfortunately, the smaller engine gained inconsequential gas milage and dropped dismally in its power rating.
Worse yet, the car (seen above) is ugly. That’s why it’s not surprising to see Honda announcing new styling for the car. The real question is whether or not that will be enough for customers to revisit the idea of buying one.
GALLERY: 2012 Honda Crosstour
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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I have owned the 2012 Crosstour for about 5 months. I carpool with four others and it's the most comfortable ride in our group. Two road trips during winter snowstorms have confirmed my choice to go with the AWD system. Handling is tight and responsive. The car gets lots of comments about it's layout and styling and my lab likes the cargo area! The main contender when I was car shopping was the Suburu Outback - interior layout too confining - center dash felt like it intruded into the passenger's seat. Getting 22 mpg in daily driving. Not as high as I'd like but it sure beats my Sequoia.
I really like the car, it's a good size, flexible cargo area, firm footing in bad weather and great comfort on long trips. Frankly, I get a of compliments on the car. Granted, the grill is much to large - Honda shouldn't equate aggressive styling with flowing design - just look at a Porshe Panara - no large grill necessary there, the lines alone speak for themselves. I would like to see more tech fitures is a car that tops $30K - like push button start and automatic trunck release. LED lights on the side mirrors would be a nice touch. It's a unique car and if Honda can take more cues from their own Acura division, the car would sell more...