bradley emmanuel

Honda now offers a Honda Accord hatchback. This technique has been known for decades and, when properly applied, can be very lucrative. In the case of this Agreement to the stern inflated, it is quite successful!
In recent years, the duo Honda / Acura has built a specialty in marketing unclear. For example, virtually the same time, Honda launched the Accord and Acura's Crosstour ZDX, two vehicles of similar size, similar to the architecture and lines between them. Yet they are two completely different vehicles. In this confusion is the Acura comes out loser, despite its great beauty. Thankfully, for every loser, there is a winner!

Some obvious differences, some less
While ZDX receives the platform of the Acura MDX, Crosstour Agreement is built on the chassis of the Agreement ...! By cons, engineers had to reconsider the rear suspension for the car can receive, optionally, the wheel drive CR-V. In addition to the rear aesthetically very different, the front has received a different treatment of the Accord Coupe. The grille, for example, is much more impressive on Crosstour.

Inside, apart from some minor details of presentation, it's all the same. The driver faces an instrument easy to read if not original. At night, the gauges are very nice but the central screen, which contains the GPS and onboard computer, too reflects in the windshield, even in night mode. Moreover, the headlights are very powerful. The scoreboard, in keeping with other products Honda / Acura holds a plethora of buttons, not always easy to spot, especially early. Some of these buttons are difficult task of operating the audio system. Besides, I think the only advantage of this system is to have nice buds ... Fortunately, there are several pockets on the dashboard. The forward visibility is no problem but that's another story backwards. The sides are hidden by pillars and broad rear is obstructed by the horizontal bar that crosses the tail, a bit like the Insight and ... ZDX!

The front seats are comfortable even if they hold little steep. Access to rear seats is easy and the space for the head is not counted ... if you do not measure more than 5'9'', according to my assessment of guy who measure 5'6 ' '. The two main squares are quite soft, even while the central one is correct, up to a booster, of course.

As suggested by its lines, the trunk is fairly Crosstour larger than that of the sedan, and especially that of the coupe. For the latter, we speak of 338 liters, 397 for the sedan and between 728 and 1453 for Crosstour. These figures may seem very high compared to the sedan and coupe, but a Fit, much smaller, between 585 and shoves liters in 1622 ... We do not therefore provides a Crosstour Agreement for convenience only! The cargo floor is reversible. On the one hand, it is carpeted and the other a hard plastic and easy to clean. Under the floor, found a massive storage bin. As to spare, it fits under the vehicle.


Shop for Crosstour Agreement is not very sorcerer, one version being proposed in Canada, the EX-L. We found a few options and most interesting is, unquestionably, the possibility of equipping his car-wheel drive 4WD Real Time officiating already on the CR-V. On the engine side, Honda is using its 3.5-liter V6 found in some other models, including the Odyssey. The V6 271 horsepower and 254 pound-feet of torque causes the wheel to full Crosstour from zero to one hundred kilometers in 8.3 seconds, which is good but not amazing. By comparison, an Accord V6 sedan (front-wheel drive) is the same exercise in 6.6. The 200 extra pounds due to wheel drive are certainly something, the reports of transmissions are identical. The 3.5L offers the opportunity for successful technology Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) that disables a bank of cylinders when not needed. This system would save up 10% gasoline, but allow me to be skeptical. In addition, our test vehicle, the transition between this mode and regular mode was very noticeable. At a constant speed of 110 km / h on the highway, I felt that the flow of fuel to the injectors was not regular, which frankly could become uncomfortable over time. By cons, other Accord equipped with the same engine, this transition is quite noticeable. Weird ... During our week of testing, Crosstour maintained an average of 9.9 liters per 100 km, which is far from a record, especially for Honda. By cons, we should not forget that this is a vehicle of 1845 kg (4067 pounds). Also, the fact that drinks of regular gasoline is placed in the column for more.

One transmission is offered. This is a five-speed automatic operation very correct. By cons, it was interesting that Honda engine hangs the Crosstour the six-speed gearbox of the Accord Coupe. As for the wheel drive, its mandate is to ensure the car better traction in snow and slush than for it to negotiate the turns of the Nurburgring! Just a few laps on a road in poor condition (with a little goodwill, we always end up finding one in Quebec ...) to realize that the suspensions are mandated to maintain the comfort rather than holding route. Note that the agreement is very Crosstour the road but for the sportsmanship, FTAs. In sharp turn, there has been a bit of rolling but it is no exaggeration. The steering is precise enough for normal driving but sudden it loses its means. The brakes perform their task, nothing more. This perhaps explains the rather low towing capacity of Crosstour, or 680 kilograms (1500 pounds)


Based on the agreement to create its regular Crosstour, Honda could not be wrong. In addition, the ability to associate with him the wheel drive without too much affected the bill comes to raise the table. The base is traded Crosstour $ 34,900, which seems quite expensive. The 4WD version $ 36,900, in addition to being safer during the winter probably will sell better in a few years. There is also a version with GPS at $ 38,900, but this accessory is not well developed at Honda and a good old Garmin or TomTom, much cheaper, will be at least as much the case. The Crosstour Agreement is certainly more than a family but its entry price makes it elitist. Its major rivals such as Toyota Venza and Mazda CX-7 basic models offer less expensive. For example, in Crosstour wheel drive costs $ 4,605 more than a CX-7 AWD and $ 4,650 more than a Venza AWD. That could in some cool ...

Scorecard:
Test Vehicle: Honda Accord Crosstour
Version tested: EX-L Navi
Price Range: $ 34,900 to $ 38,900
Price of model tested: $ 38,900
Transportation costs: $ 1,550
Finance payments: $ 883 (5.9%) info
Monthly rental: $ 709 / $ 0 (5.9%) info
Observed consumption: 9.9L/100km
Basic Warranty: 3 years/60, 000 km
Powertrain Warranty: 5 years / 100 000 km
General Competition: Dodge Journey, Mazda CX-7, Nissan Murano, Toyota Venza
Strengths:

* Lines pleasant
* Interior comfort
* Proper road manners
* Reversible Trunk Floor
* Reliability raised

Weaknesses:

* Weight significant
* Price high enough
* Rear visibility problem
* Safe a fair bit
* Low capacity towing

via