2013 Honda Crosstour: It's Still Ugly

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did.

So apparently the 2013 Crosstour will get new transmissions (a 5-speed automatic for the 4-cylinder, and a 6-speed automatic for the V6), new “styling”, new safety features like lane departure warning, front collision avoidance and a4-inch display in the instrument cluster that can give turn-by-turn directions and other information while reducing distraction.

Woopdee-do! Put a V6 in the CR-V and call it a day already. Jack & Co. will tell us just how bad this thing really looks in a matter of minutes.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Junebug Junebug on Apr 05, 2012

    I think we may be in the middle of some sort of "back to the past" cycle. OK, before you think I've lost it, consider this: in the late 1960's, you had mostly RWD cars that came in 2 door sporty, 4 door family, and wagons, all with either auto's or manual gear boxes. What do most of ya'll want to see now........funny huh, now let's look at pick-up trucks. Now, they're too big, mostly 4 door sedans on stilts and cost more than my first house. How did my two uncles manage to farm using F100's back in the day? Amazing huh. Why is there cross dressing concepts anyway, jack of all trades and suck at most? Build adamn station wagon and be done with it.

  • Ponchoman49 Ponchoman49 on Apr 05, 2012

    So now we have 2005 technology for 2013 wrapped up in the same hideous exterior styling as before. Is Honda in serious denial?

    • Supersleuth Supersleuth on Apr 05, 2012

      Well, their board must be, to not have fired all the top executives long since.

  • Chawx Chawx on Jun 05, 2012

    I bought my 2012 Crosstour (V6/4WD) in January this year and I don't regret it at all. I took a good long look at the '12 Venza before I got the Xtour because most reviews were saying it was better overall than the Xtour. But, when I got in the Venza, I felt like I was in a tin can. I'm not a big guy by any means, average actually, but as I walked around the car, feeling it's lines and checking out the exterior, it felt like I could grab the front bumper of the Venza and tear it right off. The interior wasn't anything special to me in the Venza either. A lot of people liked it over the Xtour because the Xtour's seems a little too complicated to figure out at first glance. I beg to differ, I found it just as easy to figure out as any other cars center stack. But what really sold me on the Xtour was the quality that Honda has when it made the Xtour. The second I sat in the car I felt safe and right at home. The leather seats hugged my medium frame well and the doors, along with everything else surrounding me, felt like it was right where it should be. Yes, the Venza was cheaper cost-wise, but you definitely get what you pay for, cheapness galore. People like the Venza's look more, but to me, it gets lost in the sea of cars that drive around our roads everyday. When you see a Xtour, you really SEE it. So, say what you will about the exterior look, as you all mostly have, but I love the look of it. The lines are all very nice and they make sense. I have the optional side body molding that adds another nice line to the car, as well as protect it from shopping carts and galoots who swing their doors open at full force while parked next to you. In the 6 months I've owned the car, I've been on a few mini-road trips (100-300 mile drives) and I have averaged 25-26mpg going at a steady 85-90 mph (95% of the time with the ECO light on—it will turn off though at 90+ no matter how light I am with the gas) mostly though, I drive it in the city, where I average about 18.5mpg — overall—through 3900 miles I've averaged 19.3 mpg exactly. Not bad for how liberal I am with displaying the 271+ ponies around town (I've done some minor tweaks-K&N filter among those-to slightly boost it's output above normal). My friend drives a Venza and although he has the lead through the first 15 feet, sometimes, I never end up behind him when we both give the gas a good kick to the floor (unless he's too slow to see the cop up ahead...lol). Anyway, I think I've said my piece. Hate it all you want, I like the exclusiveness I feel when driving my Xtour. I like the looks it gets when I drive by people (more good than bad it seems to me). People who I work with, that I've driven to lunch, admire it. But hey, I'll be the first to admit, I didn't get it for it's looks... I got it for it's quality, efficiency, and versatility. I wish mine had the 6-speed, to me, that would have made it the near perfect car. But, I'll have to make due with the 5-speed, oh well, that's really my only gripe with the car.

  • Phxmotor Phxmotor on Dec 21, 2012

    In 5 years I'll buy one. Too expensive now. If I'm going to stick with the hobby started when I was 15 I just goota wait. But with the Crosstour Im tempted to violate my used car policy. My hobby since even before I had the legal right to drive, has always been to get the best 8-10 year old car made... but only if it has something wrong with it. In this case I'm hoping it'll only be bad brakes or a failed a/c compressor. The Honda v6 has proven bulletproof and if the transmissions seem to be holdng up then I'll take the plunge once these are down under 8-10k. The reason? Well lets see... my wife and I live in the deep snow, we drive only Outbacks and v8 Explorers... all we want is reliability and a car that never gets stuck. We run a resort in the high Sierras of central Calif and when it snow the people back east just don't get it. When it snows here it snows. 623 inches season before last. Anyway... the Ouback is great (bought it for 1500 and threw a used engine in it one afternoon... runs like a top... Havent put a nickel into it since. OKOK some brakes and oil. The Explorer we bought to pull a utility trailer for appliance and bld mtl runs to town (31 miles to the nearest village... 84 miles to the nearest real town. Anyway I'm embarased about the Explorer... nothing was wrong with it and nothing has gone wrong in 3 years. I strayed from my hobby only because it was so stupidly cheap (113k miles and 3200 dollars...Eddie Bauer top of the line and everything was perfect)My wife figured why bother with saving a few bucks? I had to reluctantly agree. Its a reall tool as is the Outback. I love it (hate it) when Bay Area visitors-guests get their 65k BMW and Lexus AWDs stuck... and our old workhorses drag them right out. Anyway... the Crosstour is soooo striking that it has caught my wife's fancy. It doesn't have the best look in the world, but it is truely striking. I maybe am not going to describe it properly but the nitwits who want to see it lowered and equipped with low profile tires seem to be missing the point... this vehicle is deemed to be a useful tool.It's not supposed to be a fashion statement. Its not a Palm Springs toy. It seems more like a Legacy on steroids to me and I can't wait for them to loose value as a function of time. If high milage ones are holding up in 10 years, Ill find a low milage one and take it from there. Just hope I can find one whos owner has been suckered into thinking he has a costly issue about a brake master cylinder or bad brake booster. If hes got a Phd after his name I'll have it made. This tactic has paid off for years, hope it works again. The joke is that I work for a univ and have had various research gigs around the country (advanced hybrid design), and its always happy hunting grounds for me in such environments. I feel sorry for fools-morons-idiots-suckers-naive neophites....sorry I can't help myself... who are proud of their ability to buy new cars yet are taken for a ride every...and I mean every... time they get in front of a guy with his name embroydered onto his shirt. Its a shame cliknclak are gone, they were such a great way to feel superior every saturday morning. Oh well, all good things must pass.Back to the Crosstour... thx for all the comments here. It is nice to see such heartfelt comments about the fine details about styling and interior appointments. Its funny to see what a lot of earnest people feel is important about their cars.Heck... the only thing striking about the Crosstour to me is that it really does seem lkie a Legacy on steroids. If it holds up to serious snow driving, thats all I really want. Plus that dang muscle stance. It'll be fun. I'm sure I'll be seeing one or two of you in a few years. Hope your brake booster blows right when my wife decides which color she likes.

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