Assembled in Honda’s East Liberty, Ohio plant, the 2013 Honda Crosstour is, essentially, an all-wheel drive (AWD) Honda Accord wagon. When you look at the 2013 Honda Crosstour that way, it makes sense. Sure, it will never handle quite like a regular Accord, it will provide comfort over long miles with one of the best rides in Honda’s fleet. The Honda Crosstour starts at $27,230 and can peak at about $38,000, like my fully loaded tester.
Let’s address the elephant in the room, the 2013 Honda Crosstour’s exterior design is polarizing. The nose is too large and the overall silhouette is beetle-like (the insect, not the car). I must admit, a regular station-wagon design would look better and provide most usable storage space. You get a maximum 51.3 cubic feet of cargo space, which is okay, but a bit light for a vehicle this size. The Subaru Outback has 71.3 cubic feet of maximum cargo space.
Once you sit behind the wheel, your perceptions should change. Comfort, quality and modern tech abound. The driver’s seat was a tad small for my elephantine behind, but most will find it acceptable. Rear seat comfort is excellent, especially the legroom. The roof does slope a bit taking away a few inches of rear headroom. Only tall passengers will notice – at nearly 6’2″ (with my big-boy boots on) I had just enough headroom.
The 2013 Honda Crosstour is a fine driving crossover/wagon-ish machine. Steering is pretty light and handling is very secure. It’s like driving a long Honda CR-V, more than just a heavy Accord. It is tall, so hard corners will make the tires yell, but control is well maintained.
The 278-hp, 3.5-liter, V6 Engine is a gem. It makes 252 lbs-feet of torque just under 5,000 rpm and it pulls hard through all six gears. A 194-hp four-cylinder is available with a five-speed, automatic transmission on the base model. Both power options are available in front-wheel drive (FWD) and AWD.
The optional ‘Real Time 4WD™’, “The Real Time 4WD™ system engages when slippage is detected and you need to send power to where there is tire grip. This is a hydraulically actuated system that operates only when front-wheel slippage occurs, helping you through terrain that can be tricky to maneuver.” – – Honda.com
I took the 2013 Honda Crosstour on to some muddy, rutted roads and over some nasty snow patches. There are no buttons to push, no levers to pull. The Real Time 4WD simply hikes up its kilt and tippy toes through all of it. Its 6.2-inch ground clearance made it just a hair under the minimum height Roman and I permit for off-roading on our test trail. I am positive it would be just a competent as
With the sloping roof’s steep angle, the rear hatch is long and requires two panes of glass to see out of. This represents the other fly in the ointment: rear visibility. When you look in the rear view mirror, you see rather thick bar obscuring your vision. Look over your right shoulder to merge and you are greeted by a pinched quarter window that’s hard to see out of.
Fear not!
The 2013 Honda Crosstour is fitted with a nifty right-side mounted camera (just under the side-view mirror). When you trigger the right turn signal, the info screen flickers on and shows you an expended view of what you would see when you look at the right-side mirror.
It works well and can be triggered at any time with a push of a button mounted on the end of the turn-signal stock.
One thing that kept whispering in my ear, as I drove the 2013 Honda Crosstour to the northern side of the state, was that it reminded me of the Accord and I like driving the Accord. 
The Honda Accord is considered by a majority of automotive journalists to be one of the best vehicles in its class… just about every year. Sure, it’s not as commodious as competitors and its got an oddball shape, it’s still an Accord and that makes it worth trying, especially for Honda fans.
Check out this rare Honda Accord video!
On the TFLcar scale of:
– Buy it
– Lease it
– Rent it or
-Forget it
I recommend that you Lease it!
The 2013 Honda Crosstour is a sweetheart to drive and works beautifully in low traction situations… and it’s basically a Honda Accord wearing hefty pants. If it were less expensive and/or handsome, I would give it a “Buy it!”
I wonder how the four-cylinder will compare?
