Late February 2007 Honda presented to the medias and the japanese audience their Crossover/SUV built for the city but with the look of an "off roader": the
Crossroad.
The Crossroad is not Honda's first SUV and it looks fairly different than the CR-V which is now more of a luxury sedan with big wheels and 4 wheel drive, closer to the needs of the American market than the Japanese one.
In our mind this Crossroad is more of a 1st generation CR-V revival, a car which design is synonymous of adventure and not just the monotony of the flat tarmac from our cities...and at the same time it's a compact family car.
Honda Crossroad Test Drive, HDTV
(WMV9HD 720p Direct Download "Right click, Save as…")
Honda Crossroad Test Drive, HDTV
(WMV9HD 720p Torrent "Right click, Save as…")
But before going further in this article we would like to take a few moments to analyse this phenomenon going on in the automotive industry in general and in Japan in particular.
Sport Utility Vehicles are credited of high sales at the moment and this for many reasons, also, to meet the demands of their clients, the Japanese manufacturers have been bringing to their cars dramatic changes of all kinds. Aside from aesthetical concerns they mostly worked on making their vehicles bigger and enhancing the overall quality feel...as a result getting pretty far away from what the original concept was. An example could be the Toyota RAV4 which, within the generations, went from a small "city 4x4" to a massive 5 doors saloon on big wheels, leaving the lovers of the first version behind...conscious of this, the manufacturer, in association with Daihatsu, built a new compact SUV: the Bego/Rush.
What is true for Toyota certainly is for Honda as well and the first CR-V is now long gone but fortunately, the Crossroad is now here !
(This analysis, based on actual appreciation of the Japanese automotive market is personal and can't be taken as a proper strategy decided by the manufacturers mentioned above)
Now let's take a closer look at this Crossroad, when it comes to the style Honda claims that this vehicle, through strong straight lines all over the body, is aimed at families with dynamic and adventurous lifestyles. The use of black plastic cover ups/fenders over the wheels and on both ends increases the strong and robust feel.
From our point of view the Honda Crossroad is some kind of mix between a Hummer and a 90's Jeep Cherokee, all with a couple inches less.
Once Inside it's Business as Usual, you couldn't mistake it with any other, this is definitely a Honda and the lack of originality is the main reproach we could do to the Japanese manufacturer but the ones who love the interior design of other models should like this one and feel right at home.
So despite the relative austerity there are no complaints regarding the quality of the materials, looking as strong as the exterior of the car.
As it is a family car you need space for the passengers and on that particular point the Crossroad delivers. Based on the same platform philosophy as the Honda Stream, our Crossover features a flat floor allowing more space for the legs and facilitated movements. Moreover, thanks to its cubic design, the Crossroad can welcome up to 7 persons in good comfort as the 2 additional seats can be taken out of the floor, of course in that case it does reduce the trunk capacity.
Under the hood you wont find anything to go on a time attack session but let's be serious, this is a family vehicle and the 1.8 liter (140HP, 174Nm) or 2.0 liter (150HP, 190Nm) SOHC i-Vtec engines do just fine...at least we do hope so !
As always the transmission is automatic and the motor moves either the front or the 4 wheels.
For obvious fuel consumption reasons the 2WD (FF) version makes sense but again, we believe that it goes against the idea of what a SUV is supposed to be...but oh well...some manufacturers make diesl-powered convertibles nowadays, something simply unconceivable 15 years ago...and to go back to the Crossroad, 99% of the potential buyers will only face montains the size of a street curb !
The first time we heard of the Honda Crossroad it was presented as a versatile and FUN vehicle and this, no matter the terrain. From what we've seen so far it seems to be the case, after all what car couldn't feel at ease in the city...but at the same time we had doubts regarding the off-road capacities and the reactions of the car in an "hostile environment".
To figure this out, we gout or hands on a 1.8 liter powered and AWD version of this baby.
To be perfectly honest about how our impressions on the car we decided to elaborate a "trial" of about 350 miles made of cities, highways, mountain passes and finally the so called "hostile terrain", more infos later on this.
Let's start with the beginning...despite flat and clean looking streets, driving through Tokyo is certainly not the funniest thing to do unless you enjoy traffic jams, and if you want to avoid the main streets you'll enjoy the small and narrow ones that the japanese drivers often mistake for "opened parking lots".
In this first part the Crossroad suffered no critics at all, thanks to a good level of comfort, second things we noticed is that, thanks to a precise steering, this compact SUV can be moved quite easily.
Finally out of Tokyo we headed to the highway only to find out the first complain about the car: the engine.
The 1.8 liter failed to provide sufficient dynamism making the car feel heavy and slow. But at the same time the Japanese highways being limited to 80km/h this is only a problem from a European/American point of view.
When we reached the narrow mountain roads of Izu the problem about the engine was the same and we started to regret not to have taken the 2.0 liter motor coming with a little more horsepower and torque.
This long trip was made for one reason though: the Mobility Park, a huge area dedicated to 4x4 lovers and people who want to test the abilities of their vehicle as well as their driving. So far Honda was right, the car has been good in all circumstances and all surfaces...let's see what it can do in Off Road.
The time to put the video equipments, deactivate the traction control and lock the automatic gearbox in D3 mode and we were ready to go...it didn't take long to give a firm answer : YES, the Crossroad is capable of going beyond the city limits !
Honda's Crossover/SUV took us all around this "playground" from ruts to severe elevations (25% up and 35% down !) with a very satisfying feel of safety in all conditions.
So for once this is true, Honda did it, a Crossover SUV which, beyond his name and style, offers a real potential in most circumstances !
Plus:
Look
Price in Japan
Comfortable in most situations
Minus:
Engine feels a bit weak
Lack of originality of the interior
Conclusion:
Ready for the family the Honda Crossroad stays strong in most situations and provides an enjoyable level of comfort and safety, from city to countryside it can take up to 7 persons in perfect conditions
Despite a "slow" engine it clearly is a very "all-around" car, especially in Japan, where its price is very attractive.
Posted on 08/04/07 By G-A.G
