Temple of VTEC Rumors and News - Rumor: The New Honda Crossroad is Headed to the US

In case you missed it, the 7-passenger Honda Crossroad cross-over mini-ute just went on sale in Japan today. (http://world.honda.com/news/2007/4070222CROSSROAD/). That's not really news, though as official photos and some sketchy details appeared here in December.

What makes that news more interesting is that we've just received word that this vehicle is actually headed to the US, said to slot into Honda's lineup between the CR-V and Pilot. With 7-passenger seating capacity stuffed into rather diminutive packaging, it will be interesting to see how it is priced and if Honda will spec a different motor and interior grade for our market, as it was our understanding that this vehicle is actually positioned beneath the CR-V in Japan, which in its latest incarnation has moved somewhat upscale.

The Crossroad interior photos certainly show a more spartan atmosphere than the quasi-lux trappings of the '07 CR-V. The Crossroad is currently being offered in the Japanese market with the choice of 140ps R18 or 150ps R20 motor driving either the front wheels or all four of them via Honda's RealTime AWD system.

Just out of curiosity, how many of you would rather see the Stream imported than this? I know I would.

Interestingly, while preparing this news item, I just received the following e-mail from one of TOV's readers in Japan, 'AkiraNSK' (you may remember some of his very interesting contributions over the past few months).

Hi Jeff, I attended the launch event for the Honda Crossroad today. I remember you reporting on its sighting in downtown LA in December as a "new J- model Honda crossover", so I figure I'd drop you a line about it. This is the posting from December 18th: http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=644381 And this is English press release: http://world.honda.com/news/2007/4070222CROSSROAD/ I spoke to the exterior design project leader for a while. I asked about the resemblance of the Crossroad to the HR-V, but he insisted that this is not an HR-V successor. It was a new project that began as a super low and sporty 7-seater wagon concept that was originally to be based on a 40mm stretched Stream platform. As development went on, the 40mm stretch was eliminated and the sportiness turned into more about being "stylish enough not to be shamed driving it in the posh part of town on weekends." Although intended for Japan only, they brought it to LA and did a study group to see what America (land of the SUV) thinks of it. The response was extremely positive and it proved very popular there. The concept evolved into "an SUV that will do away with the 3 worst qualities of an SUV: too big, too expensive, too gas-guzzling." He stated that most SUVs are too big for little Japanese women to handle. Not that the Crossroad was in any way designed to target female buyers, but in Japan the average family car is driven more by the wife to handle her daily chores while the husband is at work (or getting wasted with his co-workers). They've come up with the perfect size to allow ease of handling around the tight roads of Tokyo while providing comfortable third row seating that was designed with a 168cm tall passenger in mind. The hood was intentionally designed to be easily seen by the driver to allow him/ her to judge distance to the car in front while parking. This is a move away from a current trend in Honda designs where the hood is not visible by the driver. The rear hatch was a particularly challenging section to design, according to the designer. He specifically wanted the back of the roof to be rounded off because a squared off rear edge "makes the car look too stationery and reluctant to move." Roundness suggests a person leaning forward with an arched back ready to leap forward where as a squared off edge suggests a relaxed posture. As a result the rear glass has a very large curve wrapping up to the top edge of the hatch, rendering it extremely difficult to manufacture. The 2.0L and 1.8L iVTEC engines are both R block SOHC units. The rest of the information I have is also in the press release. AkiraNSX

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