Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Crosstour represent’s Honda’s entry into the we-didn’t-ask-for-it-but-we-got-it crossover coupe market. While it was a decidedly niche vehicle when new, we’ll have to gauge if this one’s price now gives it broader appeal.
With Ford dusting off both the Maverick name and the effort to market an actual small truck, it’s good to know that there’s still some life left in the concept. It’s possible that Ford’s decision was based partially on seeing the steady rise in values on older small trucks like the 1997 Ranger XLT we looked at on Friday. That one had clambered all the way up to $6,500, and while there was much debate in the comments over whether that was gouging or just par for the course the final tally in the votes supported the seller. That earned a narrow but decisive 53 Nice Price win for the tidy Ranger.
When Honda introduced the Accord-based Crosstour in late 2009, nobody really knew what to make of it. While longer than both the CR-V and Passport, the Crosstour was priced higher than the former and offered far less room than the latter. The car’s awkward “stretching cat” styling fronted by a disproportionately oversized grille didn’t do it any favors either. These issues were reflected in the car’s poor sales over its five-year model run. When the Crosstour was finally canceled in 2015, it was to make room in the Marysville, Ohio factory for the far more popular CR-V model which was turning into Honda’s biggest seller.
Maybe we missed all just the boat on the model? After all, there’s nothing inherently wrong with it, and, being Accord-based, driving it is a much more car-like experience than any of Honda’s tall wagon offerings.
This 2010 Crosstour comes in black over black and is claimed by the seller to be “the fully loaded model.” That means it has a lot of convenience and luxury features, including leather seating surfaces, heated seats, and a navigation system built into the unnecessarily complicated stereo/HVAC controls. The rest of the dash looks a little less daunting for the uninitiated and shows 169,243 miles on the odometer that sits under the shift position indicator. Everything here looks to be in serviceable shape, with no mention in the ad of any warning lights or non-functioning controls.
While the interior may be loaded for bear, the drivetrain is a bit more plebeian. Under the hood lies Honda’s K24A DOHC inline-four and five-speed automatic. The 170 horsepower four was the economy option on the Crosstour, but while that added mileage, it gave up over 100 horses to the standard V6. You couldn’t get AWD with the four either, so this Crosstour is FWD-only.
That’s okay, however, if you don’t really need AWD. Seeing as this Crosstour has seemingly spent all its life in Southern California it probably does just fine. Based on the dune buggy in the seller’s garage, I’m guessing they’re pretty well versed in how to handle 2WD in low-traction situations.
That seller says that the Crosstour has never given any issues, and is now only used it as a spare so it rarely gets exercised. Per the ad, it’s been garage-kept and properly maintained all its life. The last notable attribute here is that it comes with a clean title. That, however, brings up another conundrum about the Crosstour, which is why are there so many for sale right now with salvage titles? If you look at the ads for this model, you will find that nearly half offered for sale are listed with either a rebuilt or salvage title. There must have been something about these cars that cause a repairable situation to be deemed too expensive for an insurance company to fix. That, or there was some sort of great Crosstour flood that took out dozens of cars all at one time.
While you chew on that question, let’s weigh in on this clean-title Crosstour’s $9,800 price. That’s getting down near to salvage title territory, but could be reflective of the car’s relatively high mileage. This being a Honda, those miles might start catching up with the car. What’s your take on this Crosstour and that $9,800 asking? Does that seem like a deal to give Honda’s oddball crossover coupe a second chance? Or, does that price just make you cross?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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