The Crosstour will Return, But Honda Has a Big Problem.

Apparently, the Honda Crosstour will soon return. It will be based on Honda’s new Hybrid platform that will also be used for the all new next-generation Honda Civic. As well as the next Accord, if Honda decides to go ahead and give their bigger sedan a new generation.

New reports point at a 2029 production. Which is pretty far away. It now seems obvious that the recently introduced Honda Hybrid Sedan Prototype was a preview of the Crosstour. Not the Accord or even the Civic. However, I think the Civic will probably grow in size with the new platform. And the Crosstour could be very closely related to the next, possibly larger Civic. But at the same time, something like this would compete against the hatchback version of the Civic. Unless the Civic hatch ends up being totally replaced by the Crosstour. Basically, a new Civic Crosstour. At the same time, internal Honda documents apparently refer to the new car as “Accord SUV”. So who knows…

The new platform will offer AWD which would be perfect for a new Crosstour. The bottom illustration even shows what an even more off-road oriented TrailSport trim could look like.

A Hybrid and available AWD would be a great advantage over the old Crosstour. Although the previous version (2010 to 2015) was already available with AWD if you order the V6. Of course, there will be no V6 in the next one. A smooth Hybrid powertrain could still be a decent replacement. However, we are talking about 2029. By then, regular hybrids will be pretty old news. The next Corolla, which is just around the corner, will offer a choice of ICE, Hybrid, PHEV and even EV powertrains. Nissan is bringing its EREV tech over here before the end of the year. And maybe others as well.

All these future Honda models will be relying on this one Hybrid platform. (except for their larger models which will use another Hybrid platform with a V6). Which might be OK for today, but not in 3 or 4 years.

Honda could soon fall far behind…