Over the past decade or so, all sorts of automakers have produced all sorts of answers to the question of “What happens when sedan sales keep trending downward?” From the compact crossover wars to Toyota replacing the Avalon with the crossover sedan Crown to the seemingly eternal shelf life of the current Nissan Altima, there’s no silver bullet. Perhaps that’s why, according to Automotive News, Honda is reportedly working on a hybrid Accord crossover to rival the Subaru Outback.
The midsize model, called the “Accord SUV” in a Honda planning document, is expected to enter production in mid-2029, potentially in Marysville, Ohio, a person with knowledge of the plan told Automotive News.
The strange part is, this isn’t the first time Honda’s tried turning an Accord into a crossover. However, given how that one went, it’s a strange facet of recent history to mine for sales ambitions.
Back around the turn of the 2010s, Honda launched two midsize swoopy-roofed crossovers that shared virtually nothing in common. One was the Acura ZDX, which may have been the result of an elephant sitting on the back of an MDX. Same platform, same powertrain, you know the drill. The other was the Accord Crosstour and it was much, much weirder. For one, it looked like this.
Now that we’re in an age of the BMW XM, the Accord Crosstour isn’t that ugly, but it was downright shocking more than 15 years ago. Sure, there’s a whiff of Accord in here if you squint, but the bulbous silhouette, then-enormous grille and strange details like the surfacing around the fog lamps and black liftgate applique rendered the Crosstour visually divisive.
In some ways, the controversial styling was a shame because it hid the Crosstour’s general usefulness. Underneath that huge hatch sat a commodious cargo area and a cavernous hidden cubby under a false floor for keeping valuables out of sight. Rear legroom matched that of the Accord midsize sedan, but available all-wheel-drive gave the Crosstour the edge in slippery conditions. With a choice of four-cylinder or V6 engines, the foundation seemed solid, but Honda didn’t get the build-up right out of the gate.
In addition to the styling, it probably didn’t help that if you needed a Honda with a ton of space in 2010, you could get into a base-model Pilot for thousands of dollars less than the cheapest Crosstour. That’s not quite an apples-to-apples comparison, as the cheapest Pilot was a fairly basic LX trim while the cheapest Crosstour was a more well-equipped EX trim, but a third row and an extra 35.7 cu.-ft. of maximum cargo volume are hard to argue with if room and cost mattered more than features.
As such, sales never really took off despite a 2013 facelift to make the Crosstour look more normal. From the start of production in 2009 through the final year of production in 2015, Honda sold 107,990 Accord Crosstours in America. It took another two years to sell 731 leftover examples, resulting in total sales of 108,721. For context, Honda sold 311,381 Accords in 2010. Ah.
Mind you, the market has changed considerably over the past eleven years. The sedanocalypse took a big bite out of both sedan offerings and sales figures, fastback SUVs have only been gaining popularity, and the squared-off two-row Passport means a new Accord-based crossover could operate in a different price bracket than the Crosstour. It’s a different path than, say, bringing the Prelude back. That’s Honda’s 11th-generation Thunderbird, a date-night car for empty nesters.
If Honda really wants to compete with the Subaru Outback, it would need something hugely practical with an aggressive starting price. A hybrid powertrain sounds unique, but it only feels like a matter of time before Subaru stuffs its e-Boxer hybrid system in the Outback to level the playing field. Of course, this purported Honda could still just not happen, given how 2029 is three years away, and much can change in three years. We’ll just have to wait and see how this plays out.
Top graphic image: Honda
just do a tsx/accord wagon
The current Accord styling would make a great wagon.
agreed
It won’t sell.
probably not, but one can dream.
make it look like a low and narrow Passport. If it looks anything like a wagon-ified sedan, they’re cooked. I feel like this is going to be another swing and miss
If Honda makes it an actual wagon instead of a slugback it’ll certainly have a better shot at success.
This. The Crosstour was doomed by them not just fully committing to the wagon. It gave it awkward looks and limited cargo space, both of which sort of negated the positives of the vehicle. These were all over the upper Midwest when I lived there 15 years ago, and I knew several owners. All of them loved the cars but wish they had more (or at least more usable) cargo space and didn’t look like an automotive cockroach.
Fight the Outback???? Isn’t Subaru doing a good enough job destroying it on their own?
The newest iteration is certainly the ugliest (so far).
Visually divisive so perfectly captures the essence of this class of transportation devices.
Didn’t we just see two next-Gen Accord “concepts” where it was pretty obvious this was happening? I have a Civic hatchback. I know it’s not a mainstream ask, but there are times when I wouldn’t mind an extra 3″ of ground-clearance (H-point more accurately)
I saw a Crosstour the other day. Not hideous as all the reviews back then would make you expect, but hardly pretty either. I recall they got particularly mediocre mileage (they only came with the six and an automatic, or am I mis-remembering?) much like the Ridgeline.
If they bring it back in some fasion, it’ll just be a bulked up and lifted Accord, which will wind up like a fastback crossover, my least favorite kind of crossover. But it’ll probably be a two liter hybrid four this time.
Honda’s been having crappy luck for the past 7-8 years with some of their new, widely-used components/engines. And their quality control seems to have slipped to (based on my anecdotal impression of my friend’s newish Civic with paint peeling from the side-view mirrors and coolant/oil issues). There’s not much in their current lineup that I’d actually yearn for as a daily. Well, I like the Ridgeline and could put up with the so-so MPG, but I’d have to win it in a contest or something, since it’s pricey and TBH, I don’t need it for work or anything.
Also, the Outback, while still having admirers, has got to make up a small percentage of Suburu’s sales (vs the Crosstrek and Forester) than it did when it was in its (sales) prime. So, Honda would be making a new model to compete for what seems like a shrinking pool of potential buyers (folks who want a Japanese AWD wagonish thing). Doesn’t seem like the best move on Honda’s part, especially if it costs them a lot of R&D $.
I know they can’t and won’t (and probably shouldn’t) but I wish they’d make some good/cheap/small Hondas for the American market again. They don’t have to be kei-sized, but with the cheapest Civic now almost $26K, that’s a lot of new/young buyers they must be giving up to Hyundai and Kia.
And Hyundai and Kia are garbage, so this is a missed opportunity.
I’ll never understand why some businesses, in any category, avoid the low end to develop people into better buyers down the road. It just boggles my mind.
It’s probably something to do with the stock market, and private equity
I like your username Utherjorge. 🙂
Not sure if you are making a joke or serious about the stock market… I agree in that all publicly traded companies seem motivated towards short term results instead of sustainable, long term planning.
Not sure that I agree with H & K being ‘gargage’ though. To be sure, they’ve had some faux pas over the past several years, but the same can be said for Honda, and even Toyota. Heck, even my beloved Mazda stumbles from time to time.
Aside from the Ionic 5 (yes, which has had issues early in the run) there’s not a ton at H & K that I yearn for. Well, the K4 hatch in gold is nice looking, and the cheapest car in America is H’s Venue, which is actually not bad for what it costs at all. Sadly, the Venue was even better when it could be had with a regular automatic or a manual (!) but these days, it’s a CVT or nothing.
Uh, isn’t that called the Honda Passport?
Honda needs to bring the 3.5L V6 out of cold storage for this one.
When in doubt, slice the crossover salami thinner.
The Accord’s sales decline has been brutal, it’s not too surprising they are hoping to take some of it back in the least inventive way possible.
Honda brought back the Acura ZDX to be killed again; might as well let the Accord CUV suffer the same fate!
This is a false equivalence. The Crosstour was supposed to be luxurious, and went along with the Acura ZDX (which had, it is true, more noble underpinnings). At no time was it supposed to be a kid hauler.
An Accord to compete with the Outback would have to involve an Accord wagon, then uglifying the design to Subaru levels (doable), investing in a business that can output square meters of ugly plastic cladding per vehicle (doable), and maybe bringing back the software central diff lock that they desitded to drop off the Pilot and all.
Although I guess few people will miss it till they realize then need it to even get out of a parking spot in winter.
Agreed, I recall it being aimed at empty nesters who needed to haul gardening supplies. That demo ended up in an Element. It was always going to be low volume, but it landed with a thud for sure.
I assure you that even in a post-BeaverMW, world, the Crosstour remains That Ugly.
Hard disagree. It has presence and it’s pretty hot.
I remember when the Crosstour came out I thought ooh! Accord hatchback! Then I saw it and recoiled. Let’s make it as ugly and impractical as possible.
Honda seems to have hired some old GM bean counters post-COVID. I feel this will be too little too late. Gas likely isn’t getting any cheaper between now and then. Making a hybrid Accord hatch should be a slam dunk. But 2029 is forever away.
I tend to think of the decline of sedans as more of a gradual, organic breakdown in interest versus something akin to a biblical or natural disaster. A Sedanesence, if you will. I’m weird that way. I’m also probably one of the few who liked the Crosstour, so I’m weird that way, too.
That Crosstour was one of the ugliest cars i have seen. At least in the top 10.
All this work to avoid making a station wagon!
Can’t they just make an accord wagon? The outback isn’t even a wagon anymore, just drop into the market they just left open.
Another cuv thing claiming to be a wagon. Hopefully they just make a hybrid awd wagon.
Accord SUV? Isn’t that the CR-V???
Does this mean Toyota will bring back the Venza but with body cladding?
I sure hope not.
Secondly, I see recently Honda has decided to go after Subaru with their own head gasket issues.
Scrolled down to find a head gasket jab at both Honda/Subaru, was not disappointed
I’ve known people who owned these.
Very much like the few Chevy Volt owners I’ve met, they seem to love them.
But this was not an era of stylish Accords, so building a pricy and frumpy version wasn’t a recipe for success – even if it were a very useful shaped object.
LOL I was just thinking about how much my Volt shares with this car. 4 door, giant hatchback, scorned by many.
At least the 11th Gen Thunderbird looked good even if the overall execution missed the mark. The sixth generation Quaalude is pretty meh.