The obvious difference here is that the Odyssey can accommodate more souls if need be, up to eight. Its trunk is also larger but given that the average family has about two kids, the Odyssey could be overkill. Certainly, ingress and egress are easier thanks to the dual sliding doors but for that, you'll have to live with the fact that you own a minivan. Can you?
The Odyssey's cabin is nearly infinitely adjustable. With the 3rd row stowed in the floor, load space is huge. And yes, you can fit a sheet of drywall back there but how often will that happen? As far as wagons go, the Crosstour's trunk is capacious enough to handle 99% of 99% of people's needs.
I love hatches as they make loading and unloading a breeze. A word of caution, though, for the Crosstour: its enormously heavy hatch is just that, heavy. Honda needed to counter that weight with powerful struts in order to aid in the raising and sustaining of the lard-ass door. It works fine in clement weather but the moment a snowflake or a sugar-grain-sized piece of ice happens to be on it, the hatch opens slowly and doesn't rise to its max height. If you don't have eyes behind your head when you pull out of the trunk, you will knock your noggin on the lower part of the hatch. I did so five times in a week. #$&!*£@!!!
Now, getting back to how a Honda drives. In either case, you'll be hard pressed to find anything, and I mean anything, wrong. From 1999 on, when I first test-drove the Odyssey, I've always been blown away by how greatly it handles. In fact, this van has been referred to as the "Honda" of minivans. That says quite a bit. The Crosstour behaves like an Accord that weighs 400 lbs more. Typically, this avoir-du-poids would snuff any and all driving pleasure. Not so. In part, at least. The ride is comfortable but the chassis is slow to react with tedious girth transfers.
Both vehicles have light steering, perfect for city dwellers. Hand and forearm efforts change very little at highway speeds. I found this to be especially true in the Crosstour at 90 km/h and more.
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| The obvious difference here is that the Odyssey can accommodate more souls if need be, up to eight. (Model: Honda Odyssey) (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
The Odyssey's cabin is nearly infinitely adjustable. With the 3rd row stowed in the floor, load space is huge. And yes, you can fit a sheet of drywall back there but how often will that happen? As far as wagons go, the Crosstour's trunk is capacious enough to handle 99% of 99% of people's needs.
I love hatches as they make loading and unloading a breeze. A word of caution, though, for the Crosstour: its enormously heavy hatch is just that, heavy. Honda needed to counter that weight with powerful struts in order to aid in the raising and sustaining of the lard-ass door. It works fine in clement weather but the moment a snowflake or a sugar-grain-sized piece of ice happens to be on it, the hatch opens slowly and doesn't rise to its max height. If you don't have eyes behind your head when you pull out of the trunk, you will knock your noggin on the lower part of the hatch. I did so five times in a week. #$&!*£@!!!
Now, getting back to how a Honda drives. In either case, you'll be hard pressed to find anything, and I mean anything, wrong. From 1999 on, when I first test-drove the Odyssey, I've always been blown away by how greatly it handles. In fact, this van has been referred to as the "Honda" of minivans. That says quite a bit. The Crosstour behaves like an Accord that weighs 400 lbs more. Typically, this avoir-du-poids would snuff any and all driving pleasure. Not so. In part, at least. The ride is comfortable but the chassis is slow to react with tedious girth transfers.
Both vehicles have light steering, perfect for city dwellers. Hand and forearm efforts change very little at highway speeds. I found this to be especially true in the Crosstour at 90 km/h and more.
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| The ride is comfortable but the chassis is slow to react with tedious girth transfers. (Model: Honda Accord Crosstour) (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |