Honda Crosstour Part 2? New Report Suggests Honda Might Make a Sequel
Honda has always had a strong focus on the utility vehicle market with the Japanese auto giant investing large sums of money into icons like the CR-V, Pilot, and the Passport. But for every success, Honda has also had an occasional low-selling oddball.
One of them was the Element, a quirky vehicle we recently shared a report about which cites its possible return. Another was the Crosstour, an unusual attempt to make the Accord morph into a wagon-like entry with a lifted suspension and a raised driving position. Honda kept it in production for 5 years but while it posted 28,851 sales during its first year in 2010, they slid from that point, and the company killed it in 2015 to focus on CUVs. A new report suggests Honda is once again brushing off the idea for a new hybrid-powered SUV.
Could it revive the Crosstour nameplate?
According to the report from Automotive News, Honda is considering a new SUV that would be based on the Accord. It remains to be seen what the name of this reported model will be with this latest report simply calling it “The Accord SUV.”
If it makes production, we suspect Honda will most likely recycle the Crosstour nameplate for the sake of convenience, but give the future offering exterior styling that’s not as clumsy-looking as before, while also allowing it to have its own distinct identity. One aspect of this identity is a return to a lifted hatchback with the report saying the new model will not be as boxy as models like the Passport or Pilot.
It Has Subaru Outback In Its Sights
While the appearance of a model like this may seem out of left field, the report reveals Honda is aiming for the Subaru Outback just like it did with the last Crosstour. The Outback may have lost some of its car-based identity when it was overhauled for 2026, but it’s still a strong seller, with the Outback being among the 10 most popular vehicles bought by customers departing Honda between 2020 and 2025 according to dealer reports.
Honda doesn’t currently offer a model that directly competes with it, and this trend of customers leaving the brand for a key rival is undoubtedly ruffling a few feathers inside Honda’s offices who would love to see those wayward customers stay with Honda for their vehicle needs.
Simplified Development
In addition to bringing the fight to Subaru, the new SUV would also benefit from some of the cost-savings the Accord platform would bring versus building an entirely new architecture from scratch. This cost savings approach was used, ironically enough, by Subaru when it made the Outback, with the company basing its platform on the now axed Legacy sedan.
Customers would also like the familiar architecture too since the model would not only give them an interior that’s larger and more spacious than the Accord sedan, but also give them a space that still has the familiar Accord look versus making them feel like they switched over to a formal SUV offering.
When will we see it?
The report does not offer a formal timetable for when the model will be launched, but it does say the company is looking to build the SUV at its plant in Marysville, Ohio in 2029 with the SUV also arriving alongside a revamped version of the Accord sedan.
Both of them would get their performance from Honda’s next-generation hybrid powertrain, with the powertrain being the core pillar of the company’s broader push into hybrids. Honda is planning to produce 15 new hybrid-powered models as part of this transition, with the bulk of them appearing before the 2030 model year. The timetable in the report makes this SUV a prime candidate to be one of the 15 models planned, but Honda has chosen to not confirm any details as of this writing, and it remains to be seen if it will get the green light from higher-ups.