Honda Crossroad: Three Rows of Seats, Smaller than a CR-V

Crossroad Photos

Boxy is fashionable these days. Honda's Crossroad proves this. (Photo: Honda)

Body-colored cladding gives the Crossroad a look that's fit for urban settings. (Photo: Honda)

Hard to believe that a vehicle of this size could hold seven occupants. (Photo: Honda)

Element v.2.0? (Photo: Honda)

The Honda Element might split opinions on its boxy styling, but few will arguethe usefulness derived from its functional shape. Honda’s designers must be believers in boxiness, as it is key to their latest product, a compact, three-row crossover vehicle called the Crossroad.

Described as an “active life navigator”, the Crossroad is a vehicle designed to complement busy families with active lifestyles. The styling is simple, full of chunky details such as inset windows, geometrical shapes and pronounced lower cladding, which creates a sense of toughness and durability. In a way, it’s a cross between the Honda Element, and the subcompact and asymmetrical Nissan Cube, which share similar styling cues.

Though Honda did not reveal what’s under the boxy body, it is mostlikely what powers the latest generation CR-V. The Crossroad features the same RealTime four-wheel drive system that gives the CR-V all weather traction with a minor penalty on fuel consumption, and like the CR-V it has a tight turning circle, which makes inner-city driving and parking a breeze.

The Crossroad is powered by smaller engines than our domestic-market CR-V; the base engine is a 1.8-liter VTEC inline-four that makes 140 horsepower, while a 2.0-liter VTEC engine is also on the boards, which serves up an additional 10 horsepower. Honda expects to sell the majority of its Crossroads with an automatic gearbox. Overall, the small and intelligent engines make the Crossroad a spectacularly fuel efficient vehicle, with an average of city and highway fuel consumption of just 33 mpg.

What’s amazing about the Crossroad is that even though it’s smaller in lengththan the CR-V, it actually has three rows of seats, enabling seven passengers to be carried on board. Overhead cutaway photos show that when the third row of seats is utilized, cargo volume (as well as third-row legroom) is practically non-existent, but having those seats for those emergency situations is a plus that consumers value highly.

As for interior design, the Crossroad resides somewhere between the new CR-V and the Element, with four different sized gauges and a thin, center console that stretches across the cabin. Like the CR-V and Element, the gearshift lever is mounted on the console. Other intelligent features include available Bluetooth handsfree communication, collision mitigation (as featured on the Acura RL), adaptive cruise control, and a hill-holding braking system on 4WD models – all features not expected on a vehicle of this type or size.

Currently, Honda doesn’t have any plans to offer the Crossroad outsideof Japan, but we think that this little box would be a downright hit if sold in Europe and North America. The capability of having a junior-sized crossover that has smaller dimensions than most compact SUVs and the ability to seat seven with four wheel drive and non-minivan styling would certainly appeal to many folks. With a more powerful engine, or perhaps even the diesel that’s slated for use in the next-generation North American market Accord, these little crossovers would fly out of the showroom. Although the Crossroad doesn’t have the same ingenious seating system as the Element, nor its all-weather durability and outdoorsy demeanor, another possibility for reaching a global market product could be as the successor to the Element, given its boxy shape, and high level of versatility.