BY JEANNE MCDOWELL

THE BIG PICTURE

I admit it; I’m a station wagon gal from way back. I love a lot of space in the back of my vehicle and a touch of off-road, but without the gas guzzling, parking-challenged oversize mo of a full-fledged SUV. So for me the Honda Crosstour (the company deleted the “Accord” from the name starting with 2012 models) does the trick. My test car had the power of a V-6 engine (which is quieter and less vroomy when residing in the Honda Crosstour than it is in the smaller Accord sedan), comfort, plenty of interior space and agile handling. There is also a four-cylinder engine available with less horsepower, but better mileage. The EX and the more luxurious EX-L are 5-door, 5-passenger workhorses loaded with amenities like dual-zone climate control, a one-touch-to-open moon-roof and a 7-speaker 360-watt sound system. The very luxe EX-L also features leather upholstery, heated front seats, Bluetooth and a navigation system with that very cool Honda rearview camera that I love so much. And if you’re someone who notices small design details, you will appreciate the grab handles above all the doors.

That said, I couldn’t help but feel the Honda Crosstour suffers from a vehicular identity crisis of sorts. A wider, longer and taller version of the Accord sedan with a long curved roof, it can’t seem to decide if it wants to look like a car or a crossover. But if you can live with that it’s the perfect size: Big enough, but not too big.

SAFETY

This baby is loaded with safety features, which is one of the reasons we love Hondas. Six airbags with rollover sensors, the front airbags are deployed only in the event of a big frontal impact. And if they do deploy, they inflate at different rates depending on how severe the crash, whose wearing seat belts and other factors.

The Crosstour’s ACE (Advanced Compatibility Engineering) body structure is a Honda exclusive that keeps passengers very protected. In the event (God forbid) of a front-end collision it distributes crash energy throughout the vehicle and helps reduce the force of impact to the passenger as well as to other vehicles involved in the crash. The anti-lock braking system (ABS) uses a special modulator that pulses the brakes to help prevent wheel lockup so you will retain steering control during hard braking, and the driver and front passenger’s active head restraints move forward and up on rear-end impact, reducing the likelihood of neck injury. Like its little sister the Accord sedan, the Honda Crosstour’s Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) corrects over steering or under steering, can brake individual wheels and/or reduce engine power to help restore your intended course.

FAMILY FRIENDLINESS

Let’s face it, the most important features when you’re transporting your family are safety and space, and we’ve covered many of the safety gizmos the Honda Crosstour features. As far as roominess goes, this vehicle offers an abundance. The rear seatback’s 60/40 split adds versatility by letting the Crosstour carry both cargo, and either one or two rear-seat passengers. There’s a secret compartment in the back, stored underneath the floor of the trunk, which holds a large container for tools, jewelry or whatever else you want to store there; it can easily be removed and rinsed if your kid decides to store a chocolate bar in it (without telling you for six months). The Honda Crosstour outboard seats feature the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children), so you know your ankle-biters will be safe and won’t go flying out of the car (unless you push them!).

The rear hatch opens at an angle that gives terrific access to the carpeted trunk area. There’s a lot of storage here and the rear section of the floor flips up in three pieces, exposing a plastic-faced deck for muddy paws and sneakers.

And finally, the Honda Crosstour navigation system is full of goodies: Maps, direction, previous destinations and Zagat’s reviews. No, there’s no ATM, but we hear that’s coming in next year’s model.