Quite often I see questions on my page or in my personal life:
- “Is it like a Honda Crosstour?”
- “Is it basically a Honda Crosstour in a different wrapper?”
- “It looks something like a Crosstour, aren’t they related?”
- “Is it a Crosstour with an Acura badge?”
And so forth, in that vein.
With that in mind, I decided to create a little post, for anyone wondering what the difference is between the Honda Crosstour and the Acura ZDX, or vice versa.
I’ll start simply by saying that these are completely different cars and essentially they have nothing in common. This is not like the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado and Lexus GX, where the same car, in different configurations, is sold under different brands. Yes, Acura is a division of Honda and Honda parts are used in Acura, which is a definite plus, but it does not make ZDX and Crosstour the same cars.
If to go briefly over the brightest differences, it is possible to make approximately such a list:
- Totally different platforms on which these cars were originally built.
During the development of Acura ZDX as the basis was taken Acura MDX platform of the second generation (YD2), which saw the light of day in 2006.
When developing the Honda Crosstour, the eighth-generation Honda Accord (CP) platform, which saw the light of day in 2007, was used.
- Absolutely different bodies.
The ZDX is a cross-coupe by size and shape, and by the manufacturer’s positioning, and the Crosstour is a cross-country wagon.
Acura ZDX width – 199.8 cm
Acura ZDX length – 488.7 cm
Honda Crosstour width – 167.1 cm
Honda Crosstour length – 497.8 cm
As you can see from the figures, ZDX is shorter and much wider than Crosstour, but these cars look completely different live. If to look at the cars from the side, for example, the difference in the shape of the body is distinctly seen. Why from the side? Simply because I have at hand two photos from the side, but such comparative analysis can be made from any other angle.
The ZDX has a peak roof height above the driver’s head, after which the roof abruptly changes angle and goes down. I think Acura designers were inspired by the Nissan 350Z/370Z, which was popular in the U.S. at the time, and the silhouette of the roofline is very similar.
With the Crosstour, that roof height peak starts above the driver’s head and ends behind the rear passenger’s head.
The ZDX’s glazing line is narrow, with the driver and front passenger sitting low and only the head and neck visible.
The window line of the Crosstour is wide, the driver and the front passenger seat as in a regular car, the head, neck, shoulders, and chest are visible.
The ZDX’s overhangs are very short.
Overhangs of the Crosstour are unreal long.
All this and many other things create in ZDX a distinct silhouette of a coupe, and in case of the Crosstour – makes it a long station wagon with a beveled trunk lid.
3.Totally different interiors.
We should probably mention Toyota Land Cruiser Prado and Lexus GX, which have absolutely identical interiors, differing only in materials and multimedia. In the case of Acura and Honda, there is not a single common element in the interior. Different design, different materials, different elements.
- Different Engines
The ZDX was equipped exclusively with a 3.7-liter V6 engine with 304 horsepower.
The Crosstour has equipped with R4 2.4 and V6 3.0 | 3.5 engines with 194 to 275 hp. - Different Drive
For the ZDX, Honda engineers saved the permanent all-wheel-drive SH-AWD with torque vectoring on the rear axle.
The Crosstour has front-wheel drive by default, with rear-wheel drive automatically engaged if necessary.
I think these five most basic points are enough so that next time I don’t have to change the mind of a person interested, but just drop a link to this post.
These two cars have a lot of differences, and most likely nothing in common in principle. That’s not to say that the Honda Crosstour is a bad car, just that they were designed for very different purposes and designed for different buyers. For example, I would never buy Crosstour, it is not to my taste, and I bought ZDX with great pleasure. At the same time, the owner of Crosstour having sat in ZDX would hardly want it as it offers much less practicality and daily comfort. If you suddenly have the desire to delve into the intricacies and features of my car, I recommend reading an interesting article about the Acura ZDX.