What is the Honda Crossroad?
Launched in 2007, it is one of Honda’s bids for a piece of the lucrative ‘crossover vehicle’ pie. What is a crossover vehicle? Something attempting to combine the benefits of a car and a 4WD vehicle, whilst avoiding the downsides.
The Honda Crossroad was never officially sold in the UK, but is available to imort from Japan. The HR-V and CR-V are Honda’s two crossover options available on the UK market. This has many similar features to the latest versions of these cars but in a smaller and better looking (in my opinion) package.
History of the Honda Crossroad name
If you’re a Land Rover afficionado, you might know the Honda Crossroad as something quite different. In 1979 Honda and British Leyland embarked on a joint business venture. It was intended to be mutually beneficial for car development and sales in foreign markets. During this venture, Honda acquired the rights to the mark 1 Land Rover Discovery. They tried to sell it rebadged as a Honda CrossRoad. This didn’t work: somewhat embarrassing for Honda as the same car with the Land Rover badge did rather well.
This review isn’t about that Honda Crossroad, it’s about this Honda Crossroad:
About the Honda Crossroad
The Honda Crossroad has 7 seats in 3 rows. Both middle and rear seats can be folded flat to produce a large load carrying area.
Engine and drivetrain
The Honda Crossroad is available in 2WD or 4WD versions. The 4WD version runs as front wheel drive when conditions are good, and switches to 4WD if the front wheels are losing grip. All models come with a 5 speed automatic gearbox.
There are 2 engine choices. Both are 4 cyliner 16 valve units:
- 1.8 iVTEC producing 140 bhp. This is the R18A engine also found in the Honda Civic.
- 2.0 iVTEC producing 150 bhp. This is the R20A engine also found in the Honda CR-V.
There isn’t a diesel option, as with the majority of cars imported from Japan. I’ve previously posted about the lack of diesel cars available to import from Japan.
Fuel Consumption
Honda claim 13.8 km/litre for the 2WD 1.8 model. This equates to 38.6 mpg. Unfortunately I don’t have any real world fuel consumption information to share about the 2.0 litre engine/4WD combination. I’d estimate something around 30 mpg. I’d be interested to hear from you with more accurate figures if you own one of these cars.
Equipment
Safety
- Driver, passenger, side airbags.
- ABS with electronic brake force distribution.
- 2 x ISOFIX points.
- Traction control.
- Seat belt pretensioners.
Comfort
- Steering wheel is adjustable for rake and reach.
- Climate control.
- Central locking.
- Cruise control (optional). Honda call this IHCC (Intelligent Highway Cruise Control). It controls distance from the car in front as well as speed.
- Sunroof (optional).
Summary
Why you might want one
- I quite like the chunky styling of this car. You might too!
- Excellent equipment levels.
- You like the CR-V but want something smaller (it is 29 cm shorter & 34 cm narrower).
- You like the HR-V but want something smaller (it is 34 cm narrower).
- You’re keen on a Honda crossover vehicle but can’t/don’t want to afford the new HR-V/CR-V models. You also don’t want to buy the dated older HR-V/CR-V models.
Why you might not want one
- Fuel consumption isn’t likely to be great for the 4WD version. If you just want the 2WD version, you might be better off avoiding the crossover genre.
- Importing one of these at the moment would require an IVA test, which will add to importing costs. This will change in 2017 when the oldest Crossroads will become 10 years old.
Please feel free to contact me or comment below if there is anything else you’d like to know about this car.
What the difference between hondacrossroad type18x and 18l
Hi, thanks for your question.
The 18L is front wheel drive only and the 18X is four wheel drive. The 18X also has a higher specification level than the 18L.
Hope this helps!
Andrew
Driving honda crossroad in.the city..isnt that the fuel consumption same the civic or crv?
Hi
Thanks for your question. I have now found some user-reported fuel consumption figures, which indicate an average fuel consumption of 29 mpg. This definitely sounds more CR-V than Civic to me!
Cheers
Andrew
What is an IVA test
Hi Tom
IVA stands for individual vehicle approval. This post should explain more about it.
Cheers
Andrew
Hi
What will be the road tax cost for the Honda crossroad, in the UK?
Regards
Aki
£295 for a year at the moment.
Hello, I just bought a DBA-RT2 variant but I can’t find a button or switch for 4WD. How can I use it? Do you know where or what site I can look for its part numbers? Thank you!
Hi Nestor
About the 4WD, I don’t think there will be a switch. The car adjusts the drive according to the conditions, but the driver can’t switch it on or off.
Regarding parts, have a look at this post for more information about finding part numbers etc.
Thanks
Andrew
Thanks for your reply Andrew! Really help a lot. By the way, are you aware of the common problems or issues for Honda Crossroad? I just want to be ready. Thanks again!
I have problems in tha car can you connect me please
Hi
Would you know if the AV system can be converted into English? Thanks
Hello
I don’t know for certain but in the vast majority of cases they can’t be converted.
Cheers
Andrew
Thanks Andrew for your helpful suggestions.
I am trying to find extra tyre of my crossroad but could not find it? Any idea where it would be?
I don’t think it has a spare wheel. Should have some puncture repair solution and a small compressor stowed in a compartment in the boot.
Can this crossroad fit for roads which are not tarmaced with pot holes
Hello
It would probably be OK for a bit, but I would class it as a ‘soft roader’ rather than a proper off road vehicle. If you’re going to be driving on roads like you described all the time, I’d go for something a bit tougher like a Land Cruiser Prado.
Cheers
Andrew
Honda crossroad has diesel engine in what size?
Hi
Sorry no diesel engines in the Crossroad. Just a choice of 1.8 or 2 litre petrol engines.
Cheers
Andrew
Hi,
Good day! I just bought a honda crossroad 2007 and i believe it is 20x, is it 4WD?
Thank you,
The Crossroad 20x was available with 2WD and 4WD. The 2WD model code is DBA-RT3 and the 4WD is DBA-RT4.
If you can’t find the model code, just look underneath for a propshaft running front to back. If you haven’t got one, it’s 2WD.
Look underneath the car.
Can I get a Honda cross road. Am in Kenya, I need a 2WD, least milage in very good condition.
How long can it take me to get one. In Mombasa port
Hi George, thanks for your query. Unfortunately I don’t arrange imports to Kenya.
Best wishes
Andrew
Hi Andrew
I need to know front shock absorber part number as one of my shock absorber went bad now and second question is can you calculate fuel consumption in terms of MILES as I am using 2.0 engine and my dashboard shows AVG 10.5km/l
Hi Nassor
Regarding the part number, you could either look for one on the shock absorber itself, or look on one of the online parts catalogues as mentioned in this post.
Regarding fuel economy, 10.5 km/l is equivalent to 29.66 miles per UK gallon. That’s pretty much exactly what I’d expect from the the 2.0 engine and matches my experience with the same engine in a CR-V.
Andrew
I have 20 2w engine it consumption is 5 km/ l plz give me how it will be solved
That is quite low, works out to about 14 miles per gallon in UK units. I’m not sure what’s causing it but here are a few things to consider:
Has the engine been serviced recently, including the correct quantity of the correct viscosity oil?
Are the tyres inflated correctly and is the wheel alignment OK?
Are the brakes binding?
Are you driving it really fast or spending a lot of time in traffic or doing a lot of offroad driving?
Hope you manage to find some extra fuel economy!
What is the road tax cost for honda crossroad in uk
£295 for a year at the moment.
Hello. How do you tell if you have a 1.8L or 2.0L? I know I have a 2WD Model. it Start with
DBA–RT3
RT3–1000621
TYPE 20X
SYP7 3T2 –NH719M –A –S
The 20X is the 2 litre version.
Thank you. I’ve been trying to find replacement shocks or struts for my own the last 5 years. Is there any other honda vehicle or any vehicle that can match up to the 2008 crossroad? It’s been an absolute nightmare and now it’s causing issues with my engine mounts, bushings etc. none the japanese sites or even singapore seemed to have the full setup.
I’m helping another customer with some shocks for a Crossroad at the moment. I’m not aware of any crossover with other Hondas.
Why would the Honda crossroad start on ignition, the radio goes on but it then shuts down immediately but then the radio stays on and no lighting shows on the dashboard
Very hard to say without more information. Have you done a fault code scan and checked the battery voltage? Have any new accessories been installed recently?
Hi Andrew,
I’m about to buy a crossroad, only issue is I hear a slight knocking noise from the left suspension area when I test drove it. Though I still like the car, are the crossroads parts easily available? For instance shocks, spring, struts and bushes? Awaiting your response soonest. Thanks
Some parts are available and some need to come from Japan. If you need any parts, please submit your request here: Japanese import car parts