Did somebody beat the Honda Accord Crosstour with the ugly stick, if only on the outside? That's been the pre-launch knock on what is actually the cheapest and most cost-effective of the upscale, fastback, crossover utility vehicles and it offers plenty of mainstream technology. The Crosstour is a fine $30,000 people mover and cargo hauler for those who don't need the size of an SUV or the soccer-mom aura of a minivan: empty nesters and families just starting out. The four people who sit comfortably inside also have the advantage of looking out, not in.

It's hard to screw up a vehicle based on something as solid as the Accord, so Honda starts with a good platform that is offered in front-drive and all-wheel-drive editions. Four people ride very comfortably, with more back seat room than in the $57,000 BMW X6 that will blow the doors off a Crosstour on the racetrack (in case you think that's what these vehicles are for). That's because the Crosstour stands 197 inches long, almost half a foot more than an X6. I'd much rather drive the X6 (it really is awesome on the track) but if I had to sit in the second row for more than an hour, I'd take the Crosstour hands down. Not that these are really competing cars when the typical as-sold price is approaches two-to-one.

Just Enough of the Right Technology
The most you can pay for a Honda Crosstour is $36,930 and that's because Honda caps the options offered: no head-up display, active cruise control, or premium leather (leather yes, further upgraded leather, no) for instance. The already competent Honda navigation system now has a 100,000-word speech recognition vocabulary with great sensitivity to casual commands, meaning you can say the same command several ways with greater odds you'll be understood.

The 275-hp V6 engine drives a five-speed automatic transmission with a G-force cornering feature: If it senses you're driving through corners, it delays upshifts or downshifts because drivers may find them unsettling. If you downshift manually, it more carefully matches engine speed to avoid little jolts. At the same time, Honda hangs on for dear life to the five-speed when many competitors have six speeds (and some seven or eight). Each extra gear is good for 1%-5% better fuel economy although diminishing returns set in around six speeds, and the Crosstour's economy rating is good not great: 18 mpg city, 27 mpg highway, 21 mpg combined for the front-drive models (which Honda camouflages by calling them "two-wheel drive") and 17/25/20 for the four-wheel-drive versions.

Honda may feel five speeds is enough because they do other engine tricks to help fuel economy: VCM (variable cylinder management), or cylinder shutdown, combined with active noise cancellation in the cockpit to cancel out any harshness from running on four or three cylinders.

On the Road
The Crosstour was pleasant to drive both in the city and on twisty country roads. The cockpit refinement on the upscale EX-L model is what you'd have expected in a $100,000 car a decade ago. The navigation-equipped models have a lot of buttons on the center stack plus the awkwardly placed control wheel, but not as many as Acuras of a few years back. The controller belongs on a horizontal surface because there's no wrist rest other than the shift lever. The LCD display has a new anti-reflective coating applied that improves legibility, Honda says. I found it was good but not perfect. For that you may need a transflective display (BMW has them on its convertibles) that uses sunlight, not just rear bulbs, for daytime illumination.

You get a USB jack for iPods, music keys, and other MP3 players, but only on the upscale EX-L. Bluetooth is also available, but not on all models. For convenience and for safety, they belong on all vehicles, especially in the case of Honda, which prides itself on being a technology leader.

The worst part of driving the Crosstour is the view out the back. There isn't much, because of the sloping rear. It's also hard to change lanes if you turn to look over your shoulder, as you should, in addition to looking in the side mirrors. Backing up is fine if you've got the navigation package, which bundles in a backup camera and backing lines. Without it, good luck.

Back seat passengers have plenty of leg and headroom; the roof isn't significantly sloped overhead. With rear seat vents and tinted glass (on the higher-end EX-L model), it's fine for long trips. There's room for a third person in the second row if all three want to be uncomfortable.

Cargo space is so-so. You can't have a sloping roof and carry huge amounts of cargo. It's a bit better than in the trunk of an Accord. And there's a neat waterproof removable cargo well under the floor which seems purpose-built to hold ice and beverages: 12-ounce cans upright, long-necks on their sides.

Should You Buy?
The Accord Crosstour goes on sale this month. Few people regret buying an Accord and the same should hold for the Honda Accord Crosstour. You'll get used to the design after a while; this isn't a terminally ugly Pontiac Aztek. Some of the bad early reaction was self-inflicted: Honda created a Crosstour Facebook page, then posted a photo that was less than flattering.

Unless you've got a country ski lodge or a spouse who's terrified of snow, you should be okay with the front-drive version, saving $1,450 and about $100 a year in fuel, just so long as you know 59% of the car's weight is on the front wheels, vs. 57% for the all-wheel-drive version. (50-50 is ideal and just about unheard of in front drive cars.) Either one has six inches of ground clearance, fractionally more than the Accord sedan.

You really must get the rear backup camera, which means you need the navigation package, and that means you need to buy the upscale EX-L not the base EX. But you'll want the EX-L anyway to get the USB jack, nicer cockpit trim, and improved stereo system. That's $35,480 list, $36,930 if you want all-wheel drive. This is not, by the way, a cheaper version of the 2010 Acura ZDX even though it has an equally unusual rear profile. The Crosstour is based on the Accord sedan, while the ZDX is an offshoot of the Acura MDX SUV.  Crosstour competitors include the Toyota Venza and Nissan Murano, shorter vehicles with more ground clearance. The Venza doesn't feel as upscale inside. The Murano matches the Accord's cockpit refinement and was more fun to drive, but it also feels and looks a lot more like an SUV.

Is the Honda Accord Crosstour a better car than a Honda Accord station wagon, which doesn't exist, at least now, in the U.S.? (Acura will bring to the U.S. in a year the Acura TSX Sport Wagon, which is effectively an  Accord wagon gone upscale.) For all practical purposes, no. But Americans have voted against minivans and station wagons in no uncertain terms, so the next best thing is a crossover vehicle that's goofy-looking from some not all angles.