Sometimes the order of press car arrivals makes for interesting comparisons.  When the Honda Accord Crosstour and Chevrolet Equinox met each other at the head of my driveway, I knew there was gonna be a fight.

Both vehicles are V6-powered AWD crossovers.  Both newly redesigned of course.   They get about the same fuel economy, hold the same number of passengers, and have similar ride heights and road manners.   Both of them were equipped with navigation systems, backup cameras and heated seats.  Both are even available with active sound deadening from the stereo system (though the Equinox only offers it in four-cylinder models).  And yet, the two vehicles are radically different.  Well, okay, maybe “radically” is overstating the case, but there’s a lot of flexibility in the “crossover” definition, that’s for sure.

I liked the Equinox right away.  The Crosstour, on the other hand, took a few days to grow on me.  In the end I was sorry to see it leave, believe it or not.  Well, it’s probably not that hard to believe; I like ugly cars.

The Equinox is businesslike–it was here to carry things and run errands.  A large cargo area and wagon-like silhouette fairly shout this fact.  Chevy’s upgraded the styling, and it looks good, but the Equinox is about utility first and fashion second.   The Crosstour, on the other hand, is high style, at least as far as crossover vehicles go.  It’s got extravagant lines and a strong curb presence.  It isn’t the wildest vehicle in its class, but more than one bystander came up to ask me about it.  The bulbous, egg-shaped rear end looks terrible in photos but works in the metal, at least for me.  After a few days, I was feeling pretty good to be seen in the Crosstour, while the Equinox was just a way to get things done.

I found it interesting because cars don’t usually have to grow on me; generally, I know within a few minutes how I feel about it.  Reversals like I felt with the Crosstour are rare.  Seriously, I hated the thing for the first three or four days, then turned lukewarm on it, and in the end I approved of the thing.  Interestingly, I had the opposite reaction to the Crosstour’s natural enemy, the Toyota Venza–I liked it for the first three days, and by the end of the week I was ready to be rid of the big, heavy thing.

What the Crosstour shares with the Equinox (and the Venza lacks) is that very subtle thread of SUV-ness–the feeling that yes, it won’t mind climbing over a curb here and there, if it’s necessary.  The Venza felt large yet fragile–there was some inherent Camry-ness about it that suggested it wouldn’t appreciate the sort of slightly rough treatment that the average SUV or truck is able to shrug off.  But never mind the Venza, it’s not the subject of today’s comparison.  The Crosstour and Equinox were both perfectly down with acting all truck-like, when the need arose.

In the end, the chief differences between the Equinox and Crosstour are aesthetic and tactile.  The Chevy is harder-edged, in both its styling and the feel of its materials.  The Crosstour seems to use a better grade of plastic, and the surfaces are kinder to the touch.  Interior styling is swoopy-modern in both vehicles, with the Chevy showing a slight edge in easy usability.

As equipped, the Equinox was $32,888; the Crosstour stickered for $34,020.  If I had to choose, the advantage goes to the Crosstour, even with the $2000 price walk.  Why?  Because I’m a sucker for a funny face.

Note:  Both of these vehicles are trumped by the Subaru Outback.

Full reviews of both the Equinox and Crosstour will follow in a few days.

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