Porsche Panamera, Crosstour, ZDX

Yesterday I saw my first Porsche Panamera in person, in the wild. It was in a Walmart Parking lot of all places. Like I had read, I was amazed at how much the dimensions were more akin to a Cayenne and not a 911. To me, it really looked like a lowered Cayenne.
Later the same day I saw a Honda Crosstour. The rear end and dimensions are very similar to the Panamera. The Crosstour looks more like a altered Honda Pilot than it does an wagon-ed Accord.
To round out the weird day I also saw my first Acura ZDX in person. Similar comments.

That's because the "accord" crosstour / ZDX are both based on the pilot/odyssey/MDX platform and not the accord at all. They're just duping more people into buying horribly inefficient, space inefficient, overpriced vehicles.

Everything's getting bigger, it seems. I went to look at the Chevy Cruze on Sunday.Not bad looking, in a generic sort of way, but it certainly looks portly.I parked the Miata beside it, which made it look really big. To me, small car means something the size of a 1972 Corolla.

Yeah, I don't get the whole "fastback wagon" school of thought. The Dodge Magnum was the first (that I can recall) that sacrificed space for (questionable) styling. Give me a Volvo 700/900 shape! Boxes are beautiful!

I think I now get these vehicles, and someone mentioned this earlier on the message board: These fastback wagony things might make sense for empty-nesters. In fact, my dad recently asked about the Honda. Are they buying one? Most likely not, but the car did appear on his radar.

For them, yeah, I could see it. They only need space for two people yet the ability to carry stuff. They already have a Miata, don't want a minivan, and aren't up for maintaining a Volvo 740 Turbo. Basically, they're looking for something to replace their 240SX. Sadly that kind of car is all but extinct.

DeadSkunk wrote: Everything's getting bigger, it seems.

Even Leon

David S. Wallens wrote: I think I now get these vehicles, and someone mentioned this earlier on the message board: These fastback wagony things might make sense for empty-nesters. In fact, my dad recently asked about the Honda. Are they buying one? Most likely not, but the car did appear on his radar. For them, yeah, I could see it. They only need space for two people yet the ability to carry stuff. They already have a Miata, don't want a minivan, and aren't up for maintaining a Volvo 740 Turbo. Basically, they're looking for something to replace their 240SX. Sadly that kind of car is all but extinct.

That was likely me, and it's exactly what the corporate marketing types told us when we had the in dealer launch.

1988RedT2 wrote: Yeah, I don't get the whole "fastback wagon" school of thought. The Dodge Magnum was the first (that I can recall) that sacrificed space for (questionable) styling. Give me a Volvo 700/900 shape! Boxes are beautiful!

For a much earlier example, how about a Geo Prizm or Toyota Sprinter?

The Accord Crosstour appears to be much, much lighter than the ZDX, but isn't the Pilot / Odyssey / etc already somewhat Accord based? It would appear the Crosstour is closer to the Accord than the ZDX though. Oddly enough, according to reviews, it seems the Crosstour has a more usable back seat despite being smaller.

My wife and I have been thinking about a new family car (just had our first kid), and the weird fastback wagon things look like they're at least an improvement over a sedan when it comes to cargo room. A real Accord Wagon would be an improvement over the Crosstour, but a fastback trunk is better than a normal trunk. But it's not like we have enough budget for anything new anyway...

Sure, hatchbacks have been around forever, but in spite of their practicality, they've long been stigmatized as very uncool.

1988RedT2 wrote: Sure, hatchbacks have been around forever, but in spite of their practicality, they've long been stigmatized as very uncool.

Ideally, they want their 240SX hatchback to last forever. Theirs is really clean, but it's fast approaching 20 years old. A BMW 3 series wagon is at the top of their list. Late-model used ones are hard to find, though, so my dad has been nosing around at some other options. I just thought it was interesting that he asked about the Crosstour. I could see it working for them.

The difference with the early Prizm was it wasn't supposed to be some blurred market niche vehicle, it was a 5 door economy sedan. I believe Mazda had a similar version of the 626 back in the day, and Nissan had a Stanza? Merkur Scorpio too.

These newer cars are trying to be hatchback/wagon/SUV/minivanish all at once. I agree that for me, I don't see the point of them, but I guess the open market will decide how acceptable they are. I saw the new Porsche a few weeks ago in person, and it is butt ugly.

I like the Porsche...and certain colors seem to hide some/most/not all of the Crosstours flaws.

Butt (ha!), ...I'd buy a Flex and call it a day.

I saw a Panamera in traffic last week. That thing is a berkeleying huge. I can easily believe its just a lowered Cayanne with pretend 911 styling tacked on. It positively screams "I would have bought an Escalade if I wasn't too sophisticated to be seen in a domestic".

Don't leave out this abomination.

In reply to David S. Wallens:

Mazda 5. All the utility of a minivan without looking completely dorky. Or a honda fit if they're not into the whole sliding door thing.

skruffy wrote: In reply to David S. Wallens: Mazda 5. All the utility of a minivan without looking completely dorky. Or a honda fit if they're not into the whole sliding door thing.

I brought it up. Too minivanish for my dad. They are happy with their MX-5, though.

David S. Wallens wrote: A BMW 3 series wagon is at the top of their list. Late-model used ones are hard to find, though, so my dad has been nosing around at some other options.

I'll sell them mine.

2002 model, 97k miles, serviced very well, sport package, premium package, manual transmission, silver over black.

Klayfish wrote: The difference with the early Prizm was it wasn't supposed to be some blurred market niche vehicle, it was a 5 door economy sedan. I believe Mazda had a similar version of the 626 back in the day, and Nissan had a Stanza? Merkur Scorpio too. These newer cars are trying to be hatchback/wagon/SUV/minivanish all at once. I agree that for me, I don't see the point of them, but I guess the open market will decide how acceptable they are. I saw the new Porsche a few weeks ago in person, and it is butt ugly.

Comes with turbo motivation!

In reply to dyintorace:

That is a sweet looking wagon. Are you really going to sell it?

Otto_Maddox wrote: In reply to dyintorace: That is a sweet looking wagon. Are you really going to sell it?

Thinking about it. Got that new (used) car itch.

dyintorace wrote:

David S. Wallens wrote: A BMW 3 series wagon is at the top of their list. Late-model used ones are hard to find, though, so my dad has been nosing around at some other options.

I'll sell them mine. 2002 model, 97k miles, serviced very well, sport package, premium package, manual transmission, silver over black.

Ah, close. After driving a stick shift for nearly 20 years, my mom wants an auto--and it's not up for debate. They just got an E46 sedan (auto), but I think they'd sell it for an E46 wagon.

And what I really need is an E46 convertible with a manual. Is someone going to chime in with one of those to sell?

Otto_Maddox wrote: And what I really need is an E46 convertible with a manual. Is someone going to chime in with one of those to sell?

Sorry, no help there. My parents used to have an E36 convertible with a manual. Neat car.

dyintorace wrote: Don't leave out this abomination.

Pseudosport and I saw one of these today. I puked in my mouth a little bit. Terrible!

Speaking of terrible, ugly, and useless... we also saw a X6 "ActiveHybrid" parked in front of the lunch place with new Jersey manufacturer plates. never heard of one. It was also offensive to the eyes, and it had huge directional 5-spoke wheels. The only cool thing about it was the fact that the front rotors were probably about 17'' in diameter. They were the biggest brakes I've ever seen!

Klayfish wrote: The difference with the early Prizm was it wasn't supposed to be some blurred market niche vehicle, it was a 5 door economy sedan. I believe Mazda had a similar version of the 626 back in the day, and Nissan had a Stanza? Merkur Scorpio too. These newer cars are trying to be hatchback/wagon/SUV/minivanish all at once. I agree that for me, I don't see the point of them, but I guess the open market will decide how acceptable they are. I saw the new Porsche a few weeks ago in person, and it is butt ugly.

I think GM started the weird hatchback / SUV / minivan / fastback wagon thing...

The real question is why anyone else tried to copy it! I think the reason is that GM came up with a very good question, only to completely botch the answer, and everyone else thought they could do better. The question seems to have been something like, "How can we take the high driving position and cargo room of an SUV, the efficiency and practicality of a minivan, and make it less boring and give it some of the style of a sports coupe?" So far, nobody's come up with a good answer, but I guess everyone figures if they actually could answer that question, they'd practically have a license to print money.