Year of Honda Crossroad

In November 1993, SUV's began to increase in popularity, and Honda didn't have a capable off-road vehicle to offer. Honda contracted with Isuzu to sell the Isuzu Rodeo and the Isuzu Trooper in the USA, and in turn, sold the Honda Domani and Honda Odyssey as the rebadged Isuzu Gemini and Isuzu Oasis, with limited sales. The Domani was not sold as an Isuzu in the USA, but the Odyssey was sold in the USA as an Isuzu. Instead of selling the Rodeo/ Passport or the Trooper/ Acura SLX in Japan, they decided to use the Land Rover Discovery for the Japanese market.

The Crossroad/ Discovery was offered in Japan as a 3-door with a seating capacity of 5 people,and a 5-door with a seating capacity of 7 people. The only engine offered was Rover's 3.9 L OHV V8 with a 4 speed automatic transmission.

The transmission is a permanent four wheel drive system, with a locking centre differential at the transfer box. In common with much of the rest of the Land Rover range, the handbrake acts on the transmission at the back of the transfer box.

The Rover companies had cross-holding relationship with Honda U.K. since early 80's. The relationship ended after Rover was taken over by BMW in 1994.

The Crossroad was discontinued and replaced with the Honda CR-V for the Japanese market.

The Honda Crossroad name was reused as a new crossover SUV, released for the Japanese market in February 2007 for the 2008 model year. The Crossroad features three rows of seats capable of accommodating up to 7 passengers. It replaces the Honda HR-V for the Japanese market.

Under the hood, the Crossroad sports one of two 4-cylinder engines of 1.8 and 2.0L in displacement. Both will be mated to the only available transmission: a 5-speed automatic. Honda's Real-Time AWD system has been thoroughly revised for the Crossroad. It now works in conjunction with stability and traction control as well as ABS brakes. For the first time in a Honda, the Crossroad will be equipped with Hill-Start Assist which temporarily maintains brake pressure after the brake pedal is released when starting on a hill. Under normal driving conditions, the Crossroad behaves as a FWD vehicle.

According to AutoWeek, Honda said it won't import the Crossroad to North America, since their similarly-sized Element takes its place. Honda's crossover SUV lineup in the United States and Canada already has the smaller Element, the mid-priced CR-V and the larger Pilot, as all three models are made in North America.