Honda Accord model designed with sloping roofline for trendy coupe profile.

Everybody’s trying to look like a coupe these days. Sedans, hatchbacks and wagons, many of them are being dolled up with dramatically sloping rooflines to look more like sporty hardtops despite their four-door configurations.

Even crossovers are getting into the act, sacrificing their stated purpose as practical alternatives to truck-based SUVs to become styling baubles designed to impress with attractive shapes rather than carrying capacities. The tradeoff is reduced comfort for rear-seat denizens as well as axing the cargo space by half.

Crosstour's styling is less evocative than that of its similar upscale sibling, Acura ZDX. (Photo: Honda)

Such is the Honda Accord Crosstour, an interesting exercise in style over substance that takes the underpinnings of the standard-issue midsize sedan and caps it with a body that is both bold and unlikely.

Essentially the downstream version of the Acura ZDX from Honda’s luxury division, Crosstour establishes a less-extravagant look than its fancy cousin, similar to the difference between an Acura MDX and a Honda Pilot. Same SUV, different package.

Crosstour got some heat from critics when it arrived last year for what was perceived as awkward styling. Not quite Pontiac Aztek awkward, but with a bulbous front that clashes with the abbreviated rear.