27K for a Crosstar is a waste of money, An EX is far better value, has all the bells and whistles that you want and at least one that you don't, (RDMS).
I just don't understand why people pay the extra for a Crosstar, which is really just an EX in drag!
I've spent a week driving the crosstar while my EX was broken at the dealers with the infotainment issues.
They do drive a bit differently. If my loan crosstar was typical then perhaps they are tuned to deliver more low down power but at the expense of higher performance.
The crosstar I had was much more responsive than my EX around town, but merging onto the motorway up a slight hill from 50-70mph it just wouldn't accelerate much... whereas my EX would have been a lot better.
My Volvo V40 was an XC version - the same as the crosstar is to the EX, with a 1" suspension lift and some plastic panels. I chose it over the standard V40, but the price difference was hardly anything whereas Honda is really pushing the extra on the crosstar now.
If the cost difference was £1k people might choose it more, but the difference is now £2k to start with.