Topic: Prufrock's Honda Pilot Pics and Comments

[prufrock]

Well, my wife and I picked up our new Pilot a few weeks back, so I thought it was time to jot down some thoughts on the vehicle so far.

While I have mostly been stuck driving our Accord, I did get a few hours behind the wheel and have concluded the following:

The Good:

• Ride height and all around visibility are good
• Drives as smoothly as the Accord – especially on cruise control
• Turning radius is small – easy to park or pull a u-turn
• Comfortable interior – leather is hot on the backside in the summer but I wear long shorts 
• Road noise is not as bad as expected – about the same as the car
• Lots of space in the back with the seats down
• Sufficient tie-downs to keep gear in place
• Lots of power to the engine (but see below) 
• Exterior looks – I like them because it’s functional with a slightly aggressive look from the front. I do like the styling less than the 4Runner but more than the Pathfinder
• Air conditioner is very quick at cooling down the front
• Moonroof allows lots of extra light – I don’t think we’ve ever closed it

The Bad:

• No heated front wiper zone – boo to frozen wipers 
• No dual-zone climate control
• No adjustable pedals or telescoping steering wheel
• No Variable Cylinder Management like the Odyssey has – bet you it comes next year
• 60/40 split 2nd row seats – 40/20/40 would be so much better
• 2nd row seats don’t fold completely flat
• Lots of power to the engine – I have experienced some wicked torque steer when flooring it to pass an RV that made me thank God for VSA

The Ugly:

• No AUX IN jack on the headunit – gee, who wants to market to everyone under 30 (which I’m not) that owns an mp3 player
• No external handle on rear hatch – a pet peeve is closing the thing after driving in wet or muddy conditions and leaving my hand print on the back end <-- me closing the damn thing
• Third row is useless – a hidden compartment under the floor would be much, much more useful
• Gas prices  – but once we sell the Accord I’m buying either a Fit or a Yaris (maybe a one or two year old Civic) for my commuter and I’ll ignore the Visa statement from my wife’s fill-ups

We are taking it to Edmonton this weekend, so I will update with comments on how it is on a long drive when we get back.

[Bullet Blue]

Thanks for your impressions, the Pilot looks good.

Have any pics of the Accord? When you do trade it in, have a good hard look at the Fit. I love mine.

[BJB]

Congratulations, it looks great, especially love that front grill, it's very aggressive

[UmroAyyar]

Thanks for the uphigh, lowdown.