CD Article: 2009 Honda Pilot

[CD_Editor]

First Drive:


Chunkier and more muscular in appearance, the 2009 Pilot is nevertheless a more refined and more spacious vehicle, reports Senior Editor, Paul Williams.  Its eight-passenger cabin is now the most spacious in its class, he says.

 More:
Read the article | View the photos | All The First Drives

[Zombie]

I'm sure the new pilot is mechanically sound but the exterior looks like a cross between an Exterra and a Ford Escape (but more boring) and the interior is terrible.
I've always been fond of Honda cars but there trucks and SUVs suck.

[Cortina]

I've always been fond of Honda cars but there trucks and SUVs suck.

Ummmmmm I don't think so......Meh.......IMO...

[13059]

  Egad...Are we looking at the same vehicle?...What a daring design!..The new breadbox look from Honda..And those wow! interior colors!..Shockingly bright shades of gray...Another bore from Honda...

[Mitlov]

Honda continues to set the bar for busy, unattractive interiors, as has been their trend for the past couple years.   

[carcrazy]

Like everyone else so far, I too think the Pilot is ugly in and out (especially ugly dash center console, gear shift, etc). I still can't figure out why Honda can't make decent good-looking cars.

On another hand, does the Pilot really compete with the 4Runner, Pathfinder, Explorer? I thought those are body-on-frame, "traditional" SUVs.
As far as I'm concerned, the direct competition is limited to Acadia/Outlook/Enclave, Highlander, CX-9 and Veracruz, which are unibody, full size, 7/8 seat CUVs.

[Jaeger]

Unbelievable.  If GM put that dash in any vehicle they would be ripped to shreds.  Shockingly ugly.  And the unrelentingly bland greyness of the interior makes falling asleep at the wheel a real risk, even if just running to the corner store.  Maybe the dash is supposed to shock you into wakefullness. Or something.  Would someone please return the real Honda design team and send these alien clones back from whence they came?  Please???

Jaeger

[Greg B.]

Check out what look to be the switch-hole blanks in the dash to the left of the steering wheel, reminding you of how cheap you were not to buy the options that would have put switches there. Good lord.

Making the front end look more like a Ridgeline hardly seems like a good idea either, given how ugly that is.

[Cortina]

Honda continues to set the bar for busy, unattractive interiors, as has been their trend for the past couple years.   

Ummmmmm I don't think so......Meh.......IMO...

Errrrrrrrrrrr....But on this one I think....... It is like being in a sea of grey.

[prufrock]

Interesting stuff.

Pros:

• The second row seats fold flat, something I really, really wish our 2006 would do. They come close, but Ikea runs won't work.
• Variable cylinder management. Again, in 2006 this was available in the Odyssey only, and actually was a factor we seriously considered. These vehicles cruise nicely at highway speeds, and saving that little bit of l/100km will help.
• I believe that the price for the EX-L is actually lower than what we paid for the same model in 2006. Only by a few hundred, maybe, but for Honda, that's not bad.
• Standard hitch and wiring would have been nice as well.
• Ummm...

Cons:

• I am glad we have the exterior we have. It may be boring but the new one is ugly as sin. I like most of Honda's designs (hell, I even owned a new Civic for 20 minutes  ) but this plain bites. The grill is terrible and not echoed anywhere else in the design.
• I know dashes get more complicated with navigation, but that's terrible. They should have left the shift on the stalk and opened up some space on that centre-column. The buttons on our are the perfect size and location for fumbling with when wearing gloves in the winter.
• Bigger size in this day and age? Honda may be keeping their l/100km relatively stable from year-to-year, but people want to see that number dropping. And more horsepower...I can get some good torque steer already when flooring it to pass. I have yet to see anyone towing a trailer with this vehicle, and even in my small town there must be at least 6 of them.

I was hoping for a lot more out of the new Pilot. Seeing this, I wish they had implemented a few of the above features in the old body style and stuck with that. This is certinaly not an evolution of the design, and I think the model needs a serious retooling aesthetically.

[Iso Octane]

It always surprises me just how much these mid/full size SUVs cost.

Unless I lived the cottaging lifestyle, I couldn't imagine spending upwards of $40k for something that during a daily commute will perform no better than the $25k Accord that it's based on.

[prufrock]

It always surprises me just how much these mid/full size SUVs cost.

Unless I lived the cottaging lifestyle, I couldn't imagine spending upwards of $40k for something that during a daily commute will perform no better than the $25k Accord that it's based on.

Not everyone's commute is on a freeway in Toronto.

[The Mighty Duck]

On another hand, does the Pilot really compete with the 4Runner, Pathfinder, Explorer? I thought those are body-on-frame, "traditional" SUVs.
As far as I'm concerned, the direct competition is limited to Acadia/Outlook/Enclave, Highlander, CX-9 and Veracruz, which are unibody, full size, 7/8 seat CUVs.

I think the vast majority of buyers in this class have no idea about the difference between unibody and body-on-frame design.  Even my father, who has owned several trucks before the Ridgeline and knows a thing or two about vehicles, wasn't aware or at all concerned about the unibody design of the Ridgeline vs. the body-on-frame design of the Dakota it replaced...

[Benhaze]

Interesting stuff.

Pros:

• The second row seats fold flat, something I really, really wish our 2006 would do. They come close, but Ikea runs won't work.

I still don't like very much the design approach Honda chose for the second row seat design. That upward angle toward the front appears a little excessive for my taste and limits the true usefulness of folding down the 2nd row seat back: if you look at the picture, the folded back seat is nearly at mid-door (or front seat) level. The cargo volume would have been much better if the seat cushions would flip forward to create more space for the seat backs and at least allow an horizontal surface from the folded 3rd row...

I don't mind having to go through a 2 or 3 step process to fold flat the second row seats. I suspect Honda opted for this design for its simple operation and lower cost.



Although GM was able to do it even without requiring to flip forward the 2nd row seat cushions (bench and captain chairs) on its Outlook / Acadia family... (see Outlook example)


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[_Mattesa]

It always surprises me just how much these mid/full size SUVs cost.

Unless I lived the cottaging lifestyle, I couldn't imagine spending upwards of $40k for something that during a daily commute will perform no better than the $25k Accord that it's based on.

Not everyone's commute is on a freeway in Toronto.

Northern BC might just fit that cottaging lifestyle criteria.  For commuting in Toronto, it's no better than the Accord.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Best in class interior room? 

The two below would like a word.

Their seats fold properly flat.

And they get about the same mileage as the Pilot without cylinder deactivation.

The previous Pilot was a conventional looking SUV. This one is...odd.

[jww]

Selling cylinder management is good. Putting lipstick on the pig isn't.

Gosh this is ugly. Shame on Honda for not building a boring looking vehicle!

[Snowman]

   No matter how much tequila I drink this girl will be left standing at the bar.