CTC Review: 2009 Honda Pilot Touring

[carcrazed]

Well said Jaeger, well said.

I think Honda/Acura is trying to push the design concept, somewhat like what Cadillac and BMW did a few years back.. only with much, much worse designers.

[banfield]

I hope Ford uses this article's "pro-Ford" comment in its advertising.

Current media coverage of the "Big 3" concerning their bail-out requests includes some complaints from drivers beefing about their bad experiences with Big 3 cars.  I wonder if the media are being over-selective in their choice of comments just to hype the news story.

I've been very happy with the 3 Dodge Caravans I have owned - one of them for 12 years.

My wife owns an '05 Honda Civic.  Great vehicle except that:
.  the dealer-recommended service schedule calls for over-service
   compared to the owner's manual, and the dealer prices are
   outrageously expensive
.  get your oil changed elsewhere and an annoying "maintenance
   needed" message is liable to pop up the instrument panel and
   stay there
.  the gas cap door is unlocked by an inside lever prone to
   repeated failure. The fix at the dealer is $120 a pop once you're
   out of warranty
   
2 of my 3 VW's were unreliable.

An acquaintance spent a fortune on maintenance for a turbo Volvo.

Once I commented admiringly on the beautiful high-end BMW
coupe driven by a business associate.  He moaned about its unreliability and astronomical maintenance costs.

Just one old guy's perspective.

 

[Kai]

Honda's are reliable for sure, but they are so expensive after the dollar parity throughout the last year. Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, and Subaru are all cheaper with their price adjustments! Don't get me wrong, I drove an Accord, so I value their products! The Pilot never really interested me as I found it to be too minivan or car like.  So, with the new redesign, I was interested to see if they could make a rough SUV.

My thoughts now? The exterior really tries to be like traditional truck based SUVs, but the interior is pretty ugly.  And now after reading about it's awd drive system and taken into accout the pricing, thumbs down for this Honda minivan-like SUV.

[Kai]

If you read into the offroad capabilities, you'll find that the GX470 is far superior.  As well, I don't think these cars quite in the same class.  Pilot has competitors like the Toyota Highlander, Mazda CX7 or CX9, Subaru Tribeca, etc.

ktm525, the GX470 and LR3 doesn't have all the goodies that the Pilot's Touring trim has.
Add those on and you're at almost 8 to 10 grand difference.

[Thinking Out Loud]

My thoughts now? The exterior really tries to be like traditional truck based SUVs, but the interior is pretty ugly.  And now after reading about it's awd drive system and taken into accout the pricing, thumbs down for this Honda minivan-like SUV.

Reminds me of the Jimmy Durante shnoz makeover they gave the Pontiac Montana/SV6 et al to make it look more 'SUV' than minivan. 

[Greg B.]

My wife owns an '05 Honda Civic.  Great vehicle except that:
.  the dealer-recommended service schedule calls for over-service
   compared to the owner's manual, and the dealer prices are
   outrageously expensive
.  get your oil changed elsewhere and an annoying "maintenance
   needed" message is liable to pop up the instrument panel and
   stay there
.  the gas cap door is unlocked by an inside lever prone to
   repeated failure. The fix at the dealer is $120 a pop once you're
   out of warranty

Hondas have always been this way. Back in the 80's a girlfriend bought a new Prelude (and I won't get into the horror story of trying to buy one of those at the time from Colonial Honda in Halifax -- let's just say they took advantage of having a hot product to the maximum extent possible). Anyway, she would take it back there for maintenance and after a couple of years she was getting bills for $500-$800 every time. They would change things based on time, not condition, and she foolishly trusted them. She only got rid of it when they told her the car had rust in the chassis that they couldn't or wouldn't repair.

[Schmengie]

Moby Dick sucking a lemon. Does anyone actually WANT one of these?

[Jaeger]

Moby Dick sucking a lemon. Does anyone actually WANT one of these?

Damn, that's funny. 

Jaeger

[carcrazy]

How did you manage to get such a low fuel economy? Did you only drive short distance, warm up 15 minutes every time, or drive all week in stop-and-go?
14.5L/100 average for the week is pretty bad and atypical for Honda (so they say)even for a CUV in this class and cold weather (not extremely cold yet).

[ktm525]

How did you manage to get such a low fuel economy? Did you only drive short distance, warm up 15 minutes every time, or drive all week in stop-and-go?
14.5L/100 average for the week is pretty bad and atypical for Honda (so they say)even for a CUV in this class and cold weather (not extremely cold yet).

Seems quite reasonable for a 4608 lb curb weight (Looks like Porky Pig and weighs like it too!)

Oink Oink.

[Blueprint]

Based on my Odyssey's city use, Wing's 14.5 l/100 km seems on par; the Ody averages 13.5 l/100 km these days, and Pilots usually guzzle another litre on top of that in the real world.  You can't expect miracles with more than 4000 lbs powered by 250 hp.  On the open road, in summer temps, an Ody will dip below 10 l/100 km, and I doubt the brick-like Pilot will reach that.

[safristi]

..Hope ...McSquinty doesn't charge it PEARSON LANDING RATES...................... ...PILOTS to GATE three at the MALL please.......................

[Jaeger]

Re. "Sure, it offered every gadget in the book, and to be honest, at $50,000 loaded with every gadget it is a pretty good deal, even if you may think otherwise."

You can put me squarely in the "thinks otherwise" camp.

Jaeger

[carcrazed]

I'd take a VeraCruz and keep the cash for gas

[carcrazed]

No it's not in the same class as the GX470 or LR3; Honda just priced like it.
Almost none of GX470 buyers would take it off-road, BTW.

If you read into the offroad capabilities, you'll find that the GX470 is far superior.  As well, I don't think these cars quite in the same class.  Pilot has competitors like the Toyota Highlander, Mazda CX7 or CX9, Subaru Tribeca, etc.

ktm525, the GX470 and LR3 doesn't have all the goodies that the Pilot's Touring trim has.
Add those on and you're at almost 8 to 10 grand difference.

[ktm525]

No it's not in the same class as the GX470 or LR3; Honda just priced like it.
Almost none of GX470 buyers would take it off-road, BTW.

If you read into the offroad capabilities, you'll find that the GX470 is far superior.  As well, I don't think these cars quite in the same class.  Pilot has competitors like the Toyota Highlander, Mazda CX7 or CX9, Subaru Tribeca, etc.

ktm525, the GX470 and LR3 doesn't have all the goodies that the Pilot's Touring trim has.
Add those on and you're at almost 8 to 10 grand difference.

But they could.