CAR GAZING
Pilot gets bigger, tougher
Big Honda crossover is still refined
By Derek Price
For years now, automakers have been building more crossover vehicles that look like SUVs but drive like ordinary passenger cars. That's what buyers are demanding.
It's interesting, then, to see Honda take its popular Pilot crossover in the opposite direction. There seems to be a conscious effort to make the latest Pilot bigger, heavier and more truck-like than ever before.
Where the old Pilot felt like an Accord that spent a little time at the gym – bulkier, but still light and nimble – the new one doesn't feel like an Accord at all. It's turned into Barry Bonds.
From behind the wheel, you're constantly reminded that you're driving an SUV. It has a certain heft, a meaty weight, that you just don't find in the four-wheel-drive station wagons called crossovers.
It's a refined SUV, to be sure, more akin to the GMC Acadia than the true truck-based beasts, but it's definitely a departure from the old Pilot. It floats and wallows, smoothing out the bumps under its squishy shocks, giving a silky ride both around town and on the highway. It also feels surprisingly solid for such a roomy SUV, like the whole chassis was chiseled from a single block of metal.
The bigger body means there's more space inside, and it's actually a smartly designed cabin. Some big SUVs have a lot of room inside but don't use it wisely. But that's not the case with this one.
There are three rows of seats, two of which can easily fold flat with the flip of a lever, leaving a massive cargo area with a smooth surface for loading big, bulky items. Climbing into the third-row seat is fairly easy with a middle row that slides and leans forward with a gentle touch, and all the seats are comfy.
One disappointment is the use of hard-touch plastics in the cabin.
Most automakers are using more soft-touch materials that feel and look nicer, but the Pilot has a lot of plastic that feels like it belongs on clearance-aisle toys.
Styling is also more SUV-like, with upright panels, straight lines and a big, bold grille. It's trying to look more tough than pretty, which has been a controversial move for Honda, but I still think it's a handsome vehicle.
Acceleration is good with a 250-horsepower V6. And better still, it gets decent gas mileage – 23 mpg on the highway – thanks to high-tech features including Variable Cylinder Management, which activates and deactivates cylinders based on when they're needed.
Pricing starts at $27,695 for an LX with two-wheel drive, and it goes all the way to $40,055 for a four-wheel drive model with a navigation system and DVD player in back.
(Derek Price is a newspaper editor and freelance writer living in Texas.)
The above article is provided for the interest and entertainment of our visitors. The views expressed in this article are only those of the author, who is solely responsible for the content. AutoGuide.net does not endorse any of these views, and is not to be held responsible for any of the content provided in the above article.
Click here to read Derek's past articles!
If you have any questions or comments for Derek or the AutoGuide.net, please fill out this form.
