Thoughts from the Curb

Jun 16, 2008 - 2009 Honda Pilot: Driving a Box to a Pyramid

Behold, the one frontal angle that actually makes the 2009 Honda Pilot look half-decent. It still looks like an unnatural marriage of a Pathfinder and a Pokemon, though.

Looks are subjective, however; especially when the Pilot is considered, given that in its twilight fifth year, the old Pilot (that was certainly no looker itself) sold 117,000 units -- good for ninth place and it used to be higher. An all-new model and the rising popularity of crossovers should bode well for the Pilot no matter what we journos have to say about it.

But, I'll say something about it anyway. I drove a Pilot EX-L 4WD with Navi and Rear Entertainment system on my weekend getaway to Las Vegas (529 miles total) where I got the opportunity to drive a box to a pyramid. My first impression was that it drives just like a tall, humongous Accord, far more so than the old one did. Around town, it doesn't feel as nimble as the CX-9, but it doesn't feel as enormous as GM's Outclavedia triplets. My second impression was "holy crap, did NASA design this dashboard?" As has been recent Honda tradition, the center stack has 158 buttons for the audio, climate, navigation and rear seat audio controls. It's overwhelming at first and definitely looks cluttered, but I quickly knew where everything was. If it's this or iDrive, I'll take NASA any day.

Out on the highway, though, the Pilot wasn't as impressive. It was quiet and displayed excellent straightline stability, but it's underpowered. It actually has 18 fewer horsepower than the Accord V6 and feels like it. Two suitcases and a 92-pound girlfriend felt like two jetskis and a 290-pound linebacker when going up the various hills and mountains between L.A. and L.V. Plus, I only averaged 19.9 mpg (EPA 22 highway), which is about what I've averaged on freeway slogs in the more powerful (on paper and in feel) LT Enclave.

So I liked the Pilot more than I thought I would and it's definitely in the top 3 with the Mazda and GM crossovers. More in-depth comparison drives this week may determine where it specifically ranks.

-James Riswick

9:28 am | Categories: car reviews, driving adventures Permalink | Alert Administrator

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