Anyone here own a Honda Pilot?

[adamred]

Well now its the wife's turn for a new car, the lease on her Ford Expedition monster truck is up in December and we've started contemplating her next ride...

She wants nothing to do with a minivan (I can't blame her) but I really would like to get a smaller SUV, the gas mileage alone is just nuts with the big V-8 Fords, that and it is impossible to get into the garage and still open the doors, etc. Oh and price, even with my X-plan or family plan a nicely loaded Expy is still in the upper 30's where a 4wd, leather, dvd Pilot is in the upper 20s.

Trick is we have 3 kiddies, 1 baby, 1 in a full booster car seat, 1 in just one of those smaller booster seats (no back, just a butt boost).

So if you have one, do you fit a family of five comfortably (could you see fitting 5?)?

Any complaints?

The 2006s got a bit of a face lift they do look nice...
Adam

[Drago]

It's almost as if I just read my own post

Same kid situation, same current vehicle...

My brothers wife drives a Pilot, they love it but then again they only have two kids.

I think we're going to stick with the Expo. The difference in economy isn't big enough to warrent giving up the extra space IMO.

[adamred]

I hear ya Drago but I don't know man, when gas hit those highs it cost $70 for 3/4 tank of gas....the other major factor with us is we finally moved to a house with a 2 car garage (1 guess on what occupies one bay) and she's tried to pull the Exp in the other bay and it is so darn tight...if she forgets to pull her side view mirror in (and she will at some point forget) off it goes....

[Drago]

I got ya there. Three car garage, one bay walled off and heated. Guess where the P-Car parks. The Expo and all the kids bikes and stuff take up the 2 car side.

[fuelie600]

Hmmm. I was excited for a second.

You see, I used to own a pair of Honda pilots. They were a blast, but would suck for hauling kids:



Damn Honda! They can't come up with enough new names, so the recycle old ones.

Here is the odyssey (also recycled later) I had prior to the pilots:


Sorry for the hijack, it's been awhile since I thought about the pilots...

[adamred]

That's hilarious...they look like a blast!

[RickM]

Lubemaster has one...says he loves it. Perhaps he'll chime in. I'm rethinking my Ford Explorer.

[tabascobobcat]

I'm the endurance development engineer responsible for the Alabama and Canada factories where these things are built. If you do go with the Pilot, make sure that it was made in Canada . Big difference in quality. I'm obviously a homer and definitely suggest the Pilot. Basically the same underpinnings as the minivan, but doesn't come with the minivan tag. These things are bigger inside than are the MDX, Cherokee, Jimmy, etc and hold their resale value incase you reconsider. It does have a 3rd row seating are but no kid seat anchor back there. The 2wd version gets a couple of mpg better than does the 4wd, but I like the way the suspension in the 4wd is tuned better. If you go crazy one day and fill it full of premium, the motor will perform the same as the MDX. Adds a few hp. The next full redesign isn't for a couple years so you won't be driving an outdated vehicle for a while. Check out the most recent crash test data from both NITSA and the insurance institute. You'll see the Honda's leading the field in about every category. PM me for any questions that you may have about the engineering. Good luck.

[Vipergrün]

I've got an 05 Pilot and love it! You should have plenty of room for 5 kids. It handles really well (EXL-RES version) and is not that bad on the gas. I'll NEVER own another american car. Between my wife and I, this is our 8th Honda. You will get up to 10 more HP running premium fuel. I asked a tech why the MDX was rated 10 HP more with the same motor and it seems to be cuz it "requires" higher octane fuel. Seems the Pilot retards the timing to compensate for the lower octane. The fit and finish is great and no problems with 6K miles.... If you decide on accessories, such as rack cross bars, running boards, mud flaps, etc, buy them aftermarket and install yourself. You'll save like 60% from dealer costs, if not more.

[tabascobobcat]

Nice choice Brad.
The engine management system is continually adjusting the timing based on a number of parameters including the knock sensor. The intakes are just a tiny bit different allowing the MDX a couple of extra hp if both are running on premium. Same is true for the minivan too. Just means that it's ok to run regular unleaded in an MDX if you don't mind the lower hp. The 06' mdel has a few exterior changes involving the head and tail lights. Also has an "updated" tranny which should be a little more robust than the previous editions.

[911boost]

Do you ever tow anything? I would think that would be the drawback of the V-6 powered Pilots.

Large SUV's are really cheap right now, and they are great deals to be found on lease returns that still have warrenties from both GM and Ford. I really like my Tahoe, but then again it stays parked most of the time unless I am camping, going on a long trip, or need the cargo space, so the mpg is not that huge of a concern for me.

Everyone I know that has either an MDX (except for some transmission problems) or a Pilot loves them, ofcourse they basically use them as family haulers and they never see and dirt etc.

Good luck!

[Vipergrün]

I believe the tranny was changed in the 2005 model year for both the Odyssey and Pilot....or was that 2004. I had the tranny go out on our 2002 Odyssey, but Honda came through...basically kissed out butts. They were doing everything possible case by case to avoid a recall. I am confident the Pilot will tow a trailer or ski boat with no problems. Heck, I use to tow a 19' bowrider with our 1997 Pathfinder with only 170 HP. We have actually had our Pilot off road And we'll use the AWD all the time this winter.....I here it gets gnarly here!!!!

[911boost]

You never know about the snow Brad, we had almost 40 inches of it in one storm up in Fort Collins a couple of years ago. I actually had to put the chains on to go get some beer!

Acura did a greaet job taking care of my friend with the tranny issue.

Bill

[jbryant]

We just got one. They are well made and the 3rd row seat is great.

My wife loves it.
We were out the door with all options except Nav. for $28.7.

[Vipergrün]

Oh yeah, I should mention too that we got our 2005 for 5K off the sticker. The dealer had added on the tow package already, so it was listed for like 34.5K and we got it for 29.5K. Went through carsdirect.com and dealt with the internet sales manager and not some rookie. Our model is the EXL-RES, Silver on gray leather.

[Rodeo]

We have an 04 with 27k miles, black over grey leather. What everyone else said ... its a really nice vehicle. Good fit and finish, the third row seat comes in handy, good storage area, adequate power, decent gas mileage. My biggest complaint is with the driver's seat. No support, and sits too high for me. But it doesn't seem to bother anyone else.

When we bought it in October of 03, all the dealers were at full sticker. I think its held its value pretty well.

[M.D. Holloway]

Originally posted by RickM
Lubemaster has one...says he loves it. Perhaps he'll chime in. I'm rethinking my Ford Explorer.

No regrets - Buy one for Christ's sake, it's a kickarse SUV and will last forever!

my wife has punished the ***** out of ours and the thing behaves like a "low self esteem school girl"! You can abuse the ***** out of it and it just keeps coming back for more with a smile.

We have two curtain climbers and they have been known to distroy diamond coated Iron, the Pilot has shown great signs of dealing with anything the rug huggers will throw at it!

[HardDrive]

Lexus RX330 here and we LOVE it.

Smaller than most SUVs, which has it positives and negatives. The rear view camera for backing up is awesome, especially if you have little ones running around. Great for city parking to. 2 years in and we are very happy.

[adamred]

Thanks guys for the feedback. I did an "instaquote" on Edmunds for a local dealer and it spit back $27.9 for a loaded Pilot, without Nav but with leather and rear seat DVD. If I can convince my 5'3" 110 lb wife that the vehicle is big enough I'd like to go for it....

Premium fuel is still $3.00 a gal here in NJ (usually the cheapest east coast state for gas) so we'll probably stick with regular for now...

Adam