Honda Pilot vs Enclave

dmit

Hi!

I am down to 2 choices, a pilot touring or enclave.

Likes in Pilot:
- Body style (I know most people hate it)
- spacious
- Comes with all bells and whistles in touring ed
- Resale value
- Perceived quality and reliability

Likes in Enclave:
- Easier to drive in corners(?)
- all bells and whistles
- Quiet ride
- Seems like interior is of much better quality

I have always owned a toyota or honda. It's hard for me to move out to something I used to think of as unreliable. All the labor union issues that we hear about makes me wonder if there's grss root level motivation in GM factories to deliver quality..

Any thoughts appreciated..

thanks much
Dave Mitchell

flipflopper

dmit...that's a tough one - we were faced with that too and bought the Pilot. Liked the bolder more rugged style of the Pilot. Also, felt the Honda reliabilty and resale was better. Still can't get motivated to purchase GM products. Enclave was definatley a more upscale feel with the wood and drive feel, but the Pilot was just plain fun. Can't explain it! Maybe also because Buick seems to be for the 65+ crowd (don't mean to offend anyone here). I know they are trying to change that image, I just felt a little older driving it. The Pilot Touring offers everything and then some with a good price. Good luck deciding, either way, boths cars are very nice! Keep us posted!

flipflopper

...also...I believe the Pilot is 10 inches SHORTER than the Enclave and you can really see where that comes into play with the trunk space. So, if you really use your trunk a lot with equipment for work or sports that may help you decide. The Pilot's trunk (when not using the the trunk bucket area) is at an odd angle, so stuff rolls and falls out easier.

denver5357

We had to make the same decision in December. I couldn't make myself go with GM. Also, this is just personal preference but I find wood trim in a car to be ugly and I don't understand why it is positioned as "upscale." The old "woody" style cars with wood on the outside were once upscale as well and now they are a punchline!

Love the Pilot after 2.5 months. Quieter than the Ody we had and rides very well. Wish the third row folded completely flat; it is at an incline so that affects the cargo space.

mdhob

We made the decision to buy the Enclave and NOT the Pilot. We didn't like the look of the Pilot at all, and after driving with friends in their Pilot decided that the layout of the Enclave much better suited our needs with kids. Having to climb over seats wasn't useful for us, and the interior felt cheap, even with the upgrades. To me actual wood accents feel nicer and look nicer than the look of cheap black plastic- to each their own I guess.

The Enclave was a quieter and softer ride. The pickup also seemed faster with less drag and noise than the Pilot. Lastly, the warranty is better on the Buick- and we were actually probably chosing between the Buick and the Acura MDX as we really felt the Pilot was cheap feeling.

We were trading out of an Acura.

denver5357

Hope you enjoy it. A co-worker made the same decision you did and I'm looking forward to trading stories with him!

Trading from an Acura you're probably used to certain touches. We looked at an MDX but I couldn't justify the price for what was basically a rebranded Pilot Touring with more hp. I go for value ... though I sometimes have to restrain my wife from going for brand!

Good luck.

autowrite

After reading the Enclave & Tavverse problems I would stick with Honda. The Enclave, Taverse & Acadia were first Daewoo vehicles from Korea.

bfamily

Not correct to say "The Enclave, Traverse & Acadia were first Daewoo vehicles from Korea". They are GM Lambda platform vehicles built in Lansing MI. Theta platform vehicles (Equinox, Terrain) are a GM/Daewoo joint venture vehicle built in Korea, Mexico, and Canada.