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I’m in the market for a new Pilot, and will likely get the 2009 version. We have a 2005 Odyssey and I have always had great luck with Honda.
The exterior appearance of the car really doesn’t bother me, one way or the other. I think “good looking” and “SUV” don’t go together to begin with.
When I first drew cars in grade school, I’d draw boxes with round wheels. Around fourth or fifth grade like most little boys I drew swoopy sports cars. THAT definition of “good looking car” has stayed with me all this time (and I’m in my fifties now) and is usually applied to sports cars, coupes and some sedans. Not to SUV’s, vans or trucks. To me, those are utility vehicles.
Which is what I’m in the market for at the moment. I need to occasionally move some bulky items, and often need to move my daughter and her friends around, and my BMW 325 (while a dream car) has turned out to be impractical. Our Odyssey is perfect for this, but it is not convenient to switch cars with my wife all the time.
The boxy design of the new Pilot protects valuable headroom and storage possibilities, and those are important to me at the moment. The curvy, egg-like styling of newer SUV’s and crossovers are appealing visually to me, but they come at a cost to the items I mentioned. And not a one of them are as pretty as a great looking sports car or sports coupe, so if you’re headed down that road
I’ve been curious about the inside of the new Pilot, and curious if it is as practical and useful as my in-laws’ recent model Pilots. For me, it is 2008 versus 2009 based on criteria other than exterior looks.
That said I’m not immune to That-car-is-too-ugly-to-look-at-much-else-own. The Pontiac Aztec the old AMC Gremlin are two examples of cars I’d have to get into with my eyes closed. So there is that.
One interesting data point is that I was at the NY Auto Show last Friday and there was only 1 other person looking at the 2009 Pilot prototype (he has a 2005 currently). Meanwhile, I saw people taking pictures in the Odyssey (why, I have no idea) and mobbed around the Accord and Civic. Honda didn't even have the 2008 on the main floor, it was downstairs in the 'trucks' section all the way at the back of the exhibit hall tucked away in a corner. I spent about the same amount of time with the 2008 as I did the 2009 (~ ten minutes) and even though the 2008 was well off the beaten path a dozen other people (I'd estimate 75% serious buyers from the conversations I overheard) not only came over to look at it but sat in all the seats, checked out the dash, trunk, etc.
I'd also like to amend one comment I made previously, the 2003-2008 model is very much Jeep Grand Cherokee down to the rear window slope, fender flares, door pillars, and the 2009 is more Ford Explorer.
I leased an Acura MDX base. I figured that the Pilot will be going for list price for the first year and there were deals on the MDX. The MDX base is insanely better than the Pilot EX, except for a built-in Nav. I like the older variety of Pilot,and the incentives make purchase of a quality vehicle attractive, but with a new version about ready to be born and it being related to the MDX platform the Acura won my vote. It is incredible -- If the Pilot is half the car the MDX is, it is going to be the SUV to beat in the class!
I wanted to see what the Pilot at least looked like before I made up my mind, but Honda has the lid screwed down so tight that you and I will not know until the cars are in the showroom in quantities and the sales folks are ready to take orders for immediate delivery.
Previously someone here mentioned a news embargo until April 15. Is that correct? Anyone hear anything lately?
If you look at the upcoming schedule for MotorWeek they were scheduled to do a road test of the 2009 Honda Pilot for their April 25th episode. I don't know if this is still the case.
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:0cEnhnRBUoEJ:essentials.baltimoresun.com/sp- lash/motorweek/+%22new+york+international+auto+show%22,+%222009+honda+pilot%22&h- l=en&ct=clnk&cd=21&gl=us&client=firefox-a
My guess, and it is just that, is that they need to clear out some more 2008 Pilot inventory and so are holding off on a formal introduction of the 2009's. If they introduce the 2009 model before clearing out most of the 2008's they will take a bath as the discounts will need to go up. As a result they have been playing steady with $3,500 under invoice on most 2008 Pilots since early Feb (perhaps earlier but I wasn't tracking) with occasional 2.9%/3.9% regional APR offers to keep inventory flowing out. As people are now reporting some regional firmness in pricing on certain trims I would guess that inventory is getting regionally tight on some lines so a May / June intro still looks likely.
Honda has been sticking with a Spring launch for a while so now the only question is early / mid / late Spring.
http://www.pbs.org/mpt/motorweek/upcomingshows.shtml
So the previous Pilot was not a complete satisfaction for owners or a bad luck for some owners. I expect to buy a 2009 Pilot but I don't know if Honda has addressed all these vibrations of the previous one on this 2009 version.
Does someone know about some price projections for this 2009 Pilot model from the simple to the full loaded?
We have really enjoyed the Pilot. Our previous vehicle was a 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer.
The Pilot's engine is smooth and quiet, but there is a bit more road noise than our Trailblazer. In comparison, the Trailblazer's engine was loud, unrefined and thirsty.
I have had zero mechanical problems with the Pilot. Really, quite impressive to me. I have owned Toyotas and other reliable makes.
So batman47, when you go to purchase your 2009 take an extensive test drive at all speeds. I did not drive mine at freeway speed to experience the road noise, but I still would have purchased the Pilot, because it is very smooth and stable at high speeds, very safe (it has a very low accident death rate), and still fuel efficient for an SUV.
The point put forward about the AWD/4WD seems to be a plausible reason for the ghost vibrations in 2007-2008 Pilots. Your comments are very reassuring.
http://www.autospies.com/images/users/jbrown/honpil_09_35_gallery_image_large.jp- g
http://jalopnik.com/378024/2009-honda-pilot
I like the holder for my baseball cap on the dash.
Is someone keeping score about just what's wrong with the new restyle?
I'll hold final judgement till I see it in person. Till then, here's my thoughts:
1. The new exterior screams "cheap" to me, rather than "tough."
Look at the rear wiper, how it's just sort of stuck on to the tailgate. Compare it to the Highlander, which has the rear wiper mounted on the window itself, making it blend in. The handle below the Pilot's license plate also looks like it was just stuck on there as an after-thought.
2. The interior is better, but still has a low-rent look. Hopefully the materials feel better than they look (opposite of the Highlander, which has great, expensive looking plastic that's actually hard to the touch).
For example, look at all the drab-looking plastic to the left of the steering wheel, the round air conditioning vents, the white-faced gauges, the open area for clutter above the glove compartment, etc. The center stack also has way too many buttons, though I'm sure it's a snap once you're familiar with the important ones.
On the plus side, I guess, Honda is still providing bodyside molding, something that Toyota seems to be allergic to with all its new models.
One can only hope.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/autor- eview/400x266/1991-2005-Ford-Explorer-Sport-Trac-Sport-96114071990713.jpg&imgref- url=http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/1991-to-2005-ford-explorer-sport-- trac-sport-5.htm&h=266&w=400&sz=26&hl=en&start=10&sig2=Q_LCxJ90tDmL5_8GVVbm7A&tb- nid=GIZx0PZQy9BV1M:&tbnh=82&tbnw=124&ei=5A3-R5rwO52UggLH6sTICg&prev=/images%3Fq%- 3D1996%2Bford%2Bexplorer%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
mated with a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.motortrend.com/oftheyear/su- v/112_0412_soty_01z%2B2005_nissan_pathfinder_suv%2Bright.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ww- w.motortrend.com/oftheyear/suv/112_0412_suvotywp/photo_15.html&h=768&w=1024&sz=1- 42&hl=en&start=2&sig2=PEyNnOFViW7xsTf8qkkEUg&tbnid=vHf6lI-a-jIySM:&tbnh=113&tbnw- =150&ei=IQ_-R-T5KKbSggKD9-XRCg&prev=/images%3Fq%3D2005%2Bnissan%2Bpathfinder%26g- bv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
*sigh*
My score for the '09:
Major beef - reduced visibility, all side windows are smaller, not sure about back
Moderate beef - odd-looking front, between the slanting headlights and overdone grille.
No problem - interior, but I'll need a better look
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/spy-shots-2009-honda-pilot/743434/
Overall, I like the look and hope it test-drives well. Behind the C pillar it looks like a Lincoln Navigator, but I won't hold that against it. Wonder if they'll offer the blue leather?
The concept Pilot at least has very cool headlights. The production one has cheap ones that look "blind".
Yes, I think the hatch glass can be opened separately, but I hated that on my
Mercury Villager. The wiper on hatch resting on a plastic stop always fail after a few years. It has been a very common problem on Quest and Villager. Ask anyone who ever owned one.
After all, I think Pilot is an utility-oriented CUV. People will buy it for function over look and sportiness. For the latter, Mazda CX-9 is the winner. The rest are positioned somewhere in between.
Knowing Honda it'll be:
LX
EX
EX-L
EX-L Res or Navi
EX-L Touring
Please don't insult my F150 like that!
Good point. However, the '08 Highlander's rear glass also lifts separately from the tailgate and Toyota was able to stick the wiper completely on the glass.
Looking at the larger photos available on one of the websites, the look is starting to grow on me. I still don't like the front end and the rear reminds me of an '08 Caravan.
For me, there's just nothing that really makes the Pilot stand out at this point, other than it being a Honda. I'm sure it'll still sell well and make a lot of folks happy.
> I could undertand if it were a Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, etc...
> where I can understand as coming across being boastful.
My apologies. Didn't mean it as a "boast" - more in terms of practicality: not all families can own 2 large vehicles, and hence be able to swap between them. For me, it is one or the other. What percentage of 2 vehicle families now have both from the mid/large SUV and minivan range? That's all I was saying.
I totally agree. We have two cars, a 4 cylinder for work commutes, and the 08 pilot for hauling kids around. We wanted a relatively small vehicle with a 3rd row so that when we take the kids' friends to Girl Scouts or something, we can do it. Arguably, the Odyssey would have made sense, but I'm glad that the auto companies are making crossover SUVs with 3rd rows.
Funny thing is, the F-150 interior is much more ergonomic, and stylish! My apologies!
Trust me, the Pilot will see like crazy...I can't wait to get mine and replace my 05 Pilot.
I used to have a Nissan Quest GXE with the wiper and never had any problem with that part (transmission, yes!), In either case, I think that would be a minor issue for anyone looking for a SUV.
I wonder if I could unscrew the ‘H’ combination front badge, because it look just great without it.
By searching your local craiglist.org, and you will see many Villagers and Quests have the same issue. We are talking about a 10+ year old Villagers and Quests here. Apparently, not all have that problem.
See one here:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/car/638709063.html
(the picture at the top-right)
It's a 1997 Villager (twin-brother of Nissan Quest)
Keep looking, and you will see more.
Of course, its a $200 repair, but a bad design, nontheless.
I could not disagree more. CUV's look nothing like mini vans, that is why they sell so well, and mini van sales are on the decline. Outside of the interior room advantage mini vans have, people just don't desire them as much as they once did.
The Pilot is a CUV trying to look like an SUV. However, I really don't see what it has that every other CUV out there does not have. Honda has had a few years to better their product, and from the looks of it, it does not look like it made many visual improvements. However, to be fair, I will reserve my final judgment until I drive one.
I admit, that when I first saw the prototype, I wasn't crazy about it. But when I went to the Detroit Auto Show, I was really impressed with it in person. I can't wait to drive it. Unfortunately, the demand for this vehicle is going to be huge and Honda ever makes enough of a new model to go around.
- utility (space, towing capacity)
- MPG (6-4-3 VCM)
If those are what you need, I am sure the new Pilot will make you happy. Honda has never been strong on styling (saved S2000, and NSX).
Competitors are strong in the 3-row seat mid-sized CUV segment.
GM Trio (+ Chevy Trasverse)
Hyundai Veracruz
Toyota Highlander
Mazda CX-9
We all know that Ridgeline is not selling well. We shall see if a Ridgeline-styled Pilot will sell as well as the out-going model.