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Does it Cost a Pot of Gold? - 2016 Honda Pilot Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited January 2016 in Honda
imageDoes it Cost a Pot of Gold? - 2016 Honda Pilot Long-Term Road Test

Our 2016 Honda Pilot Elite cost about $47,000. This could be viewed as very expensive or a reasonable amount of money, depending on your point of view.

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  • kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    For us in the last generation, we wanted leather, so that put us up to the EX-L and then the RES (Rear Entertainment System) package was only like $1,000 more which was a no-brainer. That's probably somewhere in the sweet spot where you have heated leather seats, AC plugs around (chargers), DVD/Blu-ray screen for kiddies, XM radio and such. GPS is always crappy and isn't worth buying until Android Auto/Apple Car gets mainstream and semi-automated driving functions still seem to be pretty basic at this stage.
  • kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    I'd bet, though, that the REAL sweet spot is a stripped down one, maybe the EX. Smaller wheels = cheaper tires (and more protection for the wheel). 2WD is simpler with better gas mileage too.
  • dm7279dm7279 Member Posts: 63
    Honda must be making huge $$ on every Pilot Elite they sell. I can't see how a loaded Pilot is $12K more than a loaded Accord. That said, I would buy an EX or possibly EX-L if I were shopping for a Pilot, something in the $35K range.
  • carguydarylcarguydaryl Member Posts: 27
    Yeah shopping last year we went with 3 year old touring model to get some bells and whistles and spent about 60% of its original MSRP. No way we could have afforded a brand new 40k crossover for my kids to destroy.
  • misterfusionmisterfusion Member Posts: 471
    edited January 2016
    Honda is different since there are really trim levels instead of options. I think with some other makes, you could get a mid-level trim and pick only the options that you really want, and possibly have a better value than the Pilot.
  • kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    misterfusion said:

    Honda is different since there are really trim levels instead of options. I think with some other makes, you could get a mid-level trim and pick only the options that you really want, and possibly have a better value than the Pilot.

    In many ways, though, I think its better as otherwise dealers get to pick the options for you and they'll make sure to add in features they might make more money on. At least with Honda, if you get an EX, you're comparing apples to apples and know what you're getting.
  • 5vzfe5vzfe Member Posts: 161
    For me it would depend on the vehicle as a whole. You could spend 45k on a loaded Pilot or 45k on a 4Runner TRD Pro for instance. The Honda would have more creature comforts, better ride and handling whereas the 4Runner offers more rugged character. If both felt appropriately expensive in terms of materials and character you could probably sell me either one. In general if I were to drop that kind of money on a car, I'd pick a non luxury model.
  • defyant15defyant15 Member Posts: 74
    edited January 2016
    Family SUV's get beaten up badly, cosmetically both inside and out. Even if they are cleaned properly, they get way more grimy than a sports car in the hands of an enthusiast. Lastly, they dont age terribly well due to the use and lack of time.

    I'd say 30-37K is the max for me. Not many choices there these days. I want AWD, reliability, ground clearance, good looks, leather, bluetooth and heated seats.
  • reminderreminder Member Posts: 383
    That's reasonable? I understand that nice things cost $, but nearly 50 K for a family hauler that's not a Suburban?
    I need a raise.
  • henry4hirehenry4hire Member Posts: 106
    I just got a 2016 KIA Sorento EX V6 with three rows, leather, nice alloys, foglights, etc. for $32,000. Lots of car for not a lot of dough relatively speaking and I love it. It is the primary family vehicle and it fits all the baby stuff perfectly. I also took five friends out (total of six guys in the vehicle) and all of them said it was nice and they were all comfortable. You could spend $45,000 on this exact same Sorento, but fully loaded, but why? You can get a perfectly nice good one for low $30k's.
  • tom_in_mntom_in_mn Member Posts: 61
    I bought a Highlander XLE as I did not want the larger wheels (or extra cost). Nice thing is that could still get the second row captains chairs on it that only come with the loaded Pilot. I've gotten used to auto lights, mirrors, etc, but don't yet feel I need the advanced safety electronics. By the time I do they should be available on the lower trim levels.
  • mypathy2001mypathy2001 Member Posts: 18
    edited January 2016
    Wow, finally decided to leave a comment after you guys decided to add the Pilot to long term reviews. I purchased a '16Pilot EX-L 2WD last October. Looked at many 2-row & 3-row SUVs, decided on this but was close to the Highlander or used or heavily discounted Santa Fe. Paid 36 out the door. Not great, not awesome but seemed just a bit more expensive than the Highlander XLE. Would have been fine with the EX, but wanted power lift gate. Couldn't imagine paying what you guys paid for in the Elite. More options but wow.

    After following all these entries, not why your MPG is so much worse than mine, even though it's a AWD. Over the holidays with, granted two passengers , two pets, and two suitcases of luggage, I received 26.4 MPG. I regularly get 22-23 in the city easily. Maybe if I loaded it down more?

    Very happy, but 47k? Cars prices have gotten crazy, pretty common to see mid-30s on three row (limited options) SUVs.
  • mypathy2001mypathy2001 Member Posts: 18
    edited January 2016
    henry4hire said:

    I just got a 2016 KIA Sorento EX V6 with three rows, leather, nice alloys, foglights, etc. for $32,000. Lots of car for not a lot of dough relatively speaking and I love it. It is the primary family vehicle and it fits all the baby stuff perfectly. You could spend $45,000 on this exact same Sorento, but fully loaded, but why? You can get a perfectly nice good one for low $30k's.

    I agree, I don't understand the completely fully loaded variants of vehicles. Granted a Honda, Toyota will be pricier than a Kia (resale & reliability, etc), but the Kia will have more bang for the buck & likely run just as long.

    We also looked at the Sorento prior to the company's update a year ago. Biggest complaint was that the third row is lacking compared to some of these other options though, but better than NO seating options at all. Still great value.
  • mypathy2001mypathy2001 Member Posts: 18
    reminder said:

    That's reasonable? I understand that nice things cost $, but nearly 50 K for a family hauler that's not a Suburban?
    I need a raise.

    Uh, just looked at True Car, Suburban's going for (roughly) $64,000. Again, 47k for this fully loaded Pilot seems high, but man cars as a whole have gotten expensive! Just insane, we both need a raise! :)
  • nyccarguynyccarguy Member Posts: 16,430
    We bought a 2011 4WD Pilot EXL w/ Navigation brand new back in 2011 (72K currently & no signs of slowing down). If I was going to get another 3 row crossover/SUV (for our family of 5) I'd look at a 2016 Pilot EXL 4WD w/ navigation. It stickers for under $40K, has the 6 speed auto instead of the 9 speed, & everything else we need. I'd also look at a Buick Enclave and a Sienna Limited AWD.

    2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD

  • allthingshondaallthingshonda Member Posts: 878
    defyant15 said:

    Family SUV's get beaten up badly, cosmetically both inside and out. Even if they are cleaned properly, they get way more grimy than a sports car in the hands of an enthusiast. Lastly, they dont age terribly well due to the use and lack of time.

    I'd say 30-37K is the max for me. Not many choices there these days. I want AWD, reliability, ground clearance, good looks, leather, bluetooth and heated seats.

    Actually I find that most SUV's age very well. They usually have a long life cycle before a redesign and there are a lot of after market products available to customize. Where I'm from there are tons of 10 year old Tahoes, Expeditions, etc still on the road. I don't think the average owner thinks about trading them in until the odometer hits 150,000 miles.

  • dgcamerodgcamero Member Posts: 148
    mypathy2001 said:

    reminder said:

    That's reasonable? I understand that nice things cost $, but nearly 50 K for a family hauler that's not a Suburban?
    I need a raise.

    Uh, just looked at True Car, Suburban's going for (roughly) $64,000. Again, 47k for this fully loaded Pilot seems high, but man cars as a whole have gotten expensive! Just insane, we both need a raise! :)
    A comparably equipped Suburban stickers at over $70k! Crazy, but I guess some people need to tow something big and have a big family. I wonder if they fixed the interior headroom issues they had with the GMT-800 and GMT-900 based versions. The seats were about 4" too close to the roof. I couldn't fit comfortably.
  • emajoremajor Member Posts: 332
    edited January 2016
    "But I'm curious — if you were buying a large three-row crossover SUV like a Pilot, what do you think your budget would be?"

    As small as absolutely friggin' possible. I'd be looking used and trying to find a reasonable balance between depreciation and condition/miles. There is no way, whatsoever, I'd pay $45K for one of these flavorless and fat wagons. It's a depreciating asset that I'd be bored with every day I owned and lost money on it. If I needed 3 rows, I'd be exploring ex-rental minivans or seeing if deals could be had on the outgoing Mopars. If AWD were necessary, it would be whatever model depreciated more rapidly but doesn't have black dots next to it in Consumer Reports. $45K is nuts to spend on a transport pod, whether that is typical or not.
  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    I never get fully-loaded cars (no DVD players, fancy wheels, and definitely no sunroofs), but the best deal is to buy one of these things as a 1- or 2-year old used or CPO and let someone else pay for the initial depreciation.
  • metalmaniametalmania Member Posts: 167
    Cars as a whole are getting frighteningly expensive. I have a decent job with what not very long ago I would have thought was a pretty solid middle to upper middle class income, and would be generally able to afford most "mainstream" cars or SUVs in a pretty highly optioned, if not loaded spec. It's getting hard to swallow some of these prices. "Mid range", mainstream models are approaching (or exceeding in some cases) what luxury brands and models cost 10 years ago. It's getting tough to justify a $45,000 family vehicle. And Suburbans approaching $70k? Really?
  • scottc3scottc3 Member Posts: 137
    edited August 2016
    Here it is almost September. I've started looking for a replacement for my Prius. Like others, I want AWD, higher ground clearance, and an out the door price of $40k. My issue, I like the 2nd to the top of the line which puts me at $44-46k out the door. The are no incentives at this time but I bet soon, then maybe 40k. I also want to see the 2017 Toyota Highlander. Looks great on paper. So I wait.
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