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The well-packaged Pilot defines the modern-day utility vehicle. Identifying attributes include its roomy cabin quarters with third-row seating and lots of storage; thoughtful balance of competent everyday handling and all-weather capability; and of course, its outward truck styling.
(Photo by Scott Jacobs)
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Nothing unexpected here — just the large user-friendly controls, legible gauges and solid craftsmanship that you'd find in any other Honda. The faux aluminum trim adds a dash of sport.
(Photo by Scott Jacobs)
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An automatic four-wheel-drive system (VTM-4) is standard on every Pilot. Eight inches of ground clearance help ensure that it won't take damage on the way to the campsite.
(Photo by Scott Jacobs)
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Road Test: Full Test
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Full Test: 2003 Honda Pilot
Built To Suit
By
Erin Riches, Senior Content Editor , Edmunds.com
Date posted: 12-10-2002
Honda buyers had to wait a good long time to get the Pilot. Think of all that's
changed since the company first began peddling a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo called the
Passport in 1994. Back then, rugged styling was enough on its own, and it really
didn't matter if your vehicle was a sloppy handler or whether it was roomy and
comfortable on the inside. However, by the late 1990s it was widely known that
most SUV owners really don't go outdoors much nor must they battle rough terrain
or packed snow just to get to work in the morning — and as such, they require
vehicles that look vaguely like trucks but are nearly as agile and certainly as
comfortable as cars.
Such vehicles are often called crossovers, and auto manufacturers are scrambling
to come up with relatively affordable midsize versions to sell to families too
civilized for comparative bruisers like the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Pathfinder,
Toyota 4Runner and even the Ford Explorer.
With the "midsize crossover SUV" segment about to double and even triple in size,
the Pilot would seem to have arrived just in time — in time that is to take
advantage of loyal Honda buyers who want a crossover, but can't afford an Acura
MDX and are about to visit a Toyota dealer. Further, this is an opportunity for
the company to sweep nine years of Passport sales under the hypothetical rug.
The Pilot is based on the same platform as the second-generation Honda Odyssey
minivan introduced in 1999 and is basically a downmarket version of Acura's MDX;
the two sport-utes have very similar dimensions and mechanicals. High consumer
demand has been the order of the day for these vehicles; now in its fifth year,
the Odyssey still commands a premium over MSRP on many purchases. In order to
make room for Pilot production at its Alliston, Ontario, plant, Honda opened a
new facility in Alabama in 2001 to share some of the Odyssey burden. However,
Pilots still won't be easy to come by at dealerships, so if you can get one at
sticker price, you've probably done well.
Our early driving experience in the Pilot — both in our First
Drive and in our long-term
road test of a Pilot EX (with leather interior and the navigation system)
— has suggested that this would be an outstanding utility vehicle to own,
not just among the crossover types but among the real trucks, too. (If you're
one of the few who really does tow stuff or go off-roading, you'll want to look
closer at the body-on-frame SUVs with optional V8s.) A subsequent week with a
Redrock Pearl EX model with leather and the rear DVD entertainment system only
confirmed these impressions. No surprise, then, that we selected the Pilot as
our Most Wanted Midsize
SUV for 2003.
Like most other Hondas, the Pilot is not infused with a great deal of luxury or
entertainment value, even when loaded up as our test vehicle was (though we suppose
it matters where you're sitting as the flip-down video screen is only for second-
and third-row passengers). Instead, you're more likely to fall in love with its
all-encompassing practicality. Here is an apt definition of the modern-day utility
vehicle, one that rejects the superfluous stuff (this being a multiple-range transfer
case, off-road ability and high towing capacity by contemporary standards) in
favor of what most buyers really want — a spacious cabin with flexible seating,
lots of storage areas and enough cargo capacity for weekend trips to the cabin
or just the big discount stores. Add in the ability to get out of the driveway
after a snowfall, a five-star sweep in NHTSA front- and side-impact crash testing
and Honda's legendary reputation for reliability, and you would seem to have a
perfect vehicle — for families with two or more kids anyway. Plus, this one
manages not to look like a minivan, a key point for any midsize-crossover shopper.
Appropriately, we'll start our discussion with the cabin accommodations. As our
test vehicle was a top-of-the-line EX, it had luxuries like automatic climate
control, leather upholstery and an eight-way power driver seat, but you won't
be giving up much if you stick with the lower-priced LX, which still offers manual
front and rear climate controls, as well as a manually height-adjustable driver
seat. In front, twin captain's chairs provide excellent comfort for humans of
all sizes, increasing the chances that parents will remain even-tempered on long
trips. Editors raved about the extra long seat bottom, which does a superb job
of cradling the thighs (with the help of height adjustment for the driver seat)
— of particular interest to anyone with long legs. The center console top
is nicely padded for elbows, and its height matches the padded cutouts in the
door panels, yielding an ergonomically sound armchair feel.
The only weak area is the headrests. Presumably to keep costs down, Honda has
fitted the front chairs and the second-row bench with nonarticulating, doughnut-style
restraints. Though not as obnoxiously protrusive as the ones in the Buick Rendezvous,
they're still incapable of providing a comfortable respite for the head. While
this design might have been OK in the underachieving Passport, it's less welcome
in a relative of the Odyssey and MDX. A few other upgrades we feel Honda should
consider for the front seats include lumbar and seat-height adjustment for the
front passenger, and either a telescoping steering wheel or adjustable pedals
to improve comfort and safety for the driver.
Visibility from the cockpit is quite good; square-shaped side mirrors make it
easy to monitor cars behind or on either side of the Pilot. Your dealer can install
an auto-dimming rearview mirror as an accessory, as well as reverse parking sensors
— or if you have the navigation system, a miniature camera mounted on the
liftgate that projects its images onto the nav screen.
The overall interior design is nothing exciting, but as in the Highlander, it
has a crisp, functional feel. The dash has a pleasant shape to it, and faux aluminum
trim on the steering wheel and encircling the gauges adds a mild dose of sport.
The gauges use a squarish, classically Honda font, and their green nighttime lighting
proved soothing.
Interior plastics are mostly low in gloss and high in quality, and just about
every surface that needs to be soft-touch is indeed that, the hard door top trim
being an obvious exception. The leather upholstery is nothing special, and the
perforated sections already had little "hairs" sticking out of them in our test
vehicle. Additionally, many of the plastics in our early-run tester had ragged
edges. Subsequent comparison with our later-production long-term Pilot suggests
that this fit-and-finish issue has been mostly resolved, though you're still likely
to find rough edges on the steering wheel buttons.
Controls are generally easy to find and use; the automatic climate control system,
for example, employs a simple dial for temperature adjustment and includes a dedicated
"off" button. Steering wheel controls include stereo and cruise functions, though
a lack of illumination leaves drivers to fumble around at night. As is typical
of most Hondas, only the driver window offers one-touch operation. The stereo
system, on the other hand, was unusually good for a Honda product — good
enough to satisfy even audiophiles; check our stereo
expert's review.
Spend an hour or two with a Pilot and you'll gain an appreciation (as we did)
for the thoughtful design of the cabin storage areas. The center console container
isn't very large nor is it lined; however, it houses a cell phone holder and power
point that render it quite practical. You see, the holder is mounted on a secondary
door that pops forward (like a Murphy bed), allowing the driver access to his
holstered phone while it continues to charge.
Other receptacles include a pair of removable cupholders in the center console
(when decommissioned, they leave behind an additional storage well); a deep, textured
shelf under the center stack; large door bins (the front passenger door includes
an extra bin); small bins on either side of the center console for folded maps;
an overhead sunglasses holder; a felt-lined, slotted coin holder; and a large,
unlined glovebox.
Given that this is a Honda product, and thus carrying with it the company's reputation
for quality, we had hoped for a few more liners here and there (to cut down on
noise from various items rolling around), and we were a bit dismayed when the
glovebox door flopped open haphazardly (rather than employing the gradual release-type
latch typically found in import-branded vehicles in this price range). Still,
these minor issues detract little from the total package. Our resident truck expert,
always a proponent of simple, efficient design, wrote: "Honda has taken the lowly
storage bin and raised it to an art form. The center console alone has no less
than three separate storage bins, two cupholders and a cell phone slot, all of
which can be reconfigured for various size items. It's all very simple to work
and practical to use, yet most owners will hardly even notice the beauty of it."
Of course, comfortable, practical front-seat accommodations wouldn't count for
much if the kids were unhappily crammed into the back. In the Pilot, the second-row
bench has seating for three, and plentiful head-, leg- and toe room. Two adults
or three children should be content back there on long trips. Minor complaints
include the flat, minimally contoured cushions and the somewhat low and short
seat bottom (likely to bother longer-legged adults). With the use of the manual
seat back recline, though, most passengers will be able to get comfortable. All
three seatbelts are equipped with pre-tensioners, and the outboard positions have
a full set of upper and lower child-seat anchor points.
Manual climate controls for the rear air ducts are on the back of the center console
(though parents can control temperature from the front if little ones are seated
back there), as are three headphone jacks. Our entertainment system-equipped Pilot
also included a couple pairs of wireless headphones. DVDs must be loaded in the
front seat, but adjustments can be made by parents or by the rear-seaters via
roof-mounted buttons or a wireless remote. Check out our entertainment
system review for the full story on this setup.
Whatever age your kids are, everyone is sure to enjoy the abundance of storage
areas in the backseat — besides decent-size door bins, you get a pair of
large cupholders integrated into the door panels, a double set of elasticized
net pockets on each front seat back and, on EX models only, a fold-down activity
tray with two additional cupholders and a shallow storage area perfect for stray
Legos.
Climbing into the third-row seat shouldn't be too hard for active kids, but don't
expect the aunts, uncles or grandparents to do the same. As in most midsize SUVs,
the second-row seat folds and slides forward in its 60/40 partitions to facilitate
entry, but getting in still requires some bending and twisting. Although the Rendezvous
is not one of our favorite crossovers, it does offer the easiest third-row entry,
as its second-row seats lift up and away so that passengers can step in.
Honda readily admits that the three-person third-row bench is intended for children;
in leather-equipped EX models, this bench is bound in vinyl to minimize wear and
tear (fortunately, the vinyl is a close match to the real leather so that the
difference isn't noticeable). While we have no doubt that two or three kids under
10 will enjoy the close-knit quarters, we couldn't help but notice that it would
be much more useful if the second-row seats could be adjusted fore and aft —
thus freeing up a little extra legroom for a car pool of adults going to lunch.
(True, the second-row seats slide forward a bit for entry, but you can only lock
them down in one position.) The Odyssey offers this feature, and recently, we
took a ride in the third row of another new midsize crossover, the Volvo XC90
(which has a base price a couple thousand above the Pilot's) — each section
of its 40/20/40 second-row bench slid forward, making the situation bearable for
the two adults seated in the very back. As it is, we'd be more inclined to recommend
the Explorer, the XC90, a minivan or a larger, thirstier SUV, like the Ford Expedition,
to buyers with older kids who need third-row seating on an everyday basis.
The Pilot's rearmost seat does offer adjustable seat back recline, as well as
four cupholders and three storage wells. Only upper child-seat anchors are provided
back there, so you'll need to use the seatbelts (all three-point) to cinch down
preschoolers' booster seats. One advantage the Pilot has over the Odyssey is its
third-row seat's flexible configurability. In our favorite minivan, the fold-flat
third-row bench is either all the way up or all the way down (forcing a choice
between carrying passengers and hauling cargo), as happy owners of Chrysler minivans
and parents of three or more children have pointed out to us. But the Pilot's
"magic seat" folds flat in 60/40 partitions, thereby accommodating a mix of humans
and cargo when necessary. The headrests must be removed, but Honda has provided
a storage compartment in the cargo bay floor to help owners keep track of them.
Even with the third-row seat in use, there's room for several bags of groceries
— more room than you'll find in the Explorer due to the Pilot's greater overall
width (77.3 inches versus 72.1 for the Ford). A cargo net with drawstring adjustment
(standard on the EX) and four grocery bag hooks (standard on all models) make
it easy to keep items from sliding around. Some editors wish that the Pilot offered
a separate rear lift-glass like the Explorer's for quicker loading.
With the third-row seats folded, the Pilot offers 48.7 cubic feet of cargo capacity
— more than either the Explorer's or the Highlander's — and most of
it usable thanks to four feet of clearance between the wheel wells. The second-row
seats fold easily for large hauling jobs; although the resulting load floor isn't
perfectly flat, it is a continuous surface with no gaps between the folded rows.
Capacity is rated at 90 cubic feet, again more than the Explorer's or Highlander's.
These expansive dimensions do come at a small price, though, as you get only a
temporary-use spare tire mounted underneath the vehicle. And when planning for
a family trip, it's a good idea to keep the allowable payload (passengers plus
cargo) in mind; the Pilot can tote up to 1,322 pounds.
If you're a typical Honda buyer, performance probably doesn't matter that much
to you — with the assumption that whichever model you choose comes with a
smooth-running powertrain (that will continue to run well past the 100K mark)
and competent if not exciting handling. In this regard, the Pilot is just what
you would expect Honda to offer. Its refined and sophisticated 3.5-liter V6 produces
240 horsepower at 5,400 rpm and 242 pound-feet of torque at 4,500 rpm with the
aid of Honda's Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC).
Besides providing for a relatively flat torque curve (with ample acceleration
at low to mid rpm) and strong performance at high engine speeds, VTEC boosts fuel
economy. The Pilot is rated for 17 mpg in the city and 22 on the highway, slightly
lower than the 220-hp Highlander's 18/22 rating but better than that of any SUV
packing eight cylinders. Overzealous use of the throttle will lower mileage, however,
as we managed just 15 mpg over a week. It's certainly possible to do better than
this, as our long-term Pilot has averaged almost 18 mpg in its first three months
on the road.
Acceleration on public roads posed no problems for our test vehicle, though as
with most high-capacity SUVs, you're apt to feel a bit weighted down if you load
it up with the equivalent of a half-dozen passengers and their luggage. The Pilot's
towing capacity is rated at 3,500 pounds (or 4,500 if you're towing a boat —
less aerodynamic drag, according to Honda). Trailer preparation is not on the
equipment list, but Honda dealers will be happy to sell you a tow package with
a Class III hitch and a transmission oil cooler.
The five-speed automatic consistently delivered crisp, well-timed shifts, and
its Grade Logic software kept the transmission from shuffling between gears on
uphill grades and smoothly activated engine braking on steep descents. As noted
in our First Drive, the column-mounted gear selector can take a little getting
used to, as you must push it away from your body to access the lower gears.
Instrumented testing
yielded an 8.6-second 0-to-60-mph time and a 16.6-second quarter-mile. This is
a competitive time among the crossover SUVs; we've timed the Highlander at 8.8
seconds and the Subaru Outback at 8.4.
An automatic four-wheel-drive system is standard on every Pilot; if you don't
require all-weather capability (or third-row seating), you should consider the
Highlander, which is available as a front-wheel-drive model, resulting in better
gas mileage. Identical to the setup in the MDX, the Pilot's Variable Torque Management
four-wheel drive (VTM-4) is designed to provide a compromise between fuel economy
and all-weather, all-terrain capability. During constant-speed cruising, power
flows only to the front wheels, improving economy. However, since VTM-4 is an
electronically, rather than a mechanically, controlled system, it's able to redistribute
torque (up to a maximum of 50 percent) to the rear wheels before slippage occurs,
based on changes in throttle input and wheel speed.
The VTM-4 Lock mode (activated by a button on the dash) fixes the front/rear power
split at 50/50 — it's designed for extremely slippery conditions (like an
icy driveway) and operates only in first, second and reverse gears up to speeds
of 18 mph, after which point it disengages. Basically, this takes the place of
the 4 Hi mode in traditional SUVs. For a more in-depth explanation of the Pilot's
4WD system, refer to our First
Drive.
During its stay, we took the Pilot on the same light- to medium-duty off-road
trail used for the aforementioned crossover
comparison test. The Pilot had little difficulty with the trail, even when
an editor inadvertently veered off-course onto a more steeply graded rocky stretch.
Its eight inches of ground clearance helped out here, though like other car-based
sport-utes, somewhat limited wheel travel caused it to bottom out over more severe
ruts. Of course, more travel would detract from the Pilot's smooth, stable ride
on pavement — obviously not a trade-off any crossover owner would care to
make. Among nonluxury crossovers, only the Outback is more at home off the pavement.
While you can trick yourself into thinking the MDX offers quasi-sporty handling,
the Pilot's front strut/rear multilink suspension is tuned for a softer ride.
During normal driving, Honda's sport-ute is well behaved — it feels secure
and balanced around corners and on freeway on-ramps, and its steering offers progressive
weighting and predictable responses to input. When pushed harder on two-lane roads,
the Pilot's 4,400-pound curb weight makes itself known, as the body rolls over
considerably and the steering is unable to convey much information about what's
going on with the tires. The lack of road information through the wheel turns
out to be of little consequence, though, as the 235/70R16 Goodyear Integrity tires,
which contribute to the Honda's delightfully quiet ride on the highway, are quick
to howl and fold over with displeasure when asked to perform on twisty two-lanes.
In addition, our test vehicle proved to be a handful in the 600-foot slalom; our
test driver noted that the Pilot was unable to change directions quickly even
when measured by SUV standards.
But let's face it — a family-oriented crossover SUV isn't likely to confront
such challenges during its tour of duty, and the Pilot performs competently in
everyday maneuvers. Moreover, several editors found the Honda's overall handling
package more satisfying than the Highlander's (the winner of our crossover comparison).
The Pilot is equipped with four-wheel antilock disc brakes supplemented by Electronic
Brakeforce Distribution. Honda notes this setup was designed to accommodate its
role as a people and cargo hauler and an occasional tow vehicle. On public roads,
we were content with our test vehicle's braking performance, though one editor
felt that there was too much nose dive under heavy braking. Instrumented testing
yielded a best 60-to-0-mph distance of 131 feet; our test driver noted that the
brake system, though adequate, had to work quite hard to bring the heavy vehicle
to a stop. Maximum braking was accompanied by a great deal of noise and pedal
vibration, though body movement was minimal.
The Pilot's list of safety features isn't especially long: The only one we haven't
mentioned thus far is the standard side airbags for front occupants, though the
sport-ute's five-star side-impact crash test scores suggest that it doesn't require
extras like full-length head curtain airbags. Still, a stability control system
would be a worthwhile addition, at least as an option (especially since the Highlander,
Outback and Explorer offer it); the MDX got it for 2003.
While not without a few faults and unlikely to appeal to families of less than
four, the Pilot is still the most well-rounded midsize SUV currently on the market.
Besides offering solid engineering and construction inside and out, it's more
intelligently packaged than any of its competitors: One large, comfortable cabin
with seating for eight; one long list of standard features with a minimum of confusing
options; and one theoretically reasonable price after you've chosen your trim
level (LX or EX). Sound great? Now for the hard part — you have to go out
and find one.
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