Honda Pilot?

[Erudite]

Hey everyone,

We're considering a new car to replace our 8 year-old mini-van and have long thought we'd buy the Saturn Outlook, but my brother, who moonlights as a Honda car salesman, informed us that the newly designed, 2009 Honda Pilot would be a better deal all the way around. The two are similar in size and price, but he assured us that the maintenance costs and the longevity of the Pilot would make it a better deal than the Outlook. 5D says that several of you drive them so I was curious for your opinions on them.

We weren't considering a Pilot before because the 3rd row wasn't adult size, but the 2009has been redesigned so that the 3rd row is adult size now...so we're waiting for it to come out so that we can test drive it.

What are your thoughts?

E

[runamyrun]

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond, but I had to think about it. We have only had our Pilot for almost 2 months, but we love it. We were driving a Subaru Outback (we still use it and love it), so our perspective is a little different.

When I first starting driving the Pilot, it felt big and a little boxy, but I think it is because I was going from driving a car to an SUV. At first I was concerned about the third row seat not fitting adults as easily, but our children are still so young, that by the time they are old enough to need more space it will be time to get a different vehicle. We also found that the middle bench could be moved forward so that the back bench had more leg room. It would work for someone my size, but I am only 5 feet 3 inches. I was sad about losing so much cargo space (the Outback has tons of space), but the seats fold down easily so we can put more things in the back. I love that the Pilot fits my family, but I don't feel like I am driving something huge. Our Pilot has leather seats, and we have loved that! It also has heated seats, which will be fun to use in the winter.

One of the reasons we bought the Honda Pilot, is because it was highly rated in Consumer Reports. And we knew that it was considered reliable. Consumer Reports does say that road noise is pronounced. I haven't driven many other SUVs, so I have no clue about that. I feel that for the money we paid, the Honda Pilot is an awesome vehicle.

[Big_Sissy]

Just found this that I thought might interest you --> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

[Erudite]

Thanks RAR and BS! We test drove the 2009 honda Pilot on Friday and promptly when to Saturn and bought the Outlook. The pilot did drive nice, but the back seat is NOT adult sized, since I didn't fit in it well. My kids aren't small anymore and we wanted something that would last though getting our oldest on his mission, and he's going to be tall as me and probably more. We found the Outlook to be a bit more luxurious for the same price as well. For the most part, consumer reports had them rated about the same, some things higher with the Outlook and some things higher with the Pilot. They came out about the same in the end. So we went for the extra cargo space, third row leg room, and luxurious feel. Oh...and the one we bought has a DVD player too. That was happenstance, not requested, but we do like the idea that we can go on a long trip and our kids will be somewhat entertained.

Anyway, thanks for your input!

[Big_Sissy]

Good for you. You WILL love the DVD system, and you'll find your children using it all the time -- believe me.

[5ft Diva]

Oh, here it is. I totally missed this. Congrats, E. Aren't you glad to be done car shopping?

[Erudite]

Well, I'm glad to have the beautiful new car, but car shopping is fun, I think. It's always fun to dream so long as you don't let the dreams turn to covetousness, right? In that I mean, don't let the dreams make you sad for what you don't have. I'm relearning that one, again, these days.

So, I have to tell you...we have two Saturns and the new one isn't a "van" so we can't say go get in the "van" nor go get in the "Saturn"...and since my new car is a lovely deep blue, we are calling it "Neptune". lol anyway, I thought that was kind of a fun thing.

[5ft Diva]

I'm glad you enjoyed the car shopping. Somebody has to, right?

I love that you named your car. BS named our Excursion at one point and I can't for the life of me remember what it is. I guess the name didn't stick...