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Review: '09 Honda Pilot SUV is a worthy contender

Tom Incantalupo | ROAD TEST

November 21, 2008

This was hardly the right year to introduce a new midsize SUV, what with $4 a gallon gas in the spring and a Great Depression-sized credit collapse in the fall. But car shoppers still feeling prosperous and wanting a truck will find the redesigned Honda Pilot that went on sale in May a worthy contender.

Starting at around $28,000 without all-wheel drive and about $29,000 with it, the Pilot seats up to eight or carries two passengers and up to 87 cubic feet and also tows as much as 4,500 pounds. But its 250-hp. V-6 engine consumes gas at an EPA-estimated rate of 16 miles per gallon in city driving and 22 on the highway in all-wheel drive versions like the tester. (I averaged about 19 mpg in a mix, according to the tester's driving computer.) Those numbers aren't bad for a 4,000-pound-plus SUV, but, just for the record, the Pilot's archrival, the Toyota Highlander, is EPA'd just a little higher, at 17 and 23 mpg.

As is almost always the case in Hondas, the Pilot's interior materials look rich and tasteful, and its controls, while numerous in models like the $40,000-plus tester with a navigation system, are nicely arranged and mostly self-explanatory.

There's nothing extraordinarily good or bad about the Pilot's handling; it's about what you'd expect from a 4,300- to 4,600-pound vehicle with a high center of gravity: clumsy but predictable. The suspension is tuned for ride comfort, not flat cornering, but the steering feels very responsive and provides some feedback for the driver.

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Honda says the second-generation Pilot, still sharing structural and mechanical basics with the Odyssey minivan and Ridgeline pickup, is almost 3 inches longer than its predecessor, which arrived as an '03 model. It has a slightly more spacious interior for '09, with about an inch more legroom in the second row and almost 2 inches more in the third row (though it's still cramped in the rumble seat for adults) and more luggage space behind the third row.

The engine, which is as smooth and quiet as we've come to expect from Honda, is improved and delivers six more horsepower. It can shut down two or three of its cylinders for improved fuel economy - a transition that occurs seamlessly.

Other changes include a factory- (not dealer-) installed Class III hitch for towing; larger, 17-inch, wheels; a tailgate whose window can be opened; and a steering wheel that telescopes as well as tilts. The new center console is huge, in part because the gear selector comes out of the dash, not the center console. The tester's console contained a 115-volt, 100-watt household-type electric outlet.

A new storage box in the side wall of the cargo area is big enough for a gallon of windshield washer fluid (so you won't have to listen to it rolling around every time you make a turn) and several other small items.

Once again a rear DVD player is available. A rearview camera for backing is available now even in models without navigation systems; the live video picture is shown in a portion of the rearview mirror.

Also new are a Bluetooth hands-free telephone link and USB audio interface.

The '09 Pilot gets a top, five-star, rating from the federal government for its protection of occupants in frontal- and side-impact crashes and gets a good-for-an-SUV four out of a possible five stars for rollover resistance. The private Insurance Institute for Highway Safety calls the '09 Pilot a "top safety pick" for its frontal-, side- and rear-impact protection and its standard stability control.

And Consumer Reports recently named the '08 Pilot and Lexus Rx400h hybrid the two best midsize SUV's for reliability and overall design.

2009 Honda Pilot 4WD Touring

Vehicle tested:

Engine: 3.5-liter V-6, 250 hp.

Fuel: regular

Transmission: five-speed automatic, all-wheel drive

Safety: six air bags; 4-wheel disc brakes with antilock, stability control and brake assist; front and rear obstacle detection and warning; rearview camera for backing; tire pressure monitoring, fog lamps, daytime running lamps.

Place of assembly: Lincoln, Ala.

Cargo room: minimum/

maximum cubic feet: 18/87

EPA fuel economy estimates: 16 mpg, city; 22, highway

Price as driven: $40,665 with freight

The bottom line: Nice SUV, unfortunate market timing.