Ever
since hitting American roads just about a year ago, Honda's Pilot has been a knockout
hit for the company. It was designed for Americans and is built here in America,
and demonstrates Honda's understanding of what we Americans like in our vehicles. The
Pilot is Honda's first real mid-size SUV that it can take credit for; the Isuzu-designed
Honda Passport wasn't really a Honda. What really is Honda is quality, which the
Pilot has in excess. It also has tons of space, revealing how closely it is related
to Honda's sterling Odyssey minivan (with which it shares its architecture). This
design also brings with it a smooth ride quality and a reasonably low center of
gravity. Now,
the Pilot's strengths are numerous, not the least of which is the standard fitment
of the same type of "disappearing" third-row seat as the Odyssey, as
well as the availability of a kid-friendly DVD entertainment system and/or a user-friendly
navigation system. The base LX comes with just about everything, except keyless
entry, power driver's seat, rear privacy glass, steering wheel audio controls
and a cassette player for the standard CD stereo. All of that is standard on the
EX, which also offers leather appointments as an option. Power
comes from a smooth, gutsy 240-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 mated to a five-speed automatic
works smoothly and seamlessly. And in contrast to many in the midsize crossover
and SUV class, all-wheel-drive is standard. Prices start at about $27,000 for
the LX and rise to about $33,000, which represents an absolute steal for this
much vehicle.
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