Topic: CD Article: 2009 Honda Pilot Touring

[Autos_Editor]

Test Drive:


Changes to the redesigned 2009 Honda Pilot include bold, "in your face" styling, a 10% reduction in fuel consumption, and a more upscale interior, says contributor Haney Louka.  Dislikes include complicated secondary dash controls and intrusive tire noise.
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[Sir Osis of Liver]

 

[Bullet Blue]

I don't know if I'd call the new Pilot's styling "in your face", in fact it seems quite ordinary for an SUV.

In any event, I've seen in in person and co-sign Big Thumbs picture.

[wing]

Whoa, Honda went from simple dash to the most complex in the world.

What the heck is this?

[smok]

Whoa, Honda went from simple dash to the most complex in the world.

What the heck is this?

I totally agree.  This is a mess.  It looks busy, and has no appeal. 
The exterior, interior and price are all huge negatives.  The front styling is really ugly.  The grille, the headlights...brutal!!!!  Profile looks like a Nissan SUV from the 1990's.

I add this with the Ford Flex as one of the ugliest designs to come out this year.  At least the Flex looks ok inside.

[Dante]

Whoa, Honda went from simple dash to the most complex in the world.

What the heck is this?

Agree. It's not only complex, but also plain fugly. No matter where you look, the Pilot is just a design mess IMO. And the interior materials quality is average at best IMO.

[Dante]

Despite the cylinder deactivation gimmick, the Pilot is less fuel efficient than the Highlander and Acadia and only better than the CX9, but with less power than any of them.

[Jaeger]

You say " in-your-face front end treatment", I see "fugly".

And that dash is a train wreck.

Welcome to the new Honda - big, fat and button-crazy.

Jaeger

[Mitlov]

Whoa, Honda went from simple dash to the most complex in the world.

What the heck is this?

Does anyone else see a robot face?  The gear shift coming out of the right cheek is a bit bizarre, but otherwise I expect it to start talking to me.

[wing]

now I do!

[Jaeger]

Does anyone else see a robot face?  The gear shift coming out of the right cheek is a bit bizarre, but otherwise I expect it to start talking to me.

I sure do NOW!    Don't know how I missed it before.

Jaeger

[ovr50]

Whoa, Honda went from simple dash to the most complex in the world.

What the heck is this?

I totally agree.  This is a mess.  It looks busy, and has no appeal. 
The exterior, interior and price are all huge negatives.  The front styling is really ugly.  The grille, the headlights...brutal!!!!  Profile looks like a Nissan SUV from the 1990's.

I add this with the Ford Flex as one of the ugliest designs to come out this year.  At least the Flex looks ok inside.

Regardless of the critics of BMW's iDrive, that mess in the Pilot dash area is exactly what iDrive solves - it gets rid of the zillion little buttons and switches that are needed to operate today's heavy-tech vehicles. BMW dash areas are so much neater and, IMO, easier to live with due to iDrive.

The new Pilot is ugly (IMO) in so many ways. 

[The Mighty Duck]

Strange the SatNav is not touch screen.  That would have solved a lot of the "too many buttons" complaints, too...  our Ridgeline has SatNav, and it's touch-screen, so I have to wonder why they went this route with the Pilot... 

[Greg B.]

The ugliest thing isn't the front end, or the dash design. It's the price -- $51,000 as tested. That's a ton of simoleons.

[mmret]

simoleons

Call cousin Vinnie.