2024 Honda Pilot Black Edition
Price: $65,400 CAD
Colour: Grey Pearl
I remember many moons ago (circa 2002 or so) when Honda announced the Pilot. It was their first real effort at making a proper mid/full sized SUV for the SUV obsessed North American market. As is the Honda way, it wasn’t much of a looker and thus my sports car obsessed self didn’t pay much attention beyond that. This didn’t matter however as people gobbled up the big Honda and haven’t really stopped since. This has spurred Honda forward with an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” kind of philosophy. Honda waits a full 7 years (mostly) between generational changes of this car and when they do decide to change it, the changes are very small. It kind of reminds me of Toyota’s philosophy with the likes of the 4Runner. They know it will sell so why mess with a winning formula? You have to concede the logic. Honda has been rewarded for their minimal efforts with strong, consistent sales and fastidious customer loyalty.
The current generation of the Pilot is a good-looking beast. It may crib the looks of its smaller sibling the CR-V but given how much I like the appearance of that car; I’ll take that as a win. I scrolled through pictures of the various iterations of the Pilot, and it struck me how the first two generations were so close in outward appearance you’d struggle to tell them apart. The same can be said for the two most recent generations as well. Honda really played it safe.
Honda interiors are never going to push the envelope of design either. They’re as conservative as the outside of the cars. That being said, it’s a pretty nice place to set up shop for a few hours as you wait for your son to finish another endless football practice. If I’m going to fall asleep in a parking lot the Pilot is a good place to do it. The seats are plush and comfortable and there is a lot of space. Three row SUV’s that aren’t the full banana in terms of their size can often struggle to feel big. The Pilot is pretty good in this regard. Even with the third row in place you can still fit a decent sized grocery shop back there without deforming your bread or crushing your mandarins. Fold that third row down and several sets of football pads will fit nicely next to your groceries.
One of the specific details in the Pilot are the cupholders in the doors. I’m not sure why, but I love these things. They’re in the Passport and Ridgeline as well. They give the door a real chunky feel and somehow manage to not interfere with exit or entry. I’m not sure how Honda has achieved this witchcraft, but I highly approve.
Honda introduced a new 3.5L V6 for the new generation of Pilot and other vehicles that share its drivetrain. It’s not thrilling by any measure but it is interesting in the sense that it’s a naturally aspirated mouth breather and not a hopped up turbo-charged offering so common in the market place. This gives the Pilot a lazy but deeply predictable power band that lends itself to a comfortable and pretty smooth ride. The fuel economy isn’t great but in my experience a turbo isn’t going to fix that, so I’ll take the sleepy torque in exchange.
It seems that Honda is often at war with the march of progress as it relates to infotainment systems. They make really good ones, I’ve seen them in various Acura’s. Honda branded cars however always seem to get the smaller screens, dated interfaces and substandard cameras. The Pilot is no exception in this as it’s saddled with all the same sub-par gear as it’s siblings. If this was all Honda could do I’d accept it but given what’s on their Lux badged vehicles it’s an axe I continue to grind. I know you’re thinking “Tracey, that’s how it works, put the good gear in the higher-end brand”. I understand but Hyundai doesn’t subscribe to this philosophy, and they don’t seem any the worse for wear. It doesn’t matter anyway, because sub-standard tech isn’t stopping anyone from buying the Pilot.
I’m always fascinated by the vehicles that quietly acquire a cult of personality around them. You don’t see it often and sometimes it isn’t until I’m driving the new version of a vehicle that I’m struck by how much people love that car. The Pilot isn’t exceptional in any way (door mounted cupholders aside), but it does do a lot of things well and has been a deeply reliable purchase that people accept the compromise, pay their money and give the car their love. That’s something special.
