The 2010 Honda Pilot seats eight and delivers a topflight blend of performance, useful features, and value. The 2010 Pilot builds on a 2009 redesign that gave Honda’s biggest SUV new styling and a smidgen more cabin space than the 2003-2008 version. Pilot buyers like their amenities, and the most popular trim level is the leather-lined EX-L edition, which is priced at $36,155 with four-wheel drive. Step down a rung to the cloth-upholstered, but still-comprehensively equipped, EX and you’ll save about $3,000. Come resale time, though, it’ll be the EX-L that represents the higher return on your investment.The 2010 Honda Pilot earns crossover cred by blending an SUV’s blocky profile and high ground clearance with a car-type unibody structure. Peel off its sheet metal and you’ll find not a truck frame but basically the same chassis used by Honda’s Odyssey minivan (and by the MDX crossover from Honda’s premium Acura division). The 2009 redesign wisely inflated Pilot’s exterior dimensions only slightly, so this wagon remains the most maneuverable eight-seat SUV on the market. It’s a garage-friendly 10- to 23-inches shorter than other eight-passenger SUVs. Unfortunately, Honda listened to first-generation Pilot owners who said they wanted tougher styling. So the 2010 Honda Pilot gamely wears a caboole of trucky cues: exaggerated fender flares, sapling-thick roof pillars, a pugnacious front end. The grille appears inspired by a tie clip filched from the set of “Mad Men.”The 2010 Honda Pilot boasts impressive engine and driveline engineering. Extracting the most efficiency from its lively, smooth 250-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 is Honda’s advanced Variable Cylinder Management system. This automatically transitions the engine back and forth between six, four, or three cylinders as sensors determine the best balance of fuel economy and power. All Pilots are available with front-wheel drive or Honda’s Variable Torque Management all-wheel drive. Pilot’s not designed for serious off-roading, so its AWD system does not have low-ranging gearing. It’s instead designed to improve grip in all conditions, even on dry roads. And pushing a dashboard button does lock in a front-rear torque split for maximum low-speed traction. Honda says 65 percent of Pilots are ordered with AWD. The sole transmission for the 2010 Honda Pilot remains a five-speed automatic.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Honda Pilot
The 2010 Honda Pilot seats eight and delivers a topflight blend of performance, useful features, and value. The 2010 Pilot builds on a 2009 redesign that gave Honda’s biggest SUV new styling and a smidgen more cabin space than the 2003-2008 version. Pilot buyers like their amenities, and the most popular trim level is the leather-lined EX-L edition, which is priced at $36,155 with four-wheel drive. Step down a rung to the cloth-upholstered, but still-comprehensively equipped, EX and you’ll save about $3,000. Come resale time, though, it’ll be the EX-L that represents the higher return on your investment.The 2010 Honda Pilot earns crossover cred by blending an SUV’s blocky profile and high ground clearance with a car-type unibody structure. Peel off its sheet metal and you’ll find not a truck frame but basically the same chassis used by Honda’s Odyssey minivan (and by the MDX crossover from Honda’s premium Acura division). The 2009 redesign wisely inflated Pilot’s exterior dimensions only slightly, so this wagon remains the most maneuverable eight-seat SUV on the market. It’s a garage-friendly 10- to 23-inches shorter than other eight-passenger SUVs. Unfortunately, Honda listened to first-generation Pilot owners who said they wanted tougher styling. So the 2010 Honda Pilot gamely wears a caboole of trucky cues: exaggerated fender flares, sapling-thick roof pillars, a pugnacious front end. The grille appears inspired by a tie clip filched from the set of “Mad Men.”The 2010 Honda Pilot boasts impressive engine and driveline engineering. Extracting the most efficiency from its lively, smooth 250-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 is Honda’s advanced Variable Cylinder Management system. This automatically transitions the engine back and forth between six, four, or three cylinders as sensors determine the best balance of fuel economy and power. All Pilots are available with front-wheel drive or Honda’s Variable Torque Management all-wheel drive. Pilot’s not designed for serious off-roading, so its AWD system does not have low-ranging gearing. It’s instead designed to improve grip in all conditions, even on dry roads. And pushing a dashboard button does lock in a front-rear torque split for maximum low-speed traction. Honda says 65 percent of Pilots are ordered with AWD. The sole transmission for the 2010 Honda Pilot remains a five-speed automatic.
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