Big Bear City, California—
There are no kangaroo bars on the Honda Pilot. There are no mud-churning off-road tires. No neoprene seat covers. Not even a first-aid kit.Honda describes the Pilot as a "family adventure vehicle." We can't help but admire this bit of plain speaking on the subject of SUVs. Yes, for the most part, real Americans use sport-utes as family transportation, not rock-bashing, brush-busting stunt vehicles.
Like the seven-passenger Acura MDX from which it's derived, the eight-passenger Pilot makes its point with an intelligently packaged interior. There are three rows of seats, and they fold and flop and disappear as if in a little puzzle box, delivering a bunch of useful configurations. The Pilot is about two inches taller and four inches wider than the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, the Ford Explorer, and the Toyota Highlander, so it has a noticeable edge in head and shoulder room (though not rear-seat leg room).... Read full article