Style = A, Power = A, Comfort = A, Controls & features = A, Dependability = A (so far), Roomieness = B

This review will not go into the mechanical and engine specs which are easily available through Honda or any other car buying search engine.

My review will focus on the drivability and user friendliness of the Pilot. The everyday operations that become automatic to us over time or that bug us (me).

We got our new Pilot EX-L (L = leather) on January 14th, 2003. Ours is the luxury model minus the DVD player or on-star navigation. These features increase the cost approximately $1500-2000.

Overall Driving: Smooth, comfortable. Good power. We have to get up a steep hill from our neighborhood and the Pilot makes it easy. This SUV seems big but drives very easy. Parking has not been a problem even in crowded areas. Road noise is average to quieter than average.

Front Seats: Are comfortable and roomy. I am 6' and 200 lbs and my wife is 5'10" and there is plenty of leg room and seat area. Back support is fine. Driver's seat has electronic adjustment, passenger does not.

UPDATE: NUISANCE
Back Seats: I'm 6', my wife 5'10". With our front seats at our ideal position, I'd say that the back seats are not overly spacious with leg room, that is when using a childs car seat. Our daughter is not yet 3 years old and while sitting in her car seat, her legs/feet easily can rub, kick, push against either front seat. With shoes on this translates to scuffing the backs of the seats which are plastic and mesh/web storage pockets. I think when the car seat is gone it will be quite roomy for kids whose feet stay on the ground. In the car seat they can't help but be up higher and tempted to kick around.

The floor mats are sturdy and held in place by two riveted loops in the mat that snap over matching pegs on the floor near the seat, plus they have hundreds of gripping "nobs" on the underside. I mention this specifically because floor mats often have the nagging habit of sliding and bunching up near the pedals. The gas door latch is located near the floor on the drivers side.

NUISANCE: The gas cap is not attached with a cable or chain which I'm used to. It is lose but fits into a hold on the gas door itself. But I could see anyone putting the cap on top of the car or pump and driving off without it.

The center console between the two front seats is multi-functioning and frankly sold me on the Pilot. I love lots of storage and function and this has it! There is a large, deep storage compartment located just between the seats near their backs. The top is a padded lid and can act as an arm rest. When open it reveals a deep well, probably 7"+ deep, 6" wide and long. It easily fits CD's, wallet, cell phone and more. In fact, the front of this compartment opens and reveals a cell phone holder and power outlet! This allows you to store your cell phone and plug it in to charge or use. You can leave the front door open using it to store your phone for easy access or close the door to conceal it.

UPDATED:
On the rear of the deep compartment is the rear climate control center which allows the second row passengers control over vents and temperature providing the main climate control center is set for dual control. This rear climate control does not display actual temperature, but has the traditional blue/cold & red/Warm displays. This rear portion also has a power outlet. We've used this to run a 9" tv/vcr player, very handy.

Moving forward on the console you next have three separate compartment trays flush or just lower than the car seats themselves. The first compartment is open and comes with a cup-holder insert that snaps into place and holds two cups. This insert can be removed completely or moved into the second open compartment immediately in front of the first. There is a third forward compartment then that has a sliding cover that retracts to keep the compartments open or slides closed to keep contents hidden. This retracting lid will cover the two forward compartments but not the third one (cup holder). With the cover closed then, you now can lay items on top of this cover for further use, it has a non-skid surface. So, you have the deep well immediately between the seats, working forward your have three compartments a sliding cover and you're now at the front dash.

NUISANCE: There is virtually no space between this center console and the seats. if you drop a coin or pen down here, it takes serious effort to retrieve or clean out. this space is not accessible from beneath the front seats either.

Front Dash: Immediately above the center storage compartments is a 'coin tray' (or ash tray) and power outlet and above this yet another open compartment about 6" up from the center console. It's fairly deep and you can put mints, lighters, pens, keys, wallet or other such things in it. Finally, above this, is the climate control center.

UPDATED:
Climate Control: Has the ability to be manually controlled or set on "Auto". The auto feature lets you set a temperature and the system will maintain that temp automatically. It will display temperature in degrees Farenheit and also has the blue/red visuals for cold/warm settings. Manually lets you control all traditional functions - fan speed, vent, defrost etc. The auto seems very smart. For instance, in a cold morning car, if you set the temp to say 75 degrees the auto system will not immediately start blowing out cold air, it will wait until the engine thermostat has warmed up and then increase warm air flow until your temp is reached.

Stereo: Above the climate control it is nice looking and user friendly. Ours is cassette and single CD. Standard features here. The CD slot is located at the very top of the unit and easy to access.

Steering wheel features: Has the cruise control set, resume, accel and decelerate, and quit controls. Better yet, it has stereo controls: channel skips to your next preset stations, mode switches radio bands (am/fm) and CD player and it controls volume. Very easy and handy to use. I love it!

Drivers instruments: includes all your normal gauges with good visibility. Also has two (2) trip set features, A & B. This is a nice touch with digital readout. All traditional warning lights: seat belts, 'gas light' when low, door ajar etc. Signal and wiper levers all traditional. Wiper has variable speed - intermittent functions. The drivers door has controls for all windows and door locks and can disable all door windows with an on/off switch.

The Pilot seats up to eight (8) people: 2 in front, 3 in the second row and 3 in the third row. The Second row is normal and roomy. It is a 70/30 split seat allowing you to fold down part or all of the second row for hauling stuff, though the second row will not fold down completely flat.

NUISANCE: The gap between this 70/30 split is perfect for trapping children's snacks or small toy parts making it frustrating to try and clean or rescue items from.

The third row says it will hold 3 people and it will but realistically, it's better suited for kids and not full size adults. This third row is also a 70/30 split and both sides fold down flat giving the back great storage area. If the third row is up and in use, there is still decent storage in the back. The third row is accessed from the passenger side second row. The second row seat has a release which collapses the second row seat allowing access to the third row.

NUISANCE: We have a two-year old and use a car seat. We have the car seat located in the second row behind the passenger seat. This side of the car is used to get into the third row. With our childs car seat on this side of the second row, you can NOT access this third row normally. Even if we located the car seat in the middle of the second row, you could not access the third row normally. You could craw into it from the back, especially if you have one of the sides folded down. If the third row is folded down, the head rests store inside a compartment in the back of the Pilot.

Both the second and third row have cup holders and side arm compartments for little storage.

Interior lights: Instead of the traditional center light, each door has, located above it, a handle with a built in light. When the doors are open, the handle light comes on. BUT, the handle light also works separate. Simply depress the light lense on or off. This allows each person to have a separate light controlled by them. These can also be turned on by the driver with a switch on the dash.

We did have a problem with one of these 'handle lights' and the mechanic told us they have had problems with those lights. I can see how they might be problematic but they are a great idea and we'll hope for the best.

Back: The very back is for storage and even with the third row of seats upright, there is good area for storage and certainly groceries. With the third row folded down, it's awesome! We've carried a full size stroller, three gym bags, Costco groceries and more inside.

There are hooks that fold down on which you can hang plastic grocery bags or other items with straps. Also, ours came with a cargo net accessory that you can stretch across the back area from the hooks to help pin in items such as soccer balls or misc groceries. There is a compartment beneath the carpet in back where headrests and tools are stored.

NUISANCE: The back hatch is a bit difficult to close. It doesn't easily close and often requires a second attempt. The handle is on the interior of the hatch and so by the time you get the hatch down to the angle to close it, your hand/wrist are bent backwards because you're still holding on to the inner handle. So, you have to let go and finish closing the door by pushing on the back of the hatch door.

UPDATED:
It's September now and we've had the Pilot 9 months. We've made two 300 mile + trips and a couple 100+ mile trips. Still pleased overall. I have heard a couple "noices" that do worry me but I have not seen or felt a loss in power or performance. One noise was starting in HOT weather with the AC on, the other sounds like undercarriage noise.

Gas mileage did not really improve on the longer trips compared with in city driving. City has consistently = 17MPH, trips maybe 18MPH.

We would choose to have a DVD install if we purchased again.

January 23rd, 2004
UPDATE: I took the Pilot in for routine oil change and requested an estimate to install a ceiling mount DVD player (normally a $1500 option). Upon pickup, I was told that such a DVD player could not be installed 'after market'. (Although it was available new?) Rather, a "two screen, headrest" system could be installed for $3200! Perhaps this was specific to my dealership. Costco sells a ceiling mount DVD system with 10" screen for $799 (uninstalled).

UPDATE:
A few months ago I noticed two separate areas on the back end hatch/door where weatherstripping was coming undone. I have scheduled to take it in for repair/replacement. No biggy but too soon for something simple like this to happen, in my opinion.



Amount Paid (US$): 36,400
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: EX-L