"texasfordfan" (texasfordfan)
04/03/2014 at 16:08 • Filed to: Review, firstcar
1
8|
"texasfordfan" (texasfordfan)
04/03/2014 at 16:08 • Filed to: Review, firstcar | 1
| 8 |
Last Tuesday, I sold my Honda Pilot. It was my first car. Kind of. It was my mom's car, it had the title in her name, and she paid for the insurance, gas and maintenance so I could save all my money for college. I figured since it was gone, it would be a good time to review it. It will be extremely biased. This is my first long post, so please go easy on me if I make any spelling or grammar mistakes.
Exterior (7/10)
It is technically a crossover, but Honda built it to look more like an SUV than a crossover. I like the way it looks, especially with the white color. I knocked off a point because I don't like the way the tail lights look when they are lit. Also the car had lots of scratches from my brother driving it.
Interior (8/10)
It has a dark green interior. I think the green looks weird, but it hides stain and dirt really well. Plus the green isn't so dark that the car feels like a cave. I really like how Honda didn't have black plastic on the dash, because black and green together like that would have made it look bad. The column shifter allows the Honda to have lots of room for storage in the center, so I could keep a lot in the car. This was helpful from all the times that I had to move between my mom's and dad's house. Also, the interior had lots of room. The honda is wide enough that the middle seat isn't bad. The 3rd row is fine for half hour trips. Much better than riding in my grandfather's Highlander.
Acceleration (6/10)
It has 244 horsepower, and 240 lb-ft of torque. Not a huge amount for its weight, but it was fine for normal driving. Most of the power would come on around 4000 rpms, but it still had enough in the low rpms to not hold up traffic. I never found it lacking for power.
Braking (3/10)
I believe that the Pilot has the same brakes as the accord, even though the Pilot is heavier. I'm not completely sure though. Either way, it doesn't have very good braking. It would stop, but it felt like it took forever. I always felt like I was slamming on the brakes.
Ride (9/10)
It is a family car, therefore it is designed to have a very comfortable ride. It felt really great on road trips.
Handling (5/10)
It would turn. It has better feedback than the electric power steering in my moms Jetta, and it had much better handling than my dad's truck. The car would take longer than the Mini and the Jetta to respond though (big surprise).
However, the car would roll in the corners. Like really roll. Corners would need to be taken very slowly. And The traction control would come on way more than it needed to.
Gearbox (7/10)
It was an automatic, but it was a very good automatic. The gearbox was programmed to let the car go all the way to redline if you floored the gas pedal. The car wouldn't ever hesitate to downshift. This had been my favorite automatic that I have driven.
Audio (7/10)
It had 7 speakers. It had an iPod input. It sounded good to me.
Toys (5/10)
It had the aforementioned iPod input. It had automatic climate control. It had steering wheel radio controls. It had a 6 disk CD changer. It could have been ordered with more stuff, but it had enough for me.
Value (11/10)
My mom bought this car new in 2005. At the time it was the best car for us, 3 rows, short enough to fit in our garage, and better looking than a minivan (that wasn't important to me, but it was to my mom), plenty of space to move stuff, all for $29,000.
7 years later it wa mine to drive. It was free. My mom paid for gas insurance, and maintenance so I could save for college. Therefore it was an amazing value for me.
I didn't like driving this car, because it was so boring to drive. However, this was the car that made me like cars. I loved looking at it with my mom, even though I was 9. Even at that age I knew more than the salesman. This car was the car I learned how to drive in. It wasn't technically my car, but I loved it anyways. I already miss it.
Total (68/100)
Alex B
> texasfordfan
04/09/2014 at 20:13 |
|
I've always like this generation Pilot.
VirgilMungo
> texasfordfan
04/10/2014 at 00:19 |
|
nice car, nice review. We bought one, like your mother, to deny our need for a minivan. But we also got it because it was just big enough that an adult could sit between two car seats, which was important because our twins hated being back there and someone had to entertain them. I should warn you, if you buy anything else you'll find nothing runs like a Honda. They do everything well, if not thrilling, and never breakdown.
efme
> texasfordfan
04/10/2014 at 00:42 |
|
I liked it too. in hindsight it might have been a better pick than the murano we ultimately got but the murano definitely handled a ton better.
As Long as There is Beer I'm There.
> texasfordfan
04/10/2014 at 10:47 |
|
I've totally been interested in buying one of these. I think they are big enough, AWD enough, and MPG enough for my next vehicle. I've got a big dog, and like to take trips, seems like enough rooms for the few other people that usually come along (and their dogs). Which the dealership wouldn't screw me so hard on a trade in or I'd be in one right now.
How many miles did you put on it?
Did you have the AWD Version?
What Kidna mileage did you actually get on the highway?
Thanks for your oddly placed (for Jalopnik) review. Love that shit. Super applicable.
Curt Styler
> texasfordfan
04/10/2014 at 11:57 |
|
My parents have a 2007, and man it ain't bad for a crossover. I've beat the daylights out of that car, although I didn't have an ipod adapter. Ours was the 4 wheel drive model which was OK so long as you turn off traction control. It would do some awesome donuts. I had it rotating about the drivers cupholder once, THAT WAS FUN.
The center of gravity on these are surprisingly low, so you can whip it around without worry of it tipping. It may roll a bit, but I never felt like it would actually flip or anything. And I came from a 1991 Ford Bronco (lifted) so I know what it's like to almost flip.
One of my favorite things about these, is you can set the seat really high and drive it like a truck, or lower it to the floor and feel like an Accord. It was actually pretty good for zipping around our Chicago traffic.
That said, this thing has some of the worst seats in a car. The driver is OK for short trips, but just hurts on anything over 4-5 hours. The back seats are awful. they feel like the are made of plywood. Just bad.
We still have it, my sister is using it for her internship in Orlando. It's not a perfect car, but it's a lot better than most of the CUV's being rolled out in the mid-2000's.
dkdk
> texasfordfan
04/10/2014 at 13:59 |
|
I had almost the exact same thing happen with me, except my mom bought the car my freshman year of college and gave it to me a few years out of college. I really liked the car, but I didn't get to sell the car though, I totaled the car last year. I can attest to the braking being terrible. Basically I used to have a little bit of a road rage issue and a CTS-V coupe cut me off, I started tailing him and he slammed on his brakes. He was at a full stop before I had dropped 10 mph (from around 45-50), I didn't have a chance. It did about $14,000 in damage to that a-holes car but totaled mine.
I can also attest to the Value of it, mine had a few more options than yours but insurance cut me a check for almost 15 grand on a 8 year old car with 120,000+ miles on it.
brakesnow
> texasfordfan
04/11/2014 at 13:44 |
|
Great review! Hell of a versatile car and the most reliable car I've ever experienced. Sold ours last year as well. Still miss it now and then... Hope your next ride is a bit more exciting!
|
texasfordfan
> As Long as There is Beer I'm There.
04/11/2014 at 18:33 |
|
I put 138000 miles on it.
It was front wheel drive.
I drove it in the city and got around 16, but my mom got 24 when she did all highway driving.