Nimble around town. Good 4WD system. Flexible interior. Excellent head lights.

After 4yrs - Ventilation system. Suspension. Steering.

Bought the very first Pilot (Called MR-V in the Middle East) brought in to the region.

It's a great car for what it can do, and it's pretty good off road as well.
After four years though there are a number of issues.
1. With the heat, dust and pollution here in Dubai, the climate control is always set on re-circ. The problem is with a certain type of cross wind and opening the throttle, the out-flow ventilation flap opens up and the cars very own exhast fumes pour into the cabin. Easy solution is to select "fresh" for a while and it purges the fumes. But then you get every one elses!

2. The handling after four years is atrocious. The rear shocks have been replaced, but l try and get the front shocks done too but the dealer says there is nothing wrong. Even after explaining that from day one of ownership, every time the brakes are hit hard - the front wheels start to skip up and down. To me that means the ABS is working fine, but the front shocks are letting the whole system down, and it's dangerous.
3. The middle seat has a lever on the side for access into the rear seats. At some stage early in the life of the vehicle, someone lifted both the recline lever and the rear-access lever at the same time. It took the dealer service people two years to figure out what had happened and how to fix it. In that time the seat was broken, and access to the rear was from the other side.
4. The steering has always been vague, paricularly on 270 degree turn on an off-ramp for example. Whilst holding speed and steering angle you can move the wheel left to right just slightly and feel the power steering pump fight you back then let go. Very strange sensation indeed!

On the good side, the four wheel drive system is great in the sand. It will never let you get bogged. But l guess most new 4WD systems do much the same. Have had it down some rocky creek beds with no problem either.
It's very manouverable around town.
Petrol is not too expensive here, and as such the gas milage isn't a concern.
Thats why we are about to trade this car in on an Armada.
The Pilot is just too ugly!!!!

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CRV

Spacious. Adequate room to haul my black lab around.

Uncomfortable seats, A/C problems, can't ride with the windows down as it hurts your ear drums, and dealer is not responsive to problems.

My 2003 Pilot was purchased new. 1 month after purchase, the air conditioner stopped working. The dealership said there was nothing wrong with it and sent me home. A week later, it stopped working again. This time they said it had NO FREON! It was obviously leaking. When I took it back a third time, they said it was working fine (and it was)! However, they found a mouse inside the A/C motor. The next time the A/C stopped working, another mouse was found. Today a third mouse was found. If this is an "enclosed unit" (as I was told it was) how do mice keep getting inside the motor casing?

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Honda Accord.

Honda Pilot
Friend bought one. She liked it fine - as long as she was driving. But when her husband drove it to Phoenix from Sacramento, she was miserable in the passenger seat. She has back and hip problems. So I went to the dealer to take a look. Nice vehicle, but the designers made a big booboo. The 'threw in' a stock passenger seat. No thought given to passenger comfort. No power adustment. Rather hard and stiff. This vehicle would be absolutely first class -if it had comfortable seats!. And there were optional upgrades. How could the Honda engineers have committed such an oversight? Hopefully they will get it right the next time around

I drive up to Big White every Sat & Sun in the winter, with snowtires on, have always got there & home.
Love the 4 wh independant susp

Horrible mileage when outside temps below 0C. Drove it from Wawa to Thunder Bay,
-26C...could watch the gas needle move
My dealer keeps finding new items that requiring servicing..that aren't on the Type 1-4 servicing pricing
Have had several warranty issues...never at the same time, so the $25 deductible is required each time

Bought new, have 155,000 Km, 99% put on by me.
Have the tow package & fog lamps as an extra, installed by dealer when bought.

Solid, all wheel drive vehicle.
No major issues so far

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4Runner

Roomy, nice ride, responsive, handles well.

Poor gas mileage, sub woofer vibrates whole quarter panel, road noise, looks.

I have always purchased Honda's and am thinking this may be the last time I buy a Honda. This Pilot has been a thorn in my side since I bought it six months ago. I've never had any problems with my Honda's but this one is needing yet another appointment for warranty work. And, I've never had a vehicle with such poor gas mileage. It gets about 15 mpg around town and maybe 20-22 on the freeway. Granted, I'm used to owning my 4 cylinder engines but who knew this six cylinder would get such horrible gas mileage. My brothers Navigator gets the same gas mileage as my Pilot. Now, back to the other problems I've experienced.... I brought my brand new 32 thousand dollar vehicle back to the dealership because the rear sub woofer vibrates the whole panel. Talk about sucking the life out of music. Naturally, this worthless dealership here in Bakersfield CA has to look at the vehicle like three times before it decides they can't fix it. And it is clear to me from what they've shown me that this is a design defect so I had the speaker disconnected. Next, and this is minor, that little light between the two dome lights on the roof which lights up the center console stopped working. If I had a garage door that I could open, that too would not have been working either. The whole unit had to be replaced. Now, and I'm not anxious to leave my car for yet another two days while they figure this out, there's a thudding or thumping sound coming from the rear end. It almost sounds like the gas tank or muffler or some other part is hitting the body of the vehilce causing a thumping sound when you hit bumps or entering/exiting driveways. Did I mention this is a 32 thousand dollar piece of machinary? I'm not sure if I should cut my losses and get rid of this thing or try to absorb some of the money that's always lost when purchasing a brand new vehicle. Either way, I would never buy another Pilot and I am seriously thinking this is my last Honda. Here in Bakersfield CA, the next nearest dealership is about 80 miles away. Maybe if I didn't have such a horrible Honda dealership I would be having a more pleasant experience with having all this warranty work done. But, then again, I would have bought a domestic if I wanted to deal with this nonsense.

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Honda Civic and Accord.

Reliable as anything made..It's a HONDA !
Drives like a car...Quiet and smooth.

Looks..Still think it's ugly !

In 2003, the Honda Pilot was brand new, and I owned a 1999 Honda Odyssey EX with 97,000 miles. Since I had good luck with the Odyssey except for the transmission, I decided to buy the Pilot.
As of today... 72,000 miles later, the Pilot has been exceptional. No problems AT ALL ! I havn't even rotated the tires, and they still have 1/3 tread left. I have always been amazed by the gas mileage that mine gets..19mpg avg / as high as 25 highway.I have paid particular attention to changing the transmission fluid, and I suggest that all other Pilot / Odyssey owner do the same.

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99 Toyota 4 Runner, 91 S10 Blazer, 2005 Trailblazer

quiet smooth ride, smooth power, responsive throttle, comfortable front seats lots of back seat room, AC/Heat are powerful

TERRIBLE gas mileage
3rd row seat for midgets only, back seats don't fold completely flat, factory stereo crippled, VSA is dangerous, no eco mode

Gas mileage is TERRIBLE, 12.7 mpg in daily commutes. Friend of friend also only gets 14mpg commuting.

I did get over 22 mpg on the one long highway trip I have taken so far. (wierd, eh?) But that was late at night with no traffic, and cruise control set at 60 mph for about 3 hours.

Much, much, much, quieter than CR-V (which I drove for 5 years). Really nice ride if you like Honda rides. (I do.) For a med/big SUV it handles very well, it is NOT a sports car (I once had a Miata, and a BMW 325), but it is much crisper than the rental Chrysler Voyagers and Explorers I have driven, and way better than the Ford and Chevy full size pick up trucks I have driven.

Very responsive throttle (took a while to get used to feather touch the peddle so I didn't get whiplash). AC/Heat is AMAZING. It can cool off the car on a 100F degree day after sitting in the sun in just a few minutes!

Lots of rear seat room. 3rd row seats are for very small people or kids under 13 only!

Love the cargo capacity. Towed a trailer once with about 2,500 lbs in it. Had lot's of power, no trouble on hills at all. Wish the rear seat fold down was flatter. Wish they had the spring loaded rear seat fold down from the trunk like the Mazda CX-7.

I'm 6'1" tall and weigh 240 lbs. I love the drivers seat, very comfortable, even on long trips. Hard for short people to get in and out of car. My grandmother needs help, thinking of getting side-steps for that.

Don't get the factory stereo system, buy aftermarket. Honda Subwoofer can't be used with after market components. If you have a CD changer and the XM Satellite from the factory, you can't get any components to let you get audio line-in (for an iPod or such). The Honda offered iPod attachment sucks. The sound seems very nice, but they really need to have audio line input, and the ability to play MP3 CD's and DVD's with a better display to show MP3-tags and navigate folders. (Mazda has really nice stereo head unit in their new CX-7)

Wish the car had a button on the dash that would put the throttle/transmission in super economy mode. Because of the HORRIBLE gas mileage I try to force myself to drive like I have a scalding cup of coffee on the dash. Since the throttle and transmission are completely computer controlled, would be nice if Honda had a way to set that on the dash. It could auto-shut off if you depressed the accelerator peddle more than 80%, and then you could reset it by pushing the button.

Wish there was a way to disable the VSA without the stupid YELLOW warning light, and have the VSA STAY OFF once you set it that way. When it rains and you are making turns into traffic or crossing 4 lane divided highways it REALLY sucks to have the throttle drop out for a second when a wheel slips a little.

Great driving characteristics - very safe and like the overall feel of the vehicle. Great for towing the boat and bringing lots of stuff to/from the cottage. Wife really loves to drive it as well. This is our first SUV, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

Gas mileage is horrible, but I knew that going into the deal. Unexpected and expensive repairs to things you would think should be covered under extended Gold warranty. Honda trained mechanics seem to have different opinions as to what is acceptable, and what is not, as it relates to my muffler issue.

Really like the Pilot. Bought used with 72,000 km and had dealer add a towing package to tow a 17 foot bowrider to/from the cottage. This was a Honda certified used car, and bought the extended Gold warranty. It now has 115,000 km and while I like the vehicle overall, I have had a number of issues.

At 101,000 Km, I hade to replace the driver seat warmer - not covered, and cost around $500 at a Honda dealer.

At 104,000 kn, had to replace the A/T sensor (lamp kept coming on for unknown reasons) - this cost another $500 and was not covered under Honda extended warranty.

At 114,000 Km, did a Type 2 maintenance at the Ottawa Honda dealer, Civic Motors, and their service manager noted that the muffler was not a Honda one - turns out the Cobourg dealer where I bought the car, when he installed the after-market trailer package, also installed a Walker muffler designed for a mid-1990's 4 cyl. Civic to ensure evereything would fit. Cobourg Honda's "Certified Honda Mechanic" said it is fine for the vehicle, but other Honda dealers say this will cause engine issues, so now I am having to pay around $1,000 to change the muffler system back to Honda certified muffler for the Pilot. Honda Canada head office in Toronto says to deal with the dealers, so not much help. So much for the Honda warranties. The Civic Motors dealer service manager is trying to get a positive resolution to the issue, but looks like I may have to pay.

So, while overall I love the Pilot, it is not maintenance-free. I want to keep the vehicle for another 3-5 years, but am considering trading it for a CR-V. Having looked at all product reviews, it seems even the CR-V has some mixed reviews. Would like to hear from other Honda Pilot owners on their experiences, especially with higher mileage 2003 Pilots. Seems most other SUVs from other manufacturers are really not worthwhile to consider (except the Lexus, but who has that kind of money ?).

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1987 Honda Accord (bought used); Saturn SL-i and SC-1 cheap to buy and maintain, but only so-so ride); Acura 2 door sedan (really great car); Accura El Premium (not bad for the money)

Smooth and quiet ride. Lots of room inside. Very good traction on wet pavement and on snow. Feels safe.

These are minor issues for me, but I wanted to post them in case they are more important to other readers:
Headrest is too far away from my head. Auto-up feature on power window quits working every so often, (but it starts working on it's own after about a week). Plastic cover on tie down hook has popped off a few times. Gear shifter hits my knee if using any lower gear (I'm 6' tall). Wiper lever too close to steering wheel, so it's easy to accidentally turn on the wipers when turning.

2005 Pilot EX-L 4wd. I've driven it 19,000 miles.
I test drove several vehicles in this category and found the Pilot to be the best overall choice. Very smooth ride and handles surprisingly well when cornering. Engine has plenty of pep. I get 19mpg in town, and 21+ on the highway. Feels solid and safe. Doors are heavy and thick. Traction is great.

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Test-drove Nissan Pathfinder, Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander, Acura MDX. I've owned a Ford Explorer & a Subaru Forester.

Safety features, nice ride, handles better than our pickups.

Tire traction, or lack thereof, in the front. Hopefully the 4wd is better but I don't think you should have to buy the 4wd to get good traction.

Love the ride. Hard to look over your shoulder to back up. Biggest disappointment was during the rain: front of car does not get good traction and wheels will spin. My husband found this can also happen when it's not raining..not sure if he hit a puddle. Maybe all those safety features are need in case of spinning out.