Honda pilot?

Dh and I need to get a 2nd car. We have a sedan and our 4wd SUV just died, so we're looking for a replacement SUV. We had started out looking at the compact SUVs, like the Nissan rogue, Honda cr-v, Mazda cx5, etc... Because they are more in our price range and with just one child (possibly 2 in the future but most likely no more than 2) the size of a compact SUV would suit us just fine. We mostly just need the trunk space for our dog once in a while and want something that can drive in the snow.

Well dh found a 2011 Honda pilot with low miles for about the same price that we would spend on a brand new compact SUV, and he fell in love with it. I have to say I do really like the look of it, but I feel like it might be a waste for us to have the third row of seats and such a huge trunk. I think in the long run we might regret paying more for gas just to haul around such a large trunk that we don't really need.

Also, I'm nervous it would be hard to back up in and park. It's a good amount bigger than our SUV that died (2door ford explorer sport).

So can anyone who had a Honda pilot or has driven one, can you tell me what you love and/or don't love about it? How is it to drive and park, and how is the gas mileage? I've read some reviews that say it gets lower mileage than Honda claims it does.

Eta: oops didnt realize i posted this before I was done! Sorry for the double post!

Message edited 2/26/2014 11:50:12 AM.

Re: Honda pilot?

I love my Pilot. Ours is a 2013. It drives really well, and I feel very safe with the kids in it. We have two kids, and we probably wont get much, if any, use out of the 3rd row since we will have 2 car seats in the 2nd row for a long while.

The extra trunk space is great. Most times I have 2 strollers back there, and when we are our shopping at Target, BRU, BJ's ,etc. we have plenty of room for stuff. And road trips are soo much easier with the extra space.

Negotiating parking spots can be an issue sometimes, only because it's a wider truck than my Pathfinder. It's manageable, but with two car seats, we need to make sure we can open the doors on both sides and adjust the seat belts for the kids.

I have a backup camera on my truck, so backing up is easy. I still use my mirrors most of the time though.

I do mostly local driving, and I get an average of 14 mpg, which is not great. But, I can use regular gas, which is a plus.

Honda pilot?

I have one and love it. We had a Subaru Forester before and moved to the Pilot when the lease was up - at the time I was pregnant with DS 2. It's a great car and has great resale value. We got ours certified preowned.

I love the space - it isn't tight with a rear facing car seat. I love the way it drives and the fact it's so high. I also like that it's wide enough to fit an adult between the two carseats in the back.

Accessing the 3rd row is difficult with the carseats installed - we don't use it much. The main reason why I wanted something bigger was to be able to fit a passenger in between the two carseats and to have more passenger space with a rear facing car seat (I always felt that I was squished in the passenger seat of the Subaru with the carseat behind me (and I am not tall).

The Pilot is my car so I mainly drive it locally. I drive it to/from the train station and on errands. I get gas every 2-3 weeks. I believe I average 17-18MPG from the sensor.

Backing up isn't a problem - the back up camera is a great help but, sometimes it's difficult to park.

Message edited 2/26/2014 11:48:10 AM.

Honda pilot?

Thanks for the input so far!

This one we're looking at doesn't have a backup camera, but dh said we can add one, so that's probably what we'd do if we decide to get it to make it easier.

Re: Honda pilot?

Re: Honda pilot?

Re: Honda pilot?

I have a 2005 Pilot and I've loved it. I'm actually having a similar debate as you right now. I'm looking to get a new truck. My dream truck is the Suburban, which is in my budget. But I truly don't have a need for a truck quite that big, but I love it. I'm now trying to convince myself to go with an Enclave or Acadia, but in a big way I feel like I'm settling. If you really prefer the Pilot, I would go with that. You would be surprised how much the extra space comes in handy. If you go somewhere with a friend who has kids, you will need that third row.

Re: Honda pilot?

Re: Honda pilot?

We have a 2008 Pilot and love it! It is not the best on gas but its great in the snow and having that extra row really comes in handy.

Re: Honda pilot?

I have a 2013 and I hate it. But I hated it from the get go. It's not my style and DH forced me to get it.

Be that as it may, it drives nice when it finally gets going (the pick up sucks) and it's easy to park and back up. Its terrible on gas - the stats on Honda are false. Its good in the snow and its spacious. It's great for tailgating too.

Re: Honda pilot?

At least 5 of my coworkers have a Pilot and they all love it.

Re: Honda pilot?

I just got a 2014 Pilot in December and I love it. It's a very solid car with a very solid ride. As my kids get older (9 & 5) I find more of a need for the 3rd row since they often each have a friend that I am driving around. So I bought the Pilot knowing that it has that space.

Re: Honda pilot?

I looked at it in the fall and ended up going with the 14 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I liked the options on the car better and had a better lease price!

Re: Honda pilot?

I just got my 2011 pilot a month ago and I LOVE it! I was always a car person and had an Altima before the pilot so I was a little intimated about the parking especially since i live in Brooklyn and its all street parking. I don't have the backup camera in mine and when I bought it I wanted to get one installed. After driving it a few times the parking came natural and I wouldn't even need to add on the camera now. The ride is great and there is so much space in it. The downside is it's a gas guzzler! My last tank I only averaged 10 miles to the gallon (local driving) but between the snow and warming up the car i'm hoping once it gets warmer out it will get better mileage

Re: Honda pilot?

We have an older Pilot (new to us, though) and we feel it was one of our best decisions. The flexibility we have with the third row of seats is fantastic -- we fit eight people when we went to the Holiday Light show over Christmas. We keep all three kids in the middle row most of the time so that we can have plenty of room for bringing the kids' luggage and strollers/pack and plays when we go upstate. If we bring the dog in the back, then we just use the roof rack for luggage and we also bought a trailer hitch basket attachment that allows us to carry cargo behind us as well (which is perfect for going to the beach and bringing coolers/chairs/beach toys).