Pilot all spiffed up and ready to take off
SUV totally transformed into beauty
SPARTA, Ky. — It’s longer, lower and not much wider, but more importantly, it’s no longer ugly.
Like an Emperor Dragonfly, the 2016 Honda Pilot has transformed from icky nymph to sleek and sinewy beauty after a remake from the wheels up. And the beauty is not limited to the surface, but goes deep into the interior, covering technology and mechanical systems, too.
That buzzing sound you hear? That’s the mid-size SUV market about to feel Honda’s teeth.
Gone is the chiselled, boxy shape and cubist interior, which, although great for its countless cubbies and storage bins, had more hard plastic than a Hasbro playhouse. The new interior can still feel solemn in models other than the top-line Touring — which benefits from a wider range of materials and contrasting colours — but the overall improvement across the board is huge. Outward visibility is excellent. Side mirrors reflect a generous view.
Under a glorious spring sun in rural Kentucky, the Pilot, with its LED running lights, cuts a quiet path past verdant lawns and forests as full of promise as this new SUV. The cabin is remarkably hushed. The Pilot is easy to drive: reactive, manoeuverable, almost sporty. No rattles or squeaks.
Instantly noticeable is how easily the Pilot steers. While not blessed with the feedback of a BMW, the electric power steering and a new unibody structure allow the Pilot to track well along twisty roads and a new multi-link rear suspension works to control the Touring’s 1,975 kilograms.
That heft can still be felt when pushing the Pilot above the speed limit, even if this new Pilot is 131 kg lighter than the old model and now one of the most svelte in the mid-size class. The brakes feel sure, with only a moderate degree of dive under hard braking.
Stepping on the throttle returns 280 horsepower from a direct-injection, 3.5-litre V6 that will, to conserve fuel, operate on three cylinders when it doesn’t need all six. The ascent to full power and all 262 pound-feet of torque is satisfyingly silky, with just a sliver of coarseness near peak rpm. Reaching 100 km/h requires less than eight seconds. Fuel economy is pegged at 9.3 L/100 km highway for AWD models and 11.3 combined average for models other than Touring, which scores 11.
The Touring model, of course, gets all the goodies, some of which are firsts for Honda, as though reluctant product planners are finally dipping their toes in the waters of consumer demand: the 20-inch wheels, panoramic glass roof and ninespeed transmission are all new, not just to the Pilot, but to Honda as a company.
The nine-speed transmission gets simple push buttons for gear selection and paddle shifters for manual operation. In Sport mode, the gearbox keeps the transmission in manual mode, just the way it should. In Automatic mode, however, the jump from ninth to a lower gear during quick throttle changes can sometimes register a delay.
Lower-tier models, such as the EX and EX-L, get 18-inch wheels, LED tail lights, a six-speed automatic transmission and a standard sunroof. Heated front seats and auto climate are standard in the most basic level LX. The Touring gets a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, and a remote start that will turn all of these features on — ideal for a Canadian winter. The Touring also gets LED headlamps with automatically controlled high beams. In addition, several driving aids are now available, including cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, active cruise, lane-keeping assist and collision-mitigation braking.
Like the first and secondgeneration Pilot, the thirdgen is fitted with Honda’s pioneering third row of seats, to allow seating for up to eight. The cabin feels especially roomy, with lots of headroom, even way back in the third row. You’d be forgiven for thinking you had stepped inside an Odyssey.
The Touring’s captain’s chairs in the middle row — which, unlike a minivan, cannot be removed — limit seating to seven, but the space behind the third row is some of the best. Accessing the third-row seats is now easier, too, the opening made wider and lower so kids can scurry in and the odd grandparent won’t feel forced to call “shotgun!”
Overall cargo space is about the equivalent of an apartment in Hong Kong: 1,583 litres behind the second row alone. And should a thunderstorm threaten the family camping trip, flattening all the seats will make mom or dad the hero with a safe, dry shelter for sleeping.
Inside, a new eight-inch touch screen crowns the infotainment system. Colour graphics are sharp and clear, though unfortunately there is no knob for radio volume, only touch control. The screen, while elegant, can also become dotted in fingerprints. The optional Garmin navigation system features better graphics and a 3D view as well as realtime traffic information. Interior lighting is old-school filament, except for the front map lights, which are LED.
Three USB ports (five in the Touring) allow quick, 2.5-amp charging of phones or iPads, and two convenient shelves can each hold a phone.
At least a dozen other nooks — and that’s just up front — house more stuff. The centre bin will swallow a designer handbag and an iPad, as though Honda is trying to coax the diminishing flock of minivan owners back to the homeland with something that has the utility of a minivan but the capability of an SUV.
Nowhere is that more evident than the Pilot’s new AWD system known as i- VTM4. Sending most of the power to the front wheels in normal driving, the system shares similar traits with Acura’s Super Handling AllWheel Drive. It can transfer up to 70 per cent of torque to the rear wheels, but can also shift power laterally between the rear wheels in what is known as torque vectoring.
While there is no longer a lock to split torque evenly front to rear, Honda says the new system is faster to react and provides more torque. The Pilot enhances the AWD system with driver-selectable traction settings for snow, sand or mud, though if venturing off road, the tires will need to be more aggressive. The stock rubber is intended more for fuel economy and quiet.
Most Pilots will probably never see the raw side of nature, anyway. But for those that do — and for those in the urban wild — the Pilot has never been more attractive.
Built in Lincoln, Alabama, the 2016 Pilot will arrive in dealerships in late July. Pricing will be announced closer to the on-sale date.