2005 Honda Pilot EX Test Drive

Seasick Driver

Oh, where to start with the Pilot… Well, I hated it. I hated the way it drove, I hated how tall the cabin was, and I hated the seats. It’s got some cool features, but they don’t come close to overcoming the problems I had with it.

The Pilot is large. I had to climb up into it instead of just step in like some other SUVs. Once in, I felt like Queen of the World. Until I noticed the ceiling is another foot and a half over my head… then I felt like a small child sitting in an adult’s truck.

Honda’s Pilot didn’t excite my eyes much, at least not when viewed from the front. I much prefer the Acura MDX built on the same platform, looks wise. From the side the Pilot could almost be mistaken for a Jeep of sorts, but once you saw the grill you’d know it was no Jeep. The proportions just seemed wrong. The front end tried to look petite, but on that huge truck it just looked out of place.

The interior had some nice detail. Fit and finish of the Pilot’s interior didn’t quite match the Accord’s, but it still wasn’t shoddy by any means. I still don’t know if I like the perforated leather on the doors, but I did like the contrast – the armrests were a brown instead of a tan like the rest of the door. Nice touch. There is storage everywhere, both hidden and open. Even the backs of the front seats have extra nets for more storage. The driver seat has power controls, but didn’t lower as much as I would have liked, and the front bolster felt overstuffed and pushed on the back of my thighs. The passenger seat was just miserable – it had no lumbar and felt concave, and it did not have power adjustments so I couldn’t lower it at all – my feet barely touched the floor. The middle row of seats was small and too close to the front seats, but they did have their own air vents and controls. I didn’t attempt the third row and I’m not sure how one actually climbs back there.

While the steering wheel rim was too skinny, it’s a neat-looking wheel with radio and cruise controls built in. One problem area was the sunroof control. It’s to the left of the steering wheel, not intuitive at all, plus it’s not one-touch, so you had to hold the buttons down until the roof was done opening or closing. Not cool, especially when I tried to shut it while also turning right.

The speedometers in the Hondas are laughably large. They remind me of digital clocks made for people that need to read them in the mornings without their glasses on. HUGE numbers! In the Pilot the gear selector is directly to the right of the speedometer, which I found distracting.

I drove the Pilot on a windy day, and have I mentioned that it’s tall? It felt like driving a sailboat through a windstorm. By the time I’d made a large loop of the block, I felt seasick. It twitched and swayed the whole time I drove and I just found it unpleasant. The V6 engine was okay – this was no racecar but it didn’t feel underpowered. I’d say the ride was nice because I didn’t feel many bumps, but since I felt seasick maybe nice isn’t the right description.

Chris drove it after I did, and he decided it swayed and twitched so much because the steering didn’t have a dead center at all – you moved the steering wheel the slightest bit and the Pilot reacted. He was really impressed with the suspension, however. He drives our test route home every day in his Corvette and is aware of every little bump and crack. He said even the large ones barely registered in the Pilot.

Overall Impression

The Pilot obviously didn’t do it for me. If you go drive one, spend some time in both the driver and passenger seats to make sure you don’t have the same problems.