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Why (Not) the Honda Pilot?

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TrueDelta's "Why (Not) This Car?" reviews of the Honda Pilot, posted by owners, focus on the information most sought by many car buyers: the reasons to buy (or not buy) the Honda Pilot compared to other car models.

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Comparisons: Honda Pilot Preferred

Honda Pilot: Reasons to buy
Discounts & incentives: Willing to deal with me to get the transaction done.
Brand reputation & image: Known as a quality vehicle that will last for years without major recalls and it has one of the lowest costs of ownership. 3 of the top 10 on the list are hondas.
Handling: Feels like I'm in control.
Dealership practices: No nonsense, but took a couple trips to different ones to make that statement.
Reliability & durability: The previous style has been around for 5 years and the results are strong, so the new one should be just as reliable and dependable.
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Saturn Outlook: Reasons not to buy
Reliability & durability: Not a proven product, brand name is mediocre, although styling is great, I was looking for something that will last me over 10 years with minimal expenses.
Discounts & incentives: Not willing to deal, felt like they were selling me gold bullion instead of a car.
Brand reputation & image: It's a GM, will they even be around in 2 years?
Price or payments: You don't get enough for what you pay for. ALso, they can either give you a good price or good financing, not both like Honda Pilot.
Dealership practices: Very pompous, stuck on "no haggle" pricing policy which is too expensive for average consumer to begin with, and this brand is suppose to be the least expensive, vs. Enclave vs. Acadia vs. Traverse, give me a break. Have they checked competition lately?
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Toyota Highlander: Reasons not to buy
Rear seat room & comfort: Only two seats in the 2nd row, very small leg room in the 3rd row.
Cargo capacity & towing: Non-splitting 3rd row is plain stupid and was a deal breaker.
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Honda Pilot: Reasons to buy
Reliability & durability: Rated highest by CU family member works in maintance and claimed that repairs were very low.
Materials & workmanship: The ones that have been on the road in the rust belt appear good after several years.
Fuel economy: Mileage improved over GMC Denail that was ageing.
Audio & nav systems: Nav system useful in travels. Sound system was included.
Safety & braking: Many features that were extract on the Toyota Highlander were standard on the Pilot.
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Honda Pilot: Reasons to buy
Discounts & incentives: Heavy discounts in anticipation of the new model coming out made this a no brainer.
Reliability & durability: Bulletptoof when compared to the majority of the market offerrings.
Past personal experience: My other 5 Honda's (all Accords) got almost 200k miles each. And, Honda stood by the vehicles when problems did arise.
Ride smoothness: Incredibly smooth powertrain and motor. Smoother than I expected and all are comfortable.
Materials & workmanship: Typical Honda build where things fit like they should: small or no gaps, controls well engineered, you get quality usually found a notch or two higher in cost class.
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Saturn Outlook: Reasons not to buy
Brand reputation & image: Saturn has a spotty reliability history. Their smallest cars have faired well but all others have been typical GM with some major flaws.
Price or payments: Not out of the league pricing per se but got a better deal than what was available on Saturn.
Insurance & depreciation: Depreciation hit is somewhat steep probably from the GM underpinnings.
Powertrain performance: Engine is outclassed by the weight of the vehicle. GM tried to make up for the overworked 3.7L block with a 6 speed tranny that shifts way too much. The drivetrain is the weakest part of an otherwise outstanding vehicle.
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Honda Pilot: Reasons to buy
Dealership practices: The entire process from the test drive to the final sale was handled in a low pressure manner. Dealer service is very nice you are assigned a day and time and the vehicle is promptly serviced at a reasonable price. Very comfortable waiting room
Driving position & visibility: comfortable seats and no blind spots
Exterior styling: Its subjective-I just like the way it looks
Reliability & durability: Its a Honda, they are always rated very high in all the publications i subscribe to
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Mazda CX-9: Reasons not to buy
Driving position & visibility: too many blind spots
Price or payments: deaker not willing to reduce prices-I guess because it was a new model
Reliability & durability: Not familar with Mazda so I was unsure
Discounts & incentives: were not any
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Comparisons: Honda Pilot Not Preferred

Nissan Rogue: Reasons to buy
Fuel economy: Much better than Honda Pilot
Brand reputation & image: Nissan really made a difference in current product offerings
Handling: Responsive & sure
Safety & braking: Great stopping distance
Driving position & visibility: Enjoy the elevated view... visibility... and feeling of control
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Honda Pilot: Reasons not to buy
Quietness: Not quiet
Price or payments: High price
Control design: Not as quiet or responsive as the Rogue
Exterior styling: Blocky look
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GMC Acadia: Reasons to buy
Rear seat room & comfort: Captain chairs makes it easier to bring the dog on long trips.
Quietness: Easier to carry on conversations
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Honda Pilot: Reasons not to buy
Cargo capacity & towing: rear bench seat limits possibilities with dog
Rear seat room & comfort: no captains chairs like in Odyssey
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Hyundai Santa Fe: Reasons to buy
Exterior styling: sleak and smooth
Materials & workmanship: off more than competitor's
Discounts & incentives: aggressive
Reliability & durability: time will tell it is is durable
Safety & braking: top shelf
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Single Vehicle Reviews: Honda Pilot Pros and Cons

Honda Pilot: Reasons to buy
Exterior styling: A rugged looking SUV/CUV in a world of Camry's on stilts. Grill is a bit strange, but this thing at least looks the part.
Interior styling: No wasted space. Everything has a function. Vast storage & nice seats. There seemed to be two cup holders per occupant (seats 7) and plastic parts seemed seemed purposeful rather than bean-counter-ish.
Cargo capacity & towing: Tons of space and 2nd/3rd row fold down flat. Feels bigger inside than it looks outside.
Powertrain performance: Enough power for a family hauler. Eco-drive "cylinder shut down" was a positive, even though the fuel savings seem to depend on driving style and conditions.
Rear seat room & comfort: Rear facing car seat fit well on passenger side and still allowed 6'+ passenger to sit comfortably in front.
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Honda Pilot: Reasons not to buy
Safety & braking: This is a big, heavy vehicle, so poor braking is expected. However, even with lowered expectations, the Pilot braked poorly.
Handling: My one quibble with the Pilot was the steering, which was sloppy and numb on center. Worse than an 83 Cutlass I owned. Did not elicit confidence in maneuvering the vehicle.
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Honda Pilot: Reasons to buy
Ride smoothness: For an SUV it is ecellent.
Exterior styling: Boxy and bold.
Brand reputation & image: Reliability and function are most importnat to me and this suv had lots of both.
Reliability & durability: THis suv is an excellent driving auto. There is a ton of room and perfect for my family of 4. The 3rd row seats are an excellent addition so family and friends can go in one car. THe interior is well thought out and ergonomic. Its an excellent suv.
Interior styling: Comfort, space, leather, function over form.
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Honda Pilot: Reasons not to buy
Fuel economy: Who likes to pay for gas? It is a large vehicle and it suits my needs and my family's needs. So you have to pay to play I guess.
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Honda Pilot: Reasons to buy
Reliability & durability: HOnda just has a good rep
Front seat room: it's much more spacious than the pathfinder or highlander, or mountaineer
Cargo capacity & towing: it's bigger than most competitors
Exterior styling: the 09 design gets away from the minivan/suv look - and it looks more like a beefy suv
Rear seat room & comfort: plenty of room, even in the 3rd row - unlike the highlander
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Honda Pilot: Reasons not to buy
Fuel economy: the most i've averaged is 20.5mpg
Control design: you have to LOOK at them when using them.. - not a good idea while driving!
Discounts & incentives: there aren't any!
Available features: it's basic - i'd like to see more of the mountaineer's fun features incorporated.. like the drivers gas pedal adjustable feature, et.c...
Dealership practices: as they all are - sneaky.
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Honda Pilot: Reasons to buy
Fuel economy: Many of the non-Hybrid SUVs have lower fuel economy that then Pilot. I am getting close to 20 MPG on average. A significant improvement over my previous SUVs.
Ride smoothness: This is one of the most comfortable and smooth riding SUVs I have ever driven.
Audio & nav systems: I am impressed with the voice intigration into the Audio and Nav systems. I would prefer if the limit on the audio outputs were not in place though.
Price or payments: I was able to negotiate a very reasonable price on this pilot. This made the payments very reasonable compared to many comperable SUVs.
Safety & braking: I was looking for a safe SUV for my family. This SUV has a very high safety rating
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Honda Pilot: Reasons not to buy
Dealership practices: I was mislead by the dealership about the annual navigation DVDs. I was told that they came for free, they in fact do not. I am also not pleased with my service experiences so far.
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Honda Pilot: Reasons to buy
Interior styling: Well thought out engineering with all the bells and whistles.
Reliability & durability: honda quality and resale value.
Ride smoothness: Smoothest SUV I have ever had.
Exterior styling: Still looks like an SUV and not some space ship.
Cargo capacity & towing: Perfect for me.
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