First Road Trip Impressions (Pilot 12')

[DCPiloteer]

So my wife and I went out to West Virginia this weekend to go see some family. First road trip, and figured it would give us a really good idea of how the car would be....here are some of my impressions in the phases of the trip

City (stop & go): Performs like most SUVs do, nothing really spectacular nor earthshaking to say....

Interstate (driving long periods of time): Our former road trip car was an 08' CRV, and by comparison, the road noise is a lot less. I know to prior versions of the Pilot this was a problem, but the 12' Pilot does a great job. Smooth ride!

Route 33 (twisty roads, going up and down, big grade differences): This is where I think the Pilot really showed its colors. The handling of the car, as far as turn was good (not bad, not great). I don't know if I just had a higher standard in my head, but with a V6, I thought I would get some better acceleration, not horrible but not bragging about it either. I will say if there was one thing I had to complain about, was the braking. It wasn't horrible beyond belief, but it was bad.

Gas Mileage: Over a 300 mile trip, with stop & go, long interstate runs, and mountain roads, it came to about 21.2 mpg. I've heard worse MPG for some SUVs, and with it being a 4x4, knowing what I was getting into, I'm more than happy with that.

[1YESfan]

I don't want to go off topic but I feel the weakest link on my 11 ( and really only issue) are the brakes and really should have had the dealership install some steel-braided brakelines before I took delivery. But then again, I don't see myself taking the Pilot to the track. Not sure how much improved power difference in the 12 but I had read that the v6 Accord had/has I think 25 more h.p. than the 09-11 pilots and , other than gas milage, some reviewers were qustioning less power for a heavier and more duty-related s.u.v..

Glad you are enjoying your new Pilot. :-)

[DCPiloteer]

I don't know what it is about the Pilot, but just sitting in the captains chair, it feels fun to just drive that car. You have the Touring edition, so you can relate (I got the EX-L with Navi), but just all the buttons are fun to play with.

I will say more than once I ended up hitting my hand on the gear shift more than I would have liked. And for some reason, blame it on my stupidity, I could have swore at least once or twice I mistaken the volume button for the temp control.

My wife made the comment that she slept better in the Pilot than the CRV, and that is probably the most important thing LOL...