First impressions

[scottmac]

Ok. I know I won't get the exposure in this thread that I would under General but I want to get the Canadian contingent a little more vocal.

Picked up my Pilot on Wednesday. Was able to haggle an additional $500 (Canadain, about $2.50 us) off because I agrred to take the Blue. It will have a hard time selling in Calgary. NO offense to those who like the colour. At any rate my wife and I are interested in the interior colour anyway. We have 4 kids and wanted the grey not the sandle.

What I need to know. How many km's per tank can we espect? Are any of the Canadians having trouble like our neighbours below the 49?


Here are my first imprseeions. Seating very uncomfortable for driving. I hope it's just an adjustment thing and I have not found the right spot.
Third row not as bad getting into as I thought.
Quality overall seems very good.
Don't like the look of the vinyl but other material looks great.
Headroom fabulous
ability to park, great.
ride is fantastic
Turning radius rocks
Stereo great
climate control awesome
cargo. fit in 2 sets of gold clubs without putting down the third row
Interoir amenities are well laid out. In particular I like the centre console and the interior lights
Overall I am very satisfied. Although I should be when you consider the amount you have to pay for one of these things

[smitman]

I get about 550KM's on our 66 L tank. Although I haven't watched it as closely as I should.

We just towed a camping trailer and I got about 13.2L/100KM for the full tank.
A/C was used off and on, and I used 89 unleaded.

[mdelnin]

First impressions pretty much the same as yours Scottmac with a couple of additions:

- Plastic seems to scratch easily and is quite noticable in saddle colour. May be the plastic or simply the colour . . . all of our previous Hondas have had dark interior plastic. Our Pilot already has a couple of "zings" on the centre console next to the driver seat. We finally figured out they're coming from my wife's ring . . . it happens when she does up her seat belt.

- A/C vents in back seat aren't very good quality. One keeps popping out of its mount . . . we'll see what the dealer can do with it.

- I've noticed that the driver's seat clicks (I think it is shifting slightly) when I turn sharp corners. Again, a job for the dealer.

- Cargo capacity is great . . . lots of room for our family of 3 (me, wife and 12-year old) plus all the toys we like to bring along when we travel. Also have a hitch so we can mount bikes on rack.

- Mileage - After just under 3000 km (2000 miles) to date, we've been averaging just under 30 MPG (Canadian gallon) on highway. We've been getting between 550 and 600 km per tank for highway driving.

I'll share more observations as I make them . . .

[PChiu]

I have most of my deep scratches in the cargo area.

The 1st one was within 2 days, when my wife loaded up the kid's bland new bicycle. It is deep, next to the recessed latch area inside the car.

The other are is the cargo cover area, if you have the cover you know not that easy to position the assenble horizontally to slide into the bracket.
When you think you can slide on the vertical rear panel and into the holding bracket, then you get all scratched up.

It is the componet of the plastic itself, not "soft' enough ( do not know the right word) to absord any scratch. My ex-Volvo wagon with cargo cover can stand more abuse then that.

[gopilot]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mdelnin
[B]First impressions pretty much the same as yours Scottmac with a couple of additions:

- Plastic seems to scratch easily and is quite noticable in saddle colour. May be the plastic or simply the colour . . . all of our previous Hondas have had dark interior plastic. Our Pilot already has a couple of "zings" on the centre console next to the driver seat. We finally figured out they're coming from my wife's ring . . . it happens when she does up her seat belt.

- A/C vents in back seat aren't very good quality. One keeps popping out of its mount . . . we'll see what the dealer can do with it.

- Hi there, yes, regarding the scratchy interior, I noticed that right away, the centre console does scratch really easy, (wonder if there is a product we can put on it to stop the scratching, or we have to keep the center door open all the time?!?!)

and those cheap ac vents in back.. Honda has to do something with those...

I took a pilot out for a 1 hour test drive and I loved it..... really wanted to wait till 2004 but I heard from so many sources it is going to go up about 5 to 6 thousand dollars (canadain) so about 3-4 U.S.

I love Honda products, but the pilot surprises me in interior quality and hope Honda does not continue to save money in 2004, or us Honda lovers will probably buy something else]


take care

rob

[SkyPilot]

Great to see some can-con here!

I find I get about 500 Km per tank. Maybe I do more city driving, or maybe I just have a heavy foot

I was pleasantly surprised by the interior quality of the Pilot. I like it! It's not exactly luxurious, but it's very pleasant. I have a few minor nits.

I seem to have the "scrunching" noise, but only occassionally. It's not really that bothersome, except I notice it since everyone's been talking about it.

The edge of the front console bin, where the leather meets the plastic is quite sharp! I have scratched my elbows on this a few times. I'm going to ask the dealer to do something about that.

I also found that the seatbelt on the middle car seat was really difficult to get done up tight. (I have another thread on this). This is irksome.

On the whole, I love the smooth ride, and the tight turning radius definitely does rock! This is something that always bothers me about SUVs, and it makes this cruck feel much smaller. No problems in parking lots. Way to go Honda!