[YipMan_Style]

I'm on my 2nd Odyssey. And each time, we shop it against the Pilot. Granted I've not driving the current 2016+, we test driven the past generations. So thinking about the Pilot again.

I'll ask the question this way, do you feel the body of the Pilot to be rigid? However solid an Odyssey feel, obviously, an Odyssey is less rigid because there is basically a big hole in the middle.

Does the Pilot feel "more rigid" like a sedan? Like a big Accord?

I'm asking because these are feels only an owner can answer. And does not really show on a test drive.

The Odyssey and the Pilot are basically the same vehicle, just wondering if they do feel different long term, and with real world use.

 

[mitico7327]

I have a 2012 Ody (wife) and a 2014 Pilot (me). I dont feel any difference in terms of rigid. The Ody has a softer ride, you sit much taller in the Pilot. Generally speaking I feel more comfortable driving the Pilot, there is more legroom and shoulder room IMO.

Not sure how would I judge which car is more solid.

 

[KC_703]

The 2016 Pilot handles really well. The mostly front wheel drive makes it react like a sedan... no understeer as with a RWD.

The ride is plush, you don't feel every grain of the road like in a roadster.

Its built on a car-frame (unibody) versus a truck frame... many consider this feature to be the cross-over aspect of the vehicle. To my knowledge, the Odyssey frame is also unibody which would make it comparable to the Pilot.

Not sure if that answers the original question... you'd really have to test drive both vehicles and determine for yourself. The only other aspect would be slightly higher ride height contributing to more roll in the chassis...

 

[tachi1247]

The 2016 Pilot handles really well. The mostly front wheel drive makes it react like a sedan... no understeer as with a RWD.

Understeer had nothing to do with RWD or FWD. It has to do with how the car's suspension is setup and the amount of grip at each axle. All manufacturers dial in a bit of understeer because it is more easily managed by your average driver compared to the alternative which would be oversteer which is where the rear end rotates.

If anything, most FWD cars are tuned for a greater amount of understeer than RWD vehicles since almost every RWD on the market has sporting intentions. They tend to be more neutral in handling compared to your average fwd sedan.

 

[Wanderer]

Understeer had nothing to do with RWD or FWD. It has to do with how the car's suspension is setup and the amount of grip at each axle. All manufacturers dial in a bit of understeer because it is more easily managed by your average driver compared to the alternative which would be oversteer which is where the rear end rotates.

If anything, most FWD cars are tuned for a greater amount of understeer than RWD vehicles since almost every RWD on the market has sporting intentions. They tend to be more neutral in handling compared to your average fwd sedan.

I mostly agree, but how a vehicle reacts to power in a turn, especially in slippery conditions, has everything to do with RWD vs FWD. All other things being equal, a RWD understeers power-off and oversteers power-on. A FWD oversteers power-off and understeers power-on. An AWD/4WD does some complicated mixture, which can be really entertaining if you are playing on purpose, or really, really scary. Modern stability control systems take both the fun and the terror out of it, for the most part...

But back to the OP's question, I think body rigidity of 3rd-gen Pilot and MDX are quite good. Pilot is more softly sprung than MDX, so it doesn't benefit quite as much in terms of handling. A squirmy chassis throws all the rules of chassis tuning right out the window... totally unpredictable. I find the handling of both our Pilot and our MDX to be very predictable.

Good engines and solid chassis designs gave Honda an entry into the auto business and have kept them competitive. I hope they never forget.

 

[norb]

Have you seen where the engine is on a Pilot/Odyssey/MDX, heck any Honda basically, the engine hangs in front of the front axle line.

I suspect that the new Pilot has better rigidity than the current Odyssey, but the new Odyssey is coming out next year, so it'll probably be the same as the Pilot's. Where is the big hole in the middle of the Odyssey?

 

[Djaxx]

Where is the big hole in the middle of the Odyssey?

The sliding doors.

 

[pdxChen]

The body of 2016 Pilot has a lot of ultra high strength steel in its frame, thus allowing it to shed 300 pounds from previous generation. It does feel very solid when it is being driven.

(see 2016 Honda Pilot only 34.5% mild steel, has very specific repair dos and don’ts | Repairer Driven News)

 

[Chekraze]

Agree. Has a solid feel. Even a test drive made it obvious to us the solidity and ride/handling was superior. Test drive an AWD Pilot and accelerate into a turn. It's pretty impressive IMO


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[Yoda]

The body of 2016 Pilot has a lot of ultra high strength steel in its frame, thus allowing it to shed 300 pounds from previous generation. It does feel very solid when it is being driven.

(see 2016 Honda Pilot only 34.5% mild steel, has very specific repair dos and don’ts | Repairer Driven News)

Interesting read. Thanks for sharing this with us! :29:

 

[tachi1247]

The body of 2016 Pilot has a lot of ultra high strength steel in its frame, thus allowing it to shed 300 pounds from previous generation. It does feel very solid when it is being driven.

(see 2016 Honda Pilot only 34.5% mild steel, has very specific repair dos and don’ts | Repairer Driven News)

Definitely interesting. So is that repair document from Honda that is linked within that article.

I find it odd that the repair document says that the ex-l does NOT use acoustic windshield glass like the touring and elite do. It is listed as a feature on the specifications page per the Honda usa website. Also kind of surprised that Honda uses thicker glass for the rear doors on those upper trims presumably for better sound insulation. Guess every penny counts when your building vehicles on this scale, I would have presumed it would be cheaper just to make one window for use in all of the trims if they were both going to be standard tempered glass.