[a2Pilot]

So far, there have been only pictures of clean, new Pilots parked safely on various paved surfaces.

Has anyone taken thier Pilot off road yet? I've not yet had the opportunity to do so, but am interested in feedback from others who have. How do Pilots realy handle on trails?

I don't expect to compete with Jeep Wranglers climbing up sharp rocks, but I do think the Pilot should handle basic two-tracks through the woods just fine. :2: Minor hill climbs should be no problem either.

I'll have the opportunity to find out how well my Pilot does later this summer. I hope my expectations are on target! I'll post my feedback and pics then.


What's your experience?

 

[jfrano]

Haven't had the opportunity myself. Would also be interested in how well it does in the snow. The reviews did have an off-road test track, they where pleasantly surprised how well the Pilot did, keeping up with the more traditional truck based SUVs

 

[r_hammel]

I have had mine off-road within the first week of ownership. I went fly-fishing in the NC mountains and it was great. I previously owned a Jeep Gr Cherokee with V8 and all-time 4 wheel drive, and I was not disappointed with the performance of the Pilot. Granted, I wasn't driving through massive mud, creeks, up/down large hills, or over large rocks, but I did leave asphalt, concrete, and gravel behind in getting to some of the streams we fished when following some dirt roads/trails to access some of the out-of-the-way streams.

I know some of you will consider it heresy, but we even left our waders on when moving from one stream to other nearby streams. It all cleaned up beautifully and somehow I managed to escape without any permenant scratches/damage.

 

[smitman]

re offroad

we had our ss EX-L in deep beach sand along the lake huron coast, kinda felt like deep snow. It handled like a dream, hardly blinked in 12-18 inches of sand. I could feel the traction kick in as soon as i hit the deep stuff. If I would do more of this, I'd want to switch the tires though. They are definitely on-road tires.

 

[a2Pilot]

Check out the Gallery for our Off Roading Pics! What fun it was!!

Last weekend we took to the woods of Northern Michigan and found our Pilot was perfectly capable of getting to all our favorite places. We love to explore the woods via two-track trails. The Pilot climbed hills, crossed sand and squeezed between trees without any problem. The all-wheel-drive system functioned flawlessly through the sand. I didn't even need to lock in the rear wheels!

My family is accustomed to bouncing through the woods in our previous vehicles, but the Pilot was very smooth. "Are we really on a trail?"

We did have to adjust to some additional noise. The ground clearance is lower than our previous vehicle (F150), so the woody brush growing in the middle of the trail made louder scratching noises on the underside as we drove over. Also, loose leaves and grass covered the bottom third of the radiator. It was easy to clean off, but good to keep in mind if the engine temp starts to rise.

This is a great vehicle to drive comfortably to work every day, and still have the ability to have a blast off road on the weekend!