[CarolinaPilot]

Let me begin by saying I am die hard Honda fan. I loved owning and driving the Pilot and Ridgeline. My wife has been driving an 97 Subie Outback for the past 157K miles. We live in ice and snow country. The Subie AWD simply kicks butt out in the snow and ice when compared to driving the Honda and Jeep products in our garage to work. The Subie is more responsive and just feels better "planted" in the snow and on wet weather roads. We run top of the line tires on all our vehicles. She will drive this Subie AWD car till the wheels fall off. Just my $.02.

 

[jonaz]

We own a 2003 Honda Pilot 4wd and a 2008 Suburu Impreza AWD. We live in the mountains at almost 6000' elevation, and my wife and me both commute down the mountain to work. She just about always prefers to take the Suburu. Its lower, feels more in control in ice and snow and the back end doesnt kick out like it does in our Pilot. Getting out of our driveway is a different story... in deep snow, the Pilot is by far better due to larger wheels, more ground clearance and the VTM lock. At least when the Suburu gets stuck, it doesnt take very much to get it unstuck.

 

[088123]

She just about always prefers to take the Suburu. Its lower, feels more in control in ice and snow and the back end doesnt kick out like it does in our Pilot.

We are Honda devotees, and we own a 2007 Pilot and a 2005 Subaru Outback. Based upon our experiences, We agree that the Subaru is better in the worst conditions. Keep in mind that tires make a huge difference.

Subaru has several different 4wd systems. Ours puts down power separately to diagonal wheels (drivers side front/pass. side rear and vice versa). No traction control. It was originally skiddish -- but that year of Outback had an issue with rear alignment which pushed the rear end out driving in slick conditions. Once diagnosed and corrected, it has been rock solid in ice, snow, compact snow, and slush with its Nokian WRG2 tires. When we had to get the hospital in the snow, we took the Subaru.

The Pilot, currently on Mich. M+S2s, is slightly less stable. Part of it is weight. Part of it is a higher center of gravity. Part of it is the 4wd system. It does well in all but the worst winter weather as compared to the Subaru. We drive our Pilot skiing through terrible conditions, and it performs perfectly (this weekend: 13 degree weather, compact ice and snow, chains required in the mountain pass). We've used the VTM lock with the traction control once to drive out of a snowy slope area after a foot and 1/2 of snow. No problem. But it just is not a rock solid as the Subaru, even though our Outback doesn't have traction control.

I should add that I've focused on winter driving b/c of the test. The Subaru performs very well in more traditional 4wd territory -- for us that's on mountain backtracks in various conditions. I wouldn't take it into Jeep territory where you need locking differentials, but it keeps up with the terrain we throw at it.

 

[088123]

I kind of like this video comparison of the various drive systems vs. Subaru, even though it is a marketing video.

Subaru AWD vs Competition

I remember watching another video of Honda's 4wd system where one wheel was off the road. Can't remember if it was a Pilot or CRV. The system actually shut down because it was working so hard to get power to the wheel that was not in contact with anything (and eliminating the power to the other wheels). The solution is to turn off the traction control. Unfortunately, I cannot locate that video now.

 

[Jupeter]

Just joined forum, seeing as I am shopping used Pilots; have an 03 Odyssey. I need(or want) a 4WD for Carolina beach driving and WVa mountain dirt road expeditions-will VTM system truly carry me through or just get me, as Garrison Keillor said once, stuck further off the road? Just drove an 06 EX-L, 95K miles, good condition, smooth ride, engine no strange noises, BUT at 65mph+ on smooth pavement, a low non vibration hum or rumble-differential maybe-mechanical or fluid? Please clue me in.

 

[mclairmo]

I own a 05 Pilot and 06 Subaru Legacy. Love them both and both are very capable in the bad weather. The Subie sure is better on mileage and handles like it's on rails. Very solid and very well built but its also lower to the ground and has much less room. The Pilot has the ground clearance and VTM4 lock feature which is great for when stuck. If you don't need the extra room and if you don't go off road at all, the Subie should be fine. It will cost less to own in the long run. Also, my Pilot blew the ECM shortly after I bought it new and left me stranded (which I realize is rare). My Subie has never stranded me, though it did need a new front wheel bearing. Subarus are very safe and dependable IMO.

 

[jonshonda]

I really think you guys are compairing apples and oranges here. The Subaru is a CAR!! Much lower center of gravity, and I hope it weighs less. A car will almost always feel better to drive in snow type situations because of its size. It feels "stuck" to the road because of its mass, and again, lower center of gravity. The only time the Pilot might "feel" better in the snow, is when ground clearance is an issue. We had 22" of snow a while back...tried the CRV with full snows, got stuck. Took out the Pilot with Firestone all seanons, and motored off.

I am more of a fan of the CRV's Realtime because there is not a stupid computer to override a simple mechanical operation. The Pilot upsets me when it turns a simple "power on, dig me out" situation into a complicated torque confused mess.

 

[keepclam]

Due to a growing family, I switched from a 2006 Outback 3.0R to a 2006 Pilot EX-L last year. Both safe, reliable, great resale, and can tackle US Forest Service roads to trailheads. The Pilot does fine enough and is a great family hauler, but the Outback had superior handling & traction... much more a driver's car. In rain & snow I can get wheel spin much easier on the Pilot, even with traction control, than I did on the Outback without traction control. (New Outbacks do have traction control, btw.) I even put the same Nokian WRG2 tires on both vehicles. Both vehicles had very similar HP & torque ratings, but Pilot was somewhere over 800lbs heavier.

I'll also add that - surprisingly to me - Outback's ground clearance is greater than Pilot's, at least when I was comparing '06 models to each other. (Both have been redesigned since.) Pretty sure Pilot has better angles of ascent/departure, though.

For those that like to do their research, Subaru actually uses 3 different AWD systems in their vehicles, though they are all Symmetrical AWD. I have had both the standard front-bias and the rear-bias VTD system, and both worked well... rear-bias VTD paired w/6-cyl engine was spectacular, though, from both traction and fun factors.
Here's the scoop directly from Subaru on their 3 systems: SUBARU | Subaru Technology | Symmetrical AWD

 

[dirk877]

I live in the Rocky Mountains at 8500' elevation with a 2005 EX at 150k.

In the winter I use Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2 (Studless Ice) tires and they perform quite well.

This is Subaru country and most residents swear by them (rarely at them).

The VTM-4 system in the Pilot would be much more useful if it supported the D3/D4 gears.

My next car will probably be a Subaru (Forester/Tribeca) unless future Pilot's adopt the new MDX 4wd system.

I am hoping for a Subaru/Honda hybrid suv in light of future petroleum costs.

I concur the higher center of gravity significantly affects the comparision of 4wd systems in Honda SUV's, Subaru SUV's, and Subaru cars.

 

[xGS]

Subaru ... has been rock solid in ice, snow, compact snow, and slush with its Nokian WRG2 tires.

The Pilot, currently on Mich. M+S2s, is slightly less stable.

Here's a comparison (done with a pair of Ridgelines) of the difference between the LTX M/S (good all-season) and actual winter tires:

YouTube - Winter Tire Demonstration - Module 2 of 6

 

[TWOPUTT]

I currently own a 2004 Subaru Forester and 2006 Honda Pilot and my husband has a 2006 Forester. I previously owned a 2000 Subaru Legacy wagon which I sold to a friend and now is running with over 200,000 miles on it. The best AWD of the bunch goes to the Legacy Wagon. All work well, but that Legacy was like glue on bad roads and snow and ice.
The pilot became a much better bad weather vehicle when I switched to Cross Terrain tires. I would figure out what else you need in a vehicle. The Pilot is much bigger and powerful but will get worse gas mileage. Also, test drive the Forester's, they are not as comfortable as a car or the Pilot. Really comparing apples and oranges. The Forester is more comparable to a CRV or RAV4.

 

[havmann22]

Two snow storms in 3 months, the first 20+ inches, and the most recent 18+ inches and my 2004 Honda Pilot EXL drove right through the unplow snow. I had to venture out during both storms in addition with the smaller streets not being plowed, wet heavy sticky snow, and managed to get to where I was going with no problem, all the while never having to engage the VTM 4wd system. I have never driven a Subaru but have heard many great things regarding the vehicle, but I found out during these two blizzards that my Pilot is certainly a beast of a vehicle and puts my mind at ease when I or my wife are driving through a snow storm with our four kids in tow. This is our first vehicle with AWD/4WD/whatever you really call this system on our the Pilot, and if there are better AWD/4WD systems out there, I certainly got a bargain for what I paid for for my Pilot.

 

[cwa107]

Two snow storms in 3 months, the first 20+ inches, and the most recent 18+ inches and my 2004 Honda Pilot EXL drove right through the unplow snow. I had to venture out during both storms in addition with the smaller streets not being plowed, wet heavy sticky snow, and managed to get to where I was going with no problem, all the while never having to engage the VTM 4wd system. I have never driven a Subaru but have heard many great things regarding the vehicle, but I found out during these two blizzards that my Pilot is certainly a beast of a vehicle and puts my mind at ease when I or my wife are driving through a snow storm with our four kids in tow. This is our first vehicle with AWD/4WD/whatever you really call this system on our the Pilot, and if there are better AWD/4WD systems out there, I certainly got a bargain for what I paid for for my Pilot.

Just a quick note as I think you may misunderstand the system a bit. VTM-4 is on *always*. It will engage the rear wheels when accelerating from a stop and when underway, it will engage them as the wheels slip.

The control you see on the dash can be confusing. It reads "VTM-4 LOCK", which is exactly what it says - it applies torque front and rear equally (not necessarily a good thing depending on conditions) and only works under 17MPH and in selector positions 1 and 2. It is only used for completely STUCK conditions.