We could not have managed a camping trip without the amazing 2012 Honda Pilot Touring edition. This SUV gave us the room for all our stuff without taking away the comfort of the passengers – my family. This is great vehicle for people like me who love the feel of a truck with all the zip and power of a car that holds all your kids and all your stuff, and still looks cool.
The Pilot carries EIGHT people comfortably and still leaves you enough cargo space for any sort of cargo you may have, dogs included. It has 4 spots for the Latch system for car seats, with 3 in the 2nd row and one in the back. Both rows have a 6/40 split for versatility. When we were packing for our trip, we folded the 3rd row down and the kids were perfectly happy all in a row – car seat in the middle – of the 2nd row. The built in DVD player and wireless headphones didn’t hurt either.
Did I mention the DVD player? Yes, the Touring edition rocks. Not only does it have a great DVD player, but with the assortment of plugs, you could actually bring along your fave video game console right in the car. We had two sets of the wireless headphones, but there are outlets for wired one’s to add too and they worked just fine. We in the front didn’t have to bother with any of that, and were perfectly happy with our choice of XM, AM/FM, CD, HARD DRIVE, or MP3/iPod music that can be voice activated, allowing for fabulous hands free enjoyment. The hands free technology also extends to the Bluetooth phone system and the navigation system too. Though I did find the Nav a big clunky, but that is probably more about me than the car.
I find with Honda that it isn’t necessarily what you see that makes the car worthwhile. Honda has a reputation of making safe, reliable and long lasting vehicles. With solid frame construction, six standard air bags, vehicle stability assist (VSA), hill start assist, and tire pressure monitoring; the Pilot is all about making your drive easier and safer. The Pilot is a big vehicle, but it doesn’t feel that way. It was very nimble on the highway and in town. The maneuverability is great, especially when we were on the dirt road mountain switchbacks at Manning Park. It has great steering for a larger vehicle.
I also found for an SUV of this size that it was pretty good with the mileage. We used about half a tank on our road trip and that was about $65 to fill up. The Pilot has something call Variable Cylinder Management on its engine. This system intuitively activates or deactivates the operating cylinders. When you need maximum horsepower, the engine operates on all six cylinders. When you need moderate horsepower, the engine can operate on four. And when horsepower isn’t required, the system can operate on three cylinders. I could feel it powering down on the freeway and back again on the hills.
I loved the auto lift rear door and the fact that you can open the rear window too. I also loved the hidden storage at the back; the room for stuff is amazing. In fact, there really are too many features to mention. I could go on and on. The kids loved the built in sun screens on the windows and the fact that the second row has great AC that they can control. The list goes on and on.
As you can tell, I really enjoyed driving the Pilot and the kids enjoyed riding in it too. Next up with be the lovely people mover; the Honda Odyssey. Stay tuned to see what we thought about that ride.
[…] helped with our road trips before, and our 2012 camping trip was done in style with the help of the Pilot. The Pilot was and still is one of my TOP vehicles, but wow, the Odyssey did an incredible job on […]