2012 Honda Pilot Revealed

Honda’s big three-row SUV, the Pilot, is slated to receive a slew of updates for the 2012 model year. The Japanese automaker has released a single photo of the 2012 Pilot, showing the mild changes for the new year.

Visual tweaks for the 2012 Pilot mainly consist of a smoother, more aerodynamic front fascia. Honda says the interior and dashboard have been restyled, and that the Pilot scores upgraded entertainment and navigation systems. For now, we haven’t been granted a look inside the car, so we’ll likely have to wait some time to check out the interior upgrades.

Honda promises that the new Pilot will be more fuel-efficient than the current model, which scores just 17/23 mpg (city/highway) with front-wheel drive or 16/22 mpg with all-wheel drive. It’s unknown whether the economy increase will be attributed to the more aerodynamic styling or revisions to the Pilot’s drivetrain. The 2011 model features a 250-hp 3.5-liter V-6 engine and a five-speed automatic transmission. Our guess is a six-speed gearbox has been added, seeing as the Acura MDX — a mechanically similar vehicle which rides upon the same architecture — gained such a transmission for the 2010 model year.

With the boxy Element essentially put out to pasture, the Pilot is now Honda’s slowest-selling SUV. Slow is a somewhat relative term: 102,323 buyers took home a Pilot in 2010. Look for the revamped 2012 Honda Pilot will go on sale this September.

Source;
http://rumors.automobilemag.com/honda-shows-redesigned-2012-pilot-promises-improved-interior-63103.html

2009 Honda Pilot Info Site Launched (Canada)

Honda Canada has launched a information site for the 2009 Honda Pilot and has a nice 360 degree 3D view of the exterior and the interior of the vehicle.

Here's the link to play around with;
http://hondapilot.ca/en/index.html

Introducing, The 2009 Honda Pilot

Well, just got filled into what is going on with the Honda Pilot here in Canada, so Here goes;

There will be 6X Trim Levels;
2008 Honda Pilot LX 2WD
2008 Honda Pilot LX 4WD
2008 Honda Pilot EX 4WD
2008 Honda Pilot EX-L 4WD
2008 Honda Pilot EX-L RES (DVD) 4WD
2008 Honda Pilot Touring

The new 2008 Honda Pilot is all around bigger, length, width, height, track, everything. New for 2009 will be that every trim level will get the Heavy-duty automatic transmission cooler, the Heavy-duty power steering cooler, and a integrated Hitch with a cover. The new Pilot can now tow 4,500 pounds on a 4WD model and 3,500 pounds on a 2WD model. All models come equipped with Hill Start Assist timer, which will stop the vehicle from rolling back when switching from brake petal to acceleration petal on a incline, great for pulling boats out of water! The brakes are also bigger and built for towing.

Under the hood (btw, the hood is much lighter now due to the fact that it is now all alluminum) is a 3.5 litre V6 SOHC i-Vtec engine that puts out 250hp and 253torque. The engine will also use the VCM II (Variable Cylinder Management) and will deactivate cylinders to run from 6 to 4 to 3 to maximize gas mileage. This will be like having 3X different engines under the hood. The engine is mated together with a nice 5 speed automatic transmission. Still only Regular fuel. Even though the Pilot is a little bigger and heavier, it is expected to maintain current fuel ratings.

The shifter is now located on the dash console as opposed to on the floor or attatched to the steering column, this makes it out of the way and gives more use of space. The console is massive. Honda has also adopted the 'One Touch Starter' from the Acura RL, you turn the key over just once and it will continue to crank until started for you (crank's for approx. 10 sec). Starting at the EX and up trim levels, Honda has also added Tri-zone Automatic Climate control. Tilt and Telescopic steering wheel is also added throughout the lineup.

Inside the front console between the front two seats is a nice big storage bin that also has a auxillary input jack for a i-pod or a mp3 player. There is also a USB connector in the Touring models only that will charge the i-pod and allow you to interact with the interface of the Navigation screen. You can also hook up normal memory sticks to the USB port as well. There is also a low wattage 110 AC outlet for small devices like a laptop or a Game system.

The rearview camera located in the rearview mirror makes it's way to the 2008 Honda Pilot EX-L and Touring models. The 2008 Honda Odyssey EX-L and up has this feature and is it a nice touch.

Apparently the 3rd row has alot more room, room enough for adults. You wouldn't know it by this photo, but I did see an adult sit in the back of one of these and he did look comfortable.

The 2008 Honda Pilot also features Honda's ACE body structure (Advanced Compatability Engineered) which will disperse the energy of a crash better than ever and also strengthens the roof line. The spare tire is located under the rear of the vehicle. 17" wheels on all models along with wider tires result in added traction to go along with the ABS, EBD, TC, and VSA.

The 3rd row headrests no longer have to come off in order to fold the seats down, they are integrated into the seat now. You'll notice on the base of the drivers side rear pillar that there is a side compartment with a handle, this will swallow a full 4.5 litre jug of washer fluid with room to spare, By The Way, 6.5 litres of washer fluid can now be held in the resevoir.

Where the 3rd row headrests were held before is now much larger and deeper and has approx. 79 litres of space, perfect for a small stroller or some golf clubs, not to mention what is in the photo. The tailgate on the Touring model is powered.

Other bits of info:

-The glass in the EX-L and the Touring models are called 'accoustic glass', which is 2 sheets of glass put together with a special resin sandwiched between to act as a sound dampener.

-Headlights Auto On/Off on ALL trim levels

-2nd and third row heating ducts.

-Moonroof with Tilt feature on Leather models only.

-XM Satellite radio on Leather models only.

-Touring model now has 2nd row heated leather seats.

Anyway I can't wait to see this now.

Honda's 2009 Pilot Spec's

For all us Canadians, keep in mind that the gas mileage numbers are in US gallons, the mileage if it is 1mpg better should look like this, 21mpg city/29mpg hwy. Eh.

Car and Driver's First Impressions of the 2009 Honda Pilot

Well the reviews are starting to pour in on the 2009 Honda Pilot, and most what they have to say has been positive. Here goes;

2009 Honda Pilot - First Drive Review
Honda reskins and rethinks its brilliantly packaged eight-passenger SUV.
BY DAVE VANDERWERP April 2008

When the Pilot launched in 2002 as an ’03 model, it was a little ahead of its time. Back then, trucky, body-on-frame SUVs such as the Ford Explorer were the big sellers, and fuel economy wasn’t in the forefront of anyone’s mind. The Pilot’s innovative beginnings on the Odyssey minivan’s unibody architecture weren’t due to Honda’s superior foresight, however; the company simply didn’t have a body-on-frame platform to start with. So the Pilot launched by default as what is, in today’s vernacular, a crossover.

An intelligently packaged three-row, eight-passenger SUV, the Pilot was lighter and more efficient than the competition, as well as a smooth on-road driver, grabbing the large-SUV award at our annual 5Best Trucks competition six years in a row.

The competition took notice, and recently there has been an influx of competitors that have squarely targeted the Pilot: specifically, the Mazda CX-9 and GM’s quartet of large utes, the GMC Acadia, the Saturn Outlook, the Buick Enclave, and the Chevy Traverse.

Our current large-SUV champ in this ever-growing three-row class is the sporty CX-9, which knocked the Pilot off the podium for 2008. Naturally, Honda has rethought and updated the Pilot for 2009 to stay in the hunt.

Sticking to Its Sensibilities

This isn’t a radical redesign, as Honda had the formula pretty well nailed from the start. However, its customers clamored for some additional space, particularly in the third row and the cargo area. To that end, the ’09 Pilot gets a 2.9-inch stretch to both wheelbase and overall length and a one-inch gain in width and height, but it’s still about nine inches shorter than the CX-9 and the GM utes.

The new Pilot gets a bolder front end—anything is bolder than the current wallflower—that doesn’t look as awkward in person as it does in some of the photos. But this ute is all about function. It forgoes the recent trend of sportier, on-road-only SUVs and retains a high roofline to maximize headroom and cargo space, and it has a blocky shape that enables the rear cargo hold to accept four-foot-wide sheets of plywood. Ground clearance remains at eight inches to enable the light off-roading Honda says its customers demand. All Pilots come with a trailer hitch, and four-wheel-drive models can tow 4500 pounds (3500 for two-wheel-drive models). This practical approach leaves the similarly sized Acura MDX for buyers willing to pay more and sacrifice functionality for style, says Honda.

A redesigned interior features a see-through gauge cluster as well as a button-intensive center stack. The available navigation runs on a sharp eight-inch screen, but we think it’s a step backward to ditch friendly touch-screen controls for the corporate multifunction knob that’s spreading throughout Honda’s lineup.

Overall, we were unimpressed with the quality and fit and finish of the new Pilot’s interior, especially considering Honda representatives assured us that the preproduction cars we drove were very close to production intent. The dashboard plastics and the climate-control buttons come across as low-cost, and there are more cut-lines and larger gaps between panels than expected. This leaves a general impression that Honda is trying to squeeze a few bucks out of the interior.

The driver’s seat slides back farther than before—a welcome addition for this six-foot-five test driver who can now find complete comfort—and the steering wheel telescopes in addition to tilting.

The spacious second row benefits from an additional 1.1 inches of legroom and 0.8 inch of shoulder room that, Honda says, enables it to accommodate three car seats. It also slides forward farther to ease access to the way back.

The third row grows the most, with an additional 1.9 inches of legroom and a seat that’s positioned higher than before to better accommodate larger passengers. As far as third rows go, it’s a good one, but people much over six feet still won’t want to do much time back there.

Space behind the third row has grown by two cubic feet, three if you include the larger under-the-floor storage bin. That bin is even more useful now that the third-row headrests don’t have to be removed and stored there to fold the row flat.

Largely Unchanged Mechanicals

All Pilots are still powered by a 3.5-liter V-6, although it has received a few efficiency upgrades including a two-stage magnesium intake, a bump in compression ratio to 10.5:1, and a further evolution of the company’s cylinder deactivation technology. Power is up slightly to 250 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque, and the engine can operate on three, four, or all six cylinders (previously, it could only switch between three and six), which enables it to run in reduced-cylinder modes more often.

To fight vibrations that three- and four-cylinder operation produces, the Pilot gets new active engine mounts, noise-canceling vibes through the stereo system, and a torque converter with an additional damping spring. It’s smooth enough that the switching among modes is imperceptible.

The front and rear disc brakes are slightly upsized. The Pilot’s available full-time four-wheel drive, strut-front and multilink-rear independent suspension, and five-speed automatic are largely unchanged, although the shifter has been moved to a more out-of-the way dash location and still doesn’t feature manumatic control. When asked about the Pilot’s retaining a five-speed automatic while much of the competition is sporting six or more ratios, Honda answered “never say never” for the possibility of a six-speed transmission, but in the case of the Pilot, the company claims that adding ratios would reduce the time the engine spends in reduced-cylinder mode and wouldn’t boost fuel economy.

With the more-efficient engine, as well as lower-rolling-resistance tires (now 17s instead of 16s) and a slight improvement in drag coefficient, the ’09 Pilot boosts fuel-economy numbers by one or two to 17 mpg city and 23 highway for 2WD models and 16/22 for 4WD, and it runs on regular fuel. That’s impressive considering the size and weight gains. At 4350-to-4600 pounds, the ’09s are roughly 50 to 75 pounds heavier than the outgoing model.

Better Road Manners
Behind the wheel the new car is better in just about every way. Gone from the steering is the slight dead spot on-center, and the ride has been stiffened appropriately, getting rid of the previous car’s somewhat mushy-soft behavior. Acceleration feels similar (figure on 0-to-60 mph in the mid-seven-second range), there’s still some torque steer when accelerating vigorously out of corners (even in 4WD models), and the steering isn’t nearly as quick nor the tires as grippy as in such sporty wannabes as the Mazda CX-9. Is this a problem? Probably not, considering the Pilot’s mainstream, family-oriented buyers. The brake pedal is firm but forgiving. The Pilot might not be fun to drive in the thrilling sense, but knowing that you made a rational, intelligent choice is fun in its own right.

Safe, Safe, Safe
Honda expects to receive top ratings from all third-party crash testing, thanks to the Pilot’s beefed-up structure, and the Pilot comes with standard front-, side-, and three-row curtain airbags. Stability control, which includes traction control and anti-lock brakes, is also standard.

The model lineup is similar, starting with the base LX. The EX adds alloy wheels, three-zone automatic climate control, a power driver’s seat, and a six-CD changer. The EX-L trim adds leather, a sunroof, and a rear backup camera displayed in the rearview mirror. A new, top-of-the-line Touring model adds navigation, Bluetooth and iPod-friendly USB connectivity, and a previously unavailable power liftgate. Rear-seat DVD entertainment is available on the EX-L and Touring.

Honda plans to sell about 140,000 Pilots a year. They are built in its Lincoln, Alabama, facility and will arrive at dealers in May, starting at about $28,000 and stretching to $40,000 for the fully loaded Limited trim.

Copyright ©2007 Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc.

Here's the link to the article;

http://www.caranddriver.com/layout/set/print/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/honda_acura_central/2009_honda_pilot_first_drive_review

More Shots of the 2009 Honda Pilot from Autoblog.com

One this last photo, it's nice to see dual exhaust finally make it's way to the Pilot.

Link;
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/09/spy-shots-2009-honda-pilot/

Car & Driver Snags First Photo's of the Production 2009 Honda Pilot

Here's a pic comparing the 2008 bodystyle (Right) to the new 2009 (left).

"BY ALISA PRIDDLE, PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADAM KOLINTROV April 2008

As Honda prepares to sell the second-generation of its eight-passenger workhorse this spring, we capture the crossover running around a suburb of Detroit and we like what we see.
The original Pilot offers burst onto the scene in 2002 as a 2003 model, and quickly won over buyers. But there are many more competitors this time around. To that end, the new Pilot was designed to offer more versatility and cabin configurability.
Under the hood is Honda’s refined V-6 engine with the same updated Variable Cylinder Management as found on the Accord's 265-hp, 3.5-liter V-6, enabling it to run on six, four, or three cylinders depending on conditions. Not only will the SUV be more fuel efficient, but we expect a bump in towing capability, as well.
The 2009 Pilot is the latest to be designed in accordance with Honda's Advanced Compatibility Engineering mandate, intended to facilitate better crash compatibility with automobiles large and small. In fact, Honda claims that the new Pilot will be nothing short of the best in class in the safety department but, once again, offered few details about exactly what it will offer.
As for the design, the production model doesn’t appear to have changed much from the concept. The beveled, bolt-upright windows add appreciable depth and intrigue, and the 3-D rear end is classy and simple. The front end is the only area of controversy, although it's suitably macho and flies in the face of the softer designs we've been seeing emerge on such crossovers as the Nissan Murano and Toyota Highlander. "

Here's the link;
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/car_shopping/suvs_family_haulers/2009_honda_pilot_spied

Interior Pic's of the 2009 Honda Pilot Prototype

www.vtec.net has some excellent interior shots of the 2009 Honda Pilot Prototype at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. I like how they changed the position of the shifter. Much nicer. All indications lead me to believe that this is going to be a sharp reflection of what the production version will look like.

2009 Honda Pilot Prototype at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show

Well, here we have it, the 2009 Honda Pilot Prototype. I can't believe that Honda was able to keep this a secret for so long, alot of the other manufacturer's had alot of 'leaked' photos.

Here's a write up from Honda;
"Introducing a new prototype vehicle from Honda, packed with smart, practical features and advanced safety, fuel-efficiency and convenience technologies. The prototype of the next-generation Honda Pilot was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. The Pilot redefined the midsized SUV with clean lines, better on-road handling and a more spacious interior, and the prototype promises to up the ante with even more to love."

Here's a link to the Official Site;
http://automobiles.honda.com/2009-prototype-pilot/

Popular Mechanics had a nice write up on the vehicle;
"DETROIT — Honda showed a more smoothly-styled Pilot crossover SUV Prototype at Detroit this afternoon. It’s slated for introduction as a 2009 model and we’re guessing it’s pretty close, if not identical, to the vehicle we’ll see in Honda stores late this summer or early fall. The Pilot has been restyled to be more polished than the rather bland-looking current Pilot introduced back in 2003, and there are plenty of detail changes on the inside as well.

The middle and third row seats, which both hold three passengers, fold flat into the floor for cargo hauling. You can even split the seats 60/40 for the ability to haul long packages and people together. The engine uses variable-displacement technology for improved economy. Previously, the 244-hp, 3.5-liter V6 engine would shut down three cylinders when power demands were modest, like at lower speeds on flat terrain. The ’09 Pilot uses a more sophisticated system that will run as a 3-, 4- or 6-cylinder engine. Honda says the goal is to more closely match the engine displacement to the need for speed at any moment. As usual for Honda, smart idea.

Honda even claims the Pilot’s AWD system will be effective in “medium-duty” off-road conditions. But Honda’s “medium-duty” really means light-duty. The lack of ground clearance and low range will likely restrict the new Pilot, like the old, to many of the same dirt trails other crossover SUVs travel.

On the safety front, quite literally, Honda says the new Pilot will reduce pedestrian injuries. The frontend is designed to absorb impact and lessen injuries in the event of a pedestrian/vehicle accident. City dwellers that walk to work will surely appreciate that feature. —Mike Allen"

Here's the link to that one;
http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4244647.html

Here's a link to a previous article of what we know so far about the vehicle;
http://thehondaportal.blogspot.com/2008/01/2009-honda-pilot-what-we-know-so-far.html