Thanks for the link, I posted about this the other day but couldn't find a link so I was going off the article from the magazine itself. It's just one data point but the Pilot's score was poor. Despite the gorgeous new front end I always said the package seemed dated out of the box. Even the invincible Kia has been surpassed. That Toyota Hybrid Max puts down some amazing numbers but then I watched the Car Care Nut video about the engine. Not the most friendly design. For example, it has a belt and you have to take the injectors off to take the valve cover off. It will be interesting to see how the Pilot drivetrain in a RL does in a comparison test. GMC just rolled out a new Acadia which will compete in the 3 row segment as well. For years we heard about the MDX turbo engine and now that it's finally here, sure looks like it needs to go into the Alabama stuff just to keep them competitive. It seems like everyone these days has a hybrid, turbo or both. A plain ICE V6 I think is no longer enough.

IMO, right now Honda is in the business of making placeholders until the roll out their EV future. The best they have to offer right now is with the Accord, CRV and Civic, particularly the hybrid Accord and CRV which IMO drivetrain wise are outclassed by Toyota. Hopefully Toyota can raise their interior/packaging game with the next Gen Camry's and RAV's.

 

Be interesting how these all stack up after 100k miles and 10 years....? Cost of ownership and resale value factored in, of course. Right off for any of these requiring premium, you'll be out about $2500 extra in gasoline costs assuming a price delta of $.50/gal and 20mpg average.

Pilot and Ridgeline require high-test for towing. So if you’re someone who does tow regularly, you end up using hi-test exclusively because you never know when your next tow might be. Around here hi-test is +$1 over regular unleaded. It’s painful - - diesel is significantly less.

 

So the rated #1 Mazda has the tightest cargo space, is the most expensive, requires premium fuel to meet its power numbers, is the fastest to 60 and 130 and has the fanciest interior. Why is the luxury performance sedan team at C/D reviewing SUVs?

 

Be interesting how these all stack up after 100k miles and 10 years....? Cost of ownership and resale value factored in, of course. Right off for any of these requiring premium, you'll be out about $2500 extra in gasoline costs assuming a price delta of $.50/gal and 20mpg average.

 

I'm still purchasing my 2024 Honda Pilot Elite next month. I have watched a good number of reviews. Alex On Autos Raties Rides.
Savagegeese 2023 Honda Pilot How To Fix Forgettable Suvs. I think best
Autolist.com says Pilot can Turn on a Dime for it's size. Vehicle Visionary has plenty reviews
The Pilot in my opinion looks the best exterior wise. Many ding the Pilot for having small infotainment screen 9 inch in Elite trim.
Some reviews say Honda Prioritized Driving Dynamics over interior goodies like KIA and Hyundai. So Pilot strikes a good balance.
Ive seen other comparison reviews where KIA or Hyundai had features the Pilot didn't.
Then you scratch your head The Pilot had features the others should have had.
People keep saying pay extra for MDX that's a large chunk of money from Pilot Elite.
But It's a Pilot review 12inches from greatness.
Some reviews praise Pilots handling over Palisade and Telluride. The Pilot was more fun they said.
This is the first Pilot exterior that I love.
The 3rd Gen I'm okay with but I never liked 2nd Gen Box. It reminded me of my early 1990s big GE Profile Refrigerator Freezer.
So many really ding the Pilot for small infotainment screen. They also ding it for fuel mileage no hybrid offered.


I posted awhile ago Pilot Elite was poor man's Acura MDX. The Elite has more than a few features they don't have on Touring.
The Elite and TrailSport have Heated power steering wheel. I guess you could get it as accessory added like you could on Ridgeline.
The Elite has power folding mirrors that fold and unfold with locking unlocking. Touring doesn't have. I the one of Korean twins didn't have. Pilot Elite offers Auto Dimming Sideview mirrors. The rear door handle touch handle locking. At least one Korean twin SUV didn't have that.
The MDX doesn't have rear 3rd row Air Vents. The Savagegeese review they be whipping that Pilot.

 

Meh. The CX90 and Grand Highlander weren’t available when I got my Pilot. If you pay $10K more money, you should expect more from them.

That said, horsepower is nice, but my opinion is that nobody needs more than 300 HP for an SUV unless you‘re towing a tractor. My Trailsport tests out at less than 7 seconds 0-60 (feels faster to me in Sport mode), but really, who needs 6-second acceleration? Afraid you won’t be able to pass on a mountain road or merge into traffic? Be serious. Anyone who needs to get to speed that quickly probably should take some driving lessons. Or not be passing on those mountain roads like a Negroni-besotted Italian.

My other car is a Mazda, and my son just got a CX30, so I can’t diss them. But the CX90 is more of a luxe people hauler than a serious SUV. The Trailsport is cheaper than the Pilot Elite and has a lift, ATS tires, skid plate and off-road modes that the others (excepting the Jeep, but of course Jeeps are $$$ and of questionable reliability) don’t have.

Anyway, point is you probably get what you pay for. If you want the best money can buy short of a BMW X5 there are a couple of good choices. I still think the Pilot Trailsport gives more bang for the buck.

 

The new Pilot is having transmission issues, and water leaks. I was hoping the new 10-speed transmission from Honda would be the end of transmission issues, but apparently not. Some are failing right out of the gate.

These reviews are really subjective as other sources have downgraded the CX-90 for a couple of shortcomings.

 

Premium fuel is a recommendation for some of these vehicles - not a requirement. I'd bet that the vast majority of owners don't use it. And, during normal, everyday driving at less than wide-open throttle, you'll never know the difference.

I don't know about the CX-90's engines, but using premium in Mazda's 2.5T improves horsepower and moves the torque curve up higher in the rev range, so for normal driving, you're better off using regular. I verified this by switching between 93 and 87 octane in my 2020 CX-5. It felt slightly faster at WOT, but 99.9% of my driving was at less than WOT. It simply couldn't justify the extra price of 93 octane.

 

If it says use Premium under the gas tank cover I use Premium. (My MX5 takes Premium.) Otherwise not. There was a $0.65 difference at the pump where I usually fill up this morning. BTW there are only a handful of stations around here that have 93 octane. Usually it's 91. And only a handful with non-ethanol gas, if that makes a difference to you.

 

You can quibble with the comparison test results, but at the end of the day, I don't see a compelling reason to go with the Honda.
I would buy it over the Jeep, but not the other three competitors.

I think the sweet spot is the Turbo Preferred Plus trim of the Mazda CX-90 at $47K.
Or maybe the Premium at $50K.

 

For a while, 87 has been about $3.50 here and 93 has been about $4.50. I use 93 in my Miata because I want to have maximum power available. If the Miata was my daily driver, I would strongly consider using 87.

E0 is hard to find, expensive, and not available from any Top Tier brands near me. I have never had a problem using E10 in any automobile or outdoor power equipment, so I don't hunt down E0.

 

For the $$ you're saving fueling up your Tesla you should put 93 and a can of HP boost into your Miata AND riding mower!

 

Inter

You must not tow much, or if you do your loads are light.

Without using hi-test, our G1 Ridgeline and G1 Pilot both struggle when towing anything that is in the upper half of their rating. The difference is very dramatic.

With regular (87) octane fuel, it’s as though you are driving in quicksand. Throttle response is very sluggish and the engine/transmission noticeably struggle. The engine has to rev higher, the transmission seeks lower gears, and the coolant temp goes up.

Using hi-test makes a dramatic difference. The engine has noticeably better low-end torque, the transmission doesn’t hunt as much, and coolant temp remains normal. For towing any significant distance, imo it’s a requirement not a recommendation.

Interesting. Given regular and premium have the same energy content, the chief differences lying in how they burn under various compression scenarios, I would not have thought that would make much difference to normally-aspirated medium compression engines, even under heavy load. Is this also the experience of G2 owners, with different drivetrains / ECU software? Thanks for sharing. To me, “recommended“ means just that and no more, so good to get someone’s practical perspective.

 

The issue is the OM does not mention using premium fuel while towing. All of references to using higher octane when towing are from the Honda trim walk publications that I think are primarily published for the sales staff. I had assumed that using higher octane fuel was, essentially, a waste of $ since the engine was not tuned to take advantage of higher octane fuel.

 

All of references to using higher octane when towing are from the Honda trim walk publications that I think are primarily published for the sales staff.

...And, a lot of good that does when dealers put in the cheapest gas from the nearest gas station - even in models that recommend premium.

 

I read all car reviews with skepticism. They're all subjective, and not every bit of criteria is important to all buyers. Plus they'll says things like one is better because it has more horsepower, yet they both have plenty (honestly, I don't think there's a car on the market nowadays that doesn't have acceptable horsepower). And we won't really know how great they are for another 5 years when they've been driven a lot. The Pilot will likely outlive the Jeep, Mazda, and Kia. The Pilot may be #5 in this list, there are 25+ other 3 row SUV's on the market that didn't even make the list.

 

I do not use premium in my '20 RTLE when towing our 3800 lb travel trailer. 30k miles now doing that, cross all our mountain ranges as well. So truthfully, IDK if premium would be 'better'. Far as comparing a Honda to KIA or Hyundai where I personally weigh quality and long term reliability to features like who has the largest infotainment screen, there is no comparison for me personally.

 

I don't trust anyone that puts Kiundai ahead of Honda or Toyota. I don't care about the fancy ipad glued to the dash as much as I care about vehicle fires and engine going boom every third oil change.

 

I don't care about the fancy ipad glued to the dash as much as I care about vehicle fires and engine going boom every third oil change.

So, airbag warnings, transmission problems, and water leaks are okay, though?

 

Yup, those are minor problems compared to your "fancy" dollar store brand SUV sitting at the dealer for months needing an engine or it catching your whole house on fire. Not saying Honda or Toyota are perfect, but I wouldn't trust a Kia/Hyundai as a rental.

 

According to what owners have told Consumer Reports, neither the Pilot nor Telluride are stellar examples of reliability, but people are more satisfied with their Tellurides, which also score the same or higher than the Pilot in nearly every category. Kia also offers a significantly longer warranty. Usability is one of the only categories where the Pilot scores higher.

 

KIA needs a significantly longer warranty, maybe !? Id like to see the owner satisfaction comparison after 10 years and 150k miles.....

 

Hell, 5 years and 60,000 miles would be interesting to see.....

 

I had never heard it called "rec fuel" before. The two gas stations I know of around here market it as "ethanol-free". I've never paid attention to the octane rating nor have I bought any.

 

I was just reading about the new Toyota Grand Highlander model.

Two things struck me:

A) I would choose this vehicle over the new G4 Pilot; and

B) The Grand Highlander would make a fantastic foundation for Toyota to finally design a uni-body SUT (Sport Utility Truck, a la Ridgeline).

I hope Toyota finally does it.

 

I was just reading about the new Toyota Grand Highlander model.

Two things struck me:

A) I would choose this vehicle over the new G4 Pilot; and

B) The Grand Highlander would make a fantastic foundation for Toyota to finally design a uni-body SUT (Sport Utility Truck, a la Ridgeline).

I hope Toyota finally does it.

OK go for it. It costs quite a bit more than the Pilot, and it should be better. You probably get what you pay for. The C&D comparison says that the Pilot offers more bang for the buck though.

However B...why would they do this? The Tacoma is incredibly successful, if not a refined ride. They wouldn't want to cannibalize sales of their popular truck.

 

I've been a subscriber to Car and Driver now for nearly 40 years. I finally read the 3 row test a couple of days ago and it's pure CD. Given that the point spread between the 4 different SUV's was very small and that CD is all about power/performance, small wonder it came in last. Would the comparison sway me away from the new Pilot? No. The new engine and transmission combo would though. I'd check back in a couple of years, after the standard Honda teething issues get smoothed out.

 

So have I been a subscriber back with my 1st car a 1980 Honda Prelude.

 

Recall on the 2023-2024 Honda Pilot - loss of steering control risk.

https://www.cars.com/articles/honda-recalls-2023-24-pilot-suvs-for-loss-of-steering-control-risk-474376/#:~:text=Affected%20vehicles%20include%20model-year,steering%20gearbox%20assembly%20during%20manufacturing

.

 

No recalls on mine.

 

The recall has not reached the database yet, but I don't believe it is a widespread issue among new Pilots.

 

This issue potentially affects 519 2023-2024 Pilots made between June 30 and September 25, 2023. A ball bearing left behind after some steering racks had to be reworked could cause the steering to lock up.

Due to a manufacturing error, a loose ball bearing may have contaminated the gear box assembly. If a loose ball bearing has contaminated the gear box assembly, it may fall into the gap of a rotating part within the gear box.

If a ball bearing falls into the gap of a rotating part within the gear box, steering function may be lost and the steering may lock-up, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

There was a process change for steering gear boxes which were taken off the main assembly line for rework that may have allowed previously assembled ball bearings to remain in the gear box and subsequently become misplaced within the component when reassembled.

 

Quality aside, the new Pilot is the most boring offering on the class. The rear styling in particular seems completely phoned in.

Not saying it has to be interesting to be successful, but it's a shame. To out-snooze Toyota is a dubious honor.

 

But that's why I also looked at Savagegeese How To Fix Forgettable Suvs Pilot review.
Obviously they see the Pilot differently compared to other's.
Also the Toyota mechanic Guy gave his review of Pilot.

 

C'mon here, the biggest negative being posted is that the styling is boring ?! To you maybe, eh ? Perhaps the styling to others, is wonderful. Maybe ? Bear in mind, the 'styling' to which most of us speak, is a bunch of chitzy plastic crap which actually means nothing with regards to the vehicle quality, durability, longevity, nor resale value. I would call it 'superficial'. In comparison to Honda Pilots that being old old ones still on the road- I simply do not see any Hyundais nor Kias and those I do, look like rolling junk heaps. Why is that ? Draw your own conclusions. I am simply offering a counter-point to this discussion which is mostly 'styling based' , A Pilot is twice the vehicle those others are in the long term. The actual metrics will weigh that out. But by all means do your own research.

 

After perusing the Piloteers and Pilot FB forums it seems the 2023-2024 Pilot is having some/more than some growing pains.

https://www.piloteers.org/forums/2023-current-pilot.163/