First Drive of the 2009 Honda Pilot CUV

Back in January Honda decided to show off a concept of their 2009 Honda Pilot at the Detroit Auto Show; however it seemed as many of the people who visited the Honda stand were a little under whelmed. This is the second generation Pilot, and Honda wanted to try and keep a utilitarian look with this crossover. The problem that Honda faced was trying to create a larger interior; however what that means is you are left with a boxy exterior look.

The 2009 Honda Pilot is not the best CUV on the market so the Mazda CX-9 and the Buick Enclave will not have to worry too much. When you jump into the interior of the Pilot, it is like climbing inside a greenhouse and start driving that around. Ok sorry I am being a little nasty there; the 2009 Honda Pilot is more like a barn. This crossover is not all bad though, the road noise in the vehicle is quieter than the previous model this is thanks to the more aerodynamic styling.

The new model comes with a 3.5-liter V6 engine this power plant pushes out 250HP, and although not much across the entire range fuel economy is up by 1MPG. The acceleration is faster than what you expect; however there are many other crossovers that perform much better like the Audi Q7 TDI 4.2. However, the 2009 Honda Pilot is more of a particle CUV.

The 2009 Honda Pilot CUV will not set your world alight, but Honda have built this crossover to do what it has been built for, and that is for moving a whole bunch of people around and feel comfortable thanks to the amount of room that you have. Although the new Pilot is nothing special, you can upgrade to the Touring trim level. This is more of an expensive model, but it is worth paying the extra and it is almost on par with the Acura.

Source - AutoBlog