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SUVs Mazda CX-9 Honda Pilot vs Mazda CX-9 vs Toyota Highlander
478 messages, Last post on Nov 27, 2009 at 7:13 AM
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2009 Honda Pilot vs. 2008 Mazda CX-9 vs. 2008 Toyota Highlander - Although we've been hearing about a mad dash to get out of sport-utility vehicles and into fuel-efficient compacts, the reality is that seven- and eight-passenger crossover SUVs like the 2008 Mazda CX-9, 2008 Toyota Highlander and 2009 Honda Pilot aren't going away anytime soon. (more)
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Replying to: thegraduate (Nov 25, 2008 9:28 pm) |
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I ended up with the Pilot despite the look and my initial lack of enthusiasm for the drive, so I sympathize. I test drive it early and walked away pretty sure I wouldn't get it. But the more I test drove other cars (Toyota, Mazda, Acura, BMW, Audi, Volvo, GM models, Ford’s Flex), the more I was amazed that none of them, even the luxury models, had the same range of features as the Pilot (only the Ford with MS Sync came close on features). The luxury lines all had nearly useless third rows and uncomfortable middles seats in the second rows. And even most of them didn’t have the same degree of cabin tech the Honda did. Even its Acura cousin doesn’t have fully-integrated iPod control from the nav screen or voice command. That may be a trivial feature to some but our family LOVES it. We use it every day, more than radio. So in the end we went with the model that had all the features we wanted. Everyone is different – we prioritized features and space in the end over look or drive. I still don’t like the look, but interestingly I completely changed my mind about the drive and really like it now. I think the problem was I was used to the 6-gear cars that just have a different feel for acceleration. When I test drove it, it seems sluggish on acceleration; it felt “heavy.” But once I drove it enough after buying it I found its groove (i.e. the right way to accelerate) and now find it quite responsive. In fact I have tested its 0-60 times and done well better than what was reported in numerous reviews, so I wonder if the testers needed a similar learning curve. And while I have not tried the emergency braking test, I definitely find its typical use braking superior in feel to the Toyota Sienna we own or the Highlander my in-laws own… For what its worth, the Pilot has sold itself to my friends, without even trying. I have had two people so far who spent time driving with me in mine who subsequently got one. I wasn’t trying to sell them on it and in fact pointed out that their situations were different than mine (in terms of family size, etc.). But they were both in the SUV market and became so impressed with it after spending long drives in it that they changed their minds. One of them was about to get the Volvo and could have leased it for exactly the same terms (actually slightly better terms) as the Pilot and went with the Pilot. They hadn’t even had it on their radar prior to driving with me.
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Replying to: citivas (Nov 26, 2008 7:15 am) Such as?? |
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At the time (in August) there were no other CUV's with 8 seat capacity, integrated iPod (as in you control it through the car, not just an aux port), a great nav system that could be programmed (by a passenger) while driving, integrated sat radio, integrated Bluetooth, the ability to control the radio, sat, iPod and climate control through voice commands in addition to nav and phone control, etc. Various vehicles had some of these things but not all. The Flex came close but was 7 seat, had limited tow capacity and was not useful off-road (and I didn’t like how low it sat or the drive). I loved the CX-9 but for the inability to have integrated iPod and sat radio in a workable solution, lack of a trip computer, lack of control of rear climate from the front and the smaller third row. I've read the '09 addresses some of this. The GM's amazingly didn't have Bluetooth even as an option at the time (though they do for '09), which was a non-starter for me – I use it every day. The Toyota isn't even in the ballpark with no split-third row, no memory seat, a useless nav while driving, and a limited second row. The Acura, BMW and Audi all had uselessly small third rows (even my 7 and 10 years olds didn’t like how cramped there were) and poor middle seats in the second rows, and all had worse mileage and required premium fuel to boot. Etc. Again, these were my criteria. Others value different things. If I was picking primarily on the best drive or look, I would have ended up with the Pilot. In the end, only the CX-9 seriously tempted me other than the Pilot and if the ’09 had been out and really fixed full iPod integrated with sat radio and a decent trip computer I might have gone for it, though I would have missed the 8th seat which we’ve had to use surprisingly often.
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Hello group- My '05 Pilot is coming off lease in the next 75 days. When I last shopped the market, I had 2 kids in car seats and 2 kids in booster seats. Our family car is a minivan - but of course our second car is a family car as well and I just can't bring myself to own 2 mini's. Back in '05 the Pilot was the car (and only) car where I could put two boosters in the back seat and the kids could buckle themselves. Although, I did have to modify one of the boosters due to the 40% split. My main concern these days is the room behind the 3rd row. I am down to 1 car seat and 1 booster seat...but my needs today are to travel with baseball bags, soccer gear and hockey bags. I can "just" barely get a hockey bag and a stick in the back of the Pilot. Do any of these cars have superior behind the 3rd row space, without giving up too much in either width or 2nd/3rd row seating? Thanks for your thoughts.
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Replying to: golic (Nov 26, 2008 9:00 am)
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Replying to: citivas (Nov 26, 2008 8:50 am)  I do like how the Pilot has intuitive driver control over various things such what you mentioned. Honda did a great job with that. For 09, the CX-9 now has an updated more user friendly nav system, as well as a fully integrated iPod control from the touch screen with sat radio and Bluetooth audio! They also added the long over due fuel computer. You still do not have full control over the nav system while driving. You can only use pre set information from your address book or memory points. The driver does have control over the rear climate, however, it is only done via the driver climate settings, and the driver cannot change ther rear climate that would differ from the driver. |
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Replying to: citivas (Nov 26, 2008 9:17 am)
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Good to hear about the CX-9. Nice improvements to an already great car. Mazda does seem more responsive to consumer feedback than, say, Toyota, which still hasn't corrected the single-piece third row bench despite it being a top complaint from people for years. How hard could it be? On the "fuel computer," what is its range of functionality and how is it physically integrated into the car (i.e. is it in the dash, the center console, overhead, etc)? The Mazda site doesn't seem to have been updated to detail the '09 improvements yet, beyond a press release (that you have to search for) which describes them only generally. Does it show discrete pressure for each tire or give any maintenance feedback or is it just trip/fuel? I like how my Honda will tell me when and what type of service and that I don’t have any need to worry about it until it chimes in. It’s also nice how it doesn’t simply determine an oil change by time or miles but by more comprehensive criteria. Some people have gone over 10,000 miles before it determined they needed an oil change and Honda considers that appropriate and more accurate. I also like how the computer allows discrete user settings tied to the individual keys, so my wife any I can have different preferences for things like when the doors auto-lock/unlock, how long the interior and exterior lights stay on after turning the car off, etc., though even more control over things like radio station presets and default climate control settings as some of the luxury brands have would have been even better. It’s unfortunate that it still defeats user control of the nav when driving 5 MPH or greater (which my Mazda dealer didn't even realize until I showed him on the test drive), though the core problem is that Mazda, Toyota (and I think GM) all license their navs from the same Australian-based company that does it this way. I understand the legal reasons why, but I don't accept them. Honda/Acura, Garmin, Tom Tom, Navtec, etc. all accomplish the same protection with a simple disclaimer screen the driver has to accept at the beginning of each session. I understand the idea of not tempting the driver with a dangerous behavior, but that completely undermines the potential for a passenger to manage the navigation, as we do in our household on longer trips. Oh well, I learned a long tie ago you really can’t have it all. There are always trade-offs. The CX-9 gets pretty close though…
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Replying to: golic (Nov 26, 2008 1:00 pm) If those issues don't concern you, you should decide based totally on styling preference. All are essentially the same car mechanically but they have very different trims. Oddly enough, I kind of liked the GMC a little better than the Buick myself. The Buick had choices I thought were designed to appeal to my parents more than me (like a large part of the center console being designed to feature an old fashioned analog clock) but that is totally subjective. Though I did like the cool blue ambient lighting in the Buick… If you’re going for the GM line, do a lot of pricing research here first (these boards, not the Edmunds “real world pricing” tool which is rarely aggressive enough). I found GM dealers and marketing less than straight-forward on pricing. When they last did their huge “employee pricing” promotion in the summer the discount was less competitive than I knew from here that people were already getting and well less than the comparable discounts on the Hondas or Mazdas, for example. If you are paying above dealer invoice on these vehicles at this time you probably can do better… Good luck.
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