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Honda Pilot or Toyota Highlander

21 messages,  Last post on Sep 17, 2009 at 9:01 AM

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What is this discussion about? Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, Car Buying, SUV

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#19 of 21 We went with the Pilot (Continued) by zc1 Sep 13, 2009 (9:33 pm)
...continued from previous post   *Drivetrain: Both egines are very refined, working quietly until needed for more brisk acceleration, and both transmission shift smoothly for the most part. The Honda tends to shift more smoothly than does the Toyota, but they are both well-sorted. The Highlander has more grunt down low in the powerband. The Pilot produces more than adequate power but, in typical Honda fashion, you have to get the engine RPM up to reach that power. Some people aren't used to this. In every day use, I don't find myself wanting more power at my disposal when driving the Pilot.   *Fuel Economy The Pilot loses this battle by the numbers, but in everyday use they may be equal. So far our Pilot is doing very well, but we'll reserve judgement until it is fully broken in.   *Safety -Pilot -- 5 stars for all except 4 stars for rollover -Highlander -- 5 stars for all except 4 stars for front passenger and 4 stars for rollover -both have the usual complement of airbags (front x2, side curtain), but the Highlander also has a driver knee airbag, which is a nice feature -both have ABS, traction control, 4WD (Pilot)/AWD (Highlander), traction control, etc. -Overall, Pilot has better crash test ratings, but Highlander has one extra air bag (driver's knees)   *Towing -Highlander bests the Pilot by 500 lbs, which is of no consequence to us -Highlander 5000 lbs vs Pilot 4500 lbs; both beyond what we would ever need -Pilot comes with hitch and wiring already installed. This costs extra with the Highlander   *Our Conclusions:   In the end, we just felt that the Pilot had too many extremely practical features that we appreciated. I was heavily biased in favour of the Highlander initially, but the Pilot won us both over. The biggest dealbreakers for the Highlander were:   -lack of split third row -- can't have someone sitting in it and use the other 2/3 for storage -lower quality feel than the Pilot after spending a significant amount of time in each cabin -louder cabin than the Pilot -lack of front parking sensors -- Pilot has front and rear parking sensors (not absolutely necessary, but certainly helpful) -less passenger space than the Pilot -less usable cargo space than the Pilot, especially with the third row up   Your mileage may vary. Replies to this message: tidester (Sep 13, 2009 10:00 pm) wwest (Sep 17, 2009 9:01 am)
#20 of 21 Re: We went with the Pilot (Continued) [zc1] by tidester HOST Sep 13, 2009 (10:00 pm)
Replying to: zc1 (Sep 13, 2009 9:33 pm) Thanks for the comprehensive review!   tidester, host SUVs and Smart Shopper
#21 of 21 Re: We went with the Pilot (Continued) [zc1] by wwest Sep 17, 2009 (9:01 am)
Replying to: zc1 (Sep 13, 2009 9:33 pm) The F/awd system in the HL is there for marketing purposes only, it would not be functional at all, at any useful time, except for the intervention of TRAC. I can't say about the Pilot except if it's equipped with the new SH-AWD system in which case it's the beat of the best insofar as F/awd systems are concerned.   Toyota/Lexus has a new version of F/awd being used on the Venza and 2010 RX350 which I have no doubt will prove to be a significant improvement over the current HL, Sienna, and RX system.

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