66 Impressions: Honda Pilot

Restyled, designed Pilot is the Honda of SUVs

MONTREAL, Quebec - Having bulked up its second-gen Pilot SUV just ahead of all-time high oil prices, Honda's marketing job has suddenly become one of convincing buyers that the Pilot - much like Goldilocks in her search for a bed - is not too big and not too small, but "just right."

     When Honda polled consumers several years ago ahead of the original Pilot's re-design, researchers heard that costumers wanted it to look more truck-like and rugged than its original incarnation.

     But that was then. Today, with consumer alarm over rising gas prices and North American truck sales in freefall, 'trucky' looks could be more handicap than help when it comes to making sales.

     In fact, the Pilot is more crossover than SUV in that it employs car-like unibody construction. With a redesigned MacPherson strut front and muti-link rear suspension, it rides and handles and generally conducts itself more like a car than a truck.

     Honda scrapped plans to equip the new Pilot with a V8 engine, endowing all five trim levels available in Canada with a smooth and sophisticated 3.5-litre V6 that, when conditions warrant can run on four or even three cylinders, and back again, is so seamless as to be practically undetectable.

     With all six cylinders on active duty, the V6 is good for a respectable 250 hp at 4,800 rpm and 253 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 revs on regular gas. Honda engineers claim an overall seven percent fuel efficiency gain over the previous generation Pilot. Transport Canada rates fuel consumption for AWD Pilots at 13.1 L/100 km (22 mpg) city, and 9.1 L/100 km (31 mpg), highway.

     The new and improved fuel cutoff system - called Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) - is more advanced than the one available last year, which ran on either six or three cylinders. Engineers said that allowing the engine to run on four cylinders significantly increases the amount of time it will run on fewer than six - three cylinders too often didn't deliver the power needed when six were more than required.

     Not to be confused with VCM, Honda's Variable Torque Management 4-wheel-drive system (VTM-4) automatically engages the rear wheels any time the vehicle accelerates to enhance traction, stability and control in all manner of situations. Many competitive systems engage only when the wheels actually slip.

     Standard Hill Start Assist prevents the vehicle from rolling backwards between lifting off the brake pedal and depressing the throttle, when starting off on inclines greater than 10 degrees. With its integrated trailer hitch, the Pilot with VTM-4 has a 2045-kg towing capacity. Honda's claim of 8-passenger seating requires a caveat, in that for maximum comfort, the third-row passengers should ideally be little people or at most, adolescents.

     Second-row passengers get significantly more room, along with rear cabin temperature controls and an available 115-volt modem for connecting devices such as laptops and game consoles. The second- and third- row seats split and fold as well.