Pilot is people perfect

The Honda Pilot is not the kind of vehicle I would buy because it doesn’t fit my lifestyle needs and I don’t particularly like sport utilities. But, I have to admit that it sure does come in handy during those weeklong vacations jam-packed with daily getaways for the entire family and some friends.

Although it’s a still a bit too big and bulky for my daily commute into the downtown core, it does an excellent job of transporting people and their stuff while insuring they have plenty of places to put their tagalongs. With the split/folding middle and back row seats, you’re able to tailor a suitable arrangement for just about any trip, long or short.

An overnight trip to cottage country had our Pilot loaded up with two adults, a couple teenagers and a pre-teen, overnight bags/knapsacks all around, beach accessories such as blankets, towels and fold-up chairs, and a box cooler for keeping us nourished and cool on the drives as well as at the beach.

For comfort’s sake, we kept the teenagers in the middle and loaded up the pre-teen and all our stuff behind them. We put down half the seat (it’s split 50/50 back there) and everything fit without obscuring any sightlines and we still had room to acquire and fit in more stuff (like we need it!) for the ride home. Passenger comfort is insured through the use of a flat floor, meaning riding in the rear doesn’t require you to sit with your knees around your ears.

We heard one complaint from our pre-teen the entire two days, once she got fed up with having to crawl in and out of her little cocoon, which wasn’t bad for two days and about 400+ km in the vehicle, climbing in and out at various times. That in itself is a bit of chore even for the smallest of passengers primarily due to the smallness of the door opening. It’s easier from the right side because the sliding seat on that side is smaller, but then you have less room in which to manoeuvre into seating position. Getting out seems to be ok for small people but I have a tough time figuring out if I should push off and step out or turn around and back out. Either way, it’s not easy for an adult.

There are also plenty of places for drinks and stowables, with no fewer than 25 bins, depressions, covered boxes and compartments (in the doors, side panels, seatbacks, centre console, dash, etc.) in which to put mobile phones, sunglasses, parking access cards, maps, magazines, iPods, whatever. And just when you think you’ve managed to fill them all, you find a pull out drawer under the front passenger seat.

Similarly, there are places for a dozen drinks strewn about the cabin, which means that if you load up seven people (although Pilot seats eight, two of the holders are in the middle pull-down armrest), they’d have nearly two holders each.

And even when it’s loaded up, Pilot still has enough oomph from its 250-hp 3.5-litre V6 to keep things moving along … not smartly, but acceptably. Launch and passing is not great when the vehicle is virtually empty, and they don’t depreciate considerably when it’s full. A five-speed automatic sends power to all four wheels as needed, with the ability to lock up the differentials (for short periods of time) at the push of a button.

All things considered, Pilot’s a suitable companion for long trips, whether you load it up with passengers and cargo, or don’t.