2009 Honda Pilot - Jalopnik Comments

2009 Honda Pilot

Branden.Tang — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:50:39 EDT

Why not be more like big brother MDX and look more agressive?

Branden.Tang

2009 Honda Pilot

discomonkey — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:05:49 EDT

Ze Honda needs ze punishment.

discomonkey

2009 Honda Pilot

retox — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:18:48 EDT

Looks like they took some design cues from the NISSAN CUBE

retox

2009 Honda Pilot

bmoredlj — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:04:59 EDT

Basically, Honda/Acura are currently on a "big blocky shape in the grille" binge.

bmoredlj

2009 Honda Pilot

FuzzyPlushroom — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:58:15 EDT

@supra89t: Then they stole the wheels off an Equinox.

@usa1: Same with the Ridgeline, too... the beltline's the only cool thing about it.

FuzzyPlushroom

2009 Honda Pilot

usa1 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:23:25 EDT

So bland and yet so ugly. That's pretty hard combination to pull off, but Honda did it with the new Pilot.

usa1

2009 Honda Pilot

snsr — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:52:51 EDT

WOW. Yuck- Honda's design dept needs to get outside.

The new Acuras also look silly.

snsr

2009 Honda Pilot

40Valve — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:36:01 EDT

The top rear quarter of the car looks like an afterthought. Maybe they redesigned the Ridgeline first and then welded a camper shell on the back to make the Pilot. Either way - Honda is making some really nice cars and then beating them into submission with the ugly stick. Look at the HEADLIGHTS on this thing and then compare'em to the size of the wheels! Did they design it so you could use 100W household bulbs?

40Valve

2009 Honda Pilot

brianddd — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:26:06 EDT

Look on the bright side, the gear shift looks like a penis. That's pretty cool, right?

brianddd

2009 Honda Pilot

nag2112 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:44:53 EDT

as a Honda enthusiast this thing makes me very ill, "pucker up" says the front grill insert if it could talk, "remove me and I may look better".

nag2112

2009 Honda Pilot

saabophile2 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:01:17 EDT

Yeah, but that $500 is in USD, so it's basically a free set of pictures for Jalopnik.

When I manage a set of spy pics I will demand payment in Zimbabwe dollars, ZWD.

saabophile2

2009 Honda Pilot

rlj676 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:49:21 EDT

@smsolo1:

That makes a little more sense than "best SUV".

rlj676

2009 Honda Pilot

smsolo1 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:25:55 EDT

correction- not the best suv but the best mommy van under 40k.

smsolo1

2009 Honda Pilot

Isetta — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:25:00 EDT

I remember the one thing I really liked about the concept that I saw at NAIAS, the front lamps. They were really cool and well executed. I see in production they are gone. Shame.

Isetta

2009 Honda Pilot

smsolo1 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:24:11 EDT

i don't know what honda is doing. this is still the best suv on the market but i think they are stealing design from ford and toyota. they had unique and cool vehicles until they became the benchmark. now, they have no motor selection and they are becoming the new king of bland. how many variations of bland are there? ultimately, they all end oup looking the same. the best engine they have is the new turbo 4 which they will only use in 1 vehicle so far. their marketing department should be called the ford/toyota bland machine. boring.

smsolo1

2009 Honda Pilot

weatherman — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 05:11:22 EDT

I disagree with just about everyone. It's plain, to be sure, and there's no excuse for that grill. But I like my ute's plain, and this one's still better looking than the older version that looked far too much like a Odyssey mated with a Forrester for me. Honda's Pilot is a really good mid-sized SUV with great carrying capacity, decent fuel economy, well appointed features, fine handling... the list goes on. Compared to the brutes and the cutes coming out of detroit these days, this looks like it strikes a nice balance.

In short, you date the girl with the nice ass but you marry the girl with the braces. In the long run, you'll be much happier.

weatherman

2009 Honda Pilot

gotsmart — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 02:29:26 EDT

After kicking ass with the Civic, the Honda design team appears to have lost their way.

gotsmart

2009 Honda Pilot

LandofMinos,Top Gear Australia sucked, 2 out of 3 hosts MUST DIE — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:15:11 EDT

I GOT IT! The grill is an Autobot logo stretched sideways

LandofMinos,Top Gear Australia sucked, 2 out of 3 hosts MUST DIE

2009 Honda Pilot

jmcg — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:03:34 EDT

I gotta join the dogpile on this one.
I noticed that Honda has graduated from the Ford school of tiny, round, and coarse tach & speedo gauges. At least Honda could be counted on to produce highly legibile, if unexciting, dashboard instrumentation. No more.

jmcg

2009 Honda Pilot

jhaber — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:25:24 EDT

jhaber

2009 Honda Pilot

GTBruiser — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:58:30 EDT

Snore! Bland and repugnant in one sweep. Sorry, there's nothing "sweeping" about this fridge. Its sort of Chevy Uplander-ish. 100 button center stack is retro 80s Buick. Bet it drives nice and sells well though.

GTBruiser

2009 Honda Pilot

ranwhenparked — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:43:56 EDT

@anthony94114:

I know what you mean, the current Civic is one of the best looking small cars on the market, but each successive Honda has gotten uglier and uglier.

The only exception is the Fit, which has actually improved in appearance since the first generation.

ranwhenparked

2009 Honda Pilot

anthony94114 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:14:26 EDT

Oops. Honda needs some help. The current Civic is such a sexy sedan (no I'd probably never own one, but it looks good) then the Accord, CRV and this Pilot erupted like a gushing pimple.

anthony94114

2009 Honda Pilot

sliderule — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:10:59 EDT

These mid size SUVs and CUVs are all beginning to look so similar to each other. They have become the mini-van in so many ways.

sliderule

2009 Honda Pilot

hike15 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:06:38 EDT

looks like a jeep with the front of a Mazda tribute attached

hike15

2009 Honda Pilot

Grail007 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:04:27 EDT

So who was designing the interior for this thing FisherPrice? That gearshift is a big chuck of shiny plastic, and what is with the huge control knob bottom of the center dash cluster?

Grail007

2009 Honda Pilot

Stud Beefpile, sitting in for Deartháir — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:39:16 EDT

@1300ccsoffury: No.

I grew up in the 80s and 90s... and got used to seeing dual exhausts on four-banger Civic hatchbacks.

It's been a LONG time since dual exhausts meant anything. Rather saddening, really.

Stud Beefpile, sitting in for Deartháir

2009 Honda Pilot

1300ccsoffury — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:59:05 EDT

Remember when dual exhausts used to imply high performance?

1300ccsoffury

2009 Honda Pilot

theeastbaykid — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:53:18 EDT

@piththeelder: The woefully uncreative would say, an Escape on steroids.

theeastbaykid

2009 Honda Pilot

ChristianGM — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:52:24 EDT

Wasn't this the same concept that NOBODY liked in LA or wherever it was first shown?

ChristianGM

2009 Honda Pilot

rlj676 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:48:47 EDT

@ranger88:

I get it. Their styling wasn't on, despite being told to be. Clever I say.

rlj676

2009 Honda Pilot

ApolloV — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:29:57 EDT

Forgettable and offensive at the same time - that is true design skill.

ApolloV

2009 Honda Pilot

deus ex wagon — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:19:24 EDT

Styling department ON.
Not everything responds like your Sync system.

deus ex wagon

2009 Honda Pilot

piththeelder — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:00:28 EDT

It looks exactly like an Escape except with an ugly grill.

piththeelder

2009 Honda Pilot

rlj676 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:56:33 EDT

Well I'm glad I didn't go buy a suitable camera and go on a mission to find this. I'd probably still be Mariott hopping without knowing this was shot 4 minutes after the request.

And yeah, that is not pretty. But I don't think Honda's too concerned with Pilot sales (obviously).

rlj676

2009 Honda Pilot

SundaySunday — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:47:53 EDT

Well done, Mr. Menlen. I never felt more chained to my desk at work than I did when Jalopnik laid down this challenge.

Re: the truck. I don't think it looks all that bad. It certainly looks better than its little brother, the CR-V, in my opinion.

SundaySunday

2009 Honda Pilot

WillTheThrill3 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:36:26 EDT

@DannyBN: You took the words right out of my mouth.

WillTheThrill3

2009 Honda Pilot

luima — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:25:48 EDT

lame as the first one

luima

2009 Honda Pilot

crevans — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:25:13 EDT

@Tomsk: "You have dishonored the name of Honda, and now it is YOU who shall lose face!" [cue the face melting]

crevans

2009 Honda Pilot

Tomsk — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:14:20 EDT

If I was the ghost of Mr. Honda, I'd be going Raiders of the Lost Ark, Nazi face melting on the design department of the company I started right about now.

Tomsk

2009 Honda Pilot

Branden.Tang — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:11:31 EDT

What happened to the projector headlamps that are in the current generation?

Branden.Tang

2009 Honda Pilot

Schm thinks that the Volt may get him laid. . . — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:11:20 EDT

@Mad_Science: Well, when you put it like that. . .

Schm thinks that the Volt may get him laid. . .

2009 Honda Pilot

LandofMinos,Top Gear Australia sucked, 2 out of 3 hosts MUST DIE — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:02:59 EDT

This style of vehicle is getting overused. I'm bored with it. ENOUGH ALREADY!

LandofMinos,Top Gear Australia sucked, 2 out of 3 hosts MUST DIE

2009 Honda Pilot

Preferredcustomer — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:02:16 EDT

Other than the grille, I kind of think it looks like a LaForza.

Except uglier.

Preferredcustomer

2009 Honda Pilot

Shadowmaster — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:54:41 EDT

@abgwin:

Comment of the day

Shadowmaster

2009 Honda Pilot

crevans — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:53:42 EDT

It's a robotic Hondapotamus.

crevans

2009 Honda Pilot

abgwin — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:45:54 EDT

wow, a bandwagon to jump on!

it looks like: my first gen Jeep Liberty from the rear and rear 3/4 (which I like!) and yet, from the front, like it hit puberty, got corrective glasses and braces with headgear all at once.

Those teen years are tough on kids.

abgwin

2009 Honda Pilot

Package — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:41:11 EDT

@Bento the Wertsmith: Dude, that's nothing. I have a new Accord with sat-nav and it's like a cottdamned space station.

Package

2009 Honda Pilot

stevehp — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:37:21 EDT

Cue the "it looks like...." comments. Ahhhh damn too late.

stevehp

2009 Honda Pilot

RoninianHoon — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:36:57 EDT

I said it once and I'll say it again, "Cough, Ford, Explorer, Cough"

RoninianHoon

2009 Honda Pilot

frommoon — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:33:02 EDT

Frightening. Seeing a re-design this bad makes me frightened for all of the new 2009's...

frommoon

2009 Honda Pilot

Adplusone — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:27:28 EDT

Frickin Fugly...

Even by Honda's design standards...

Children and pets will surely run the other way....

Adplusone

2009 Honda Pilot

slowinthefastlane — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:25:41 EDT

I don't think the outside is bad, save the grill. The doors and greenhouse look a bit GMT900-ish. The back quarter looks a little like a Ford Escape. I can't stand the interior. I truly hate Honda's new "viper fang" steering wheel - it looks very 1990's, before they figured out how to make compact airbag inflators.

slowinthefastlane

2009 Honda Pilot

tonyola — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:20:18 EDT

This debutante is not ready to be shown to the world. Honda could have waited until the braces in the mouth are taken out.

tonyola

2009 Honda Pilot

cutty — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:18:35 EDT

Fugly comes to mind.

cutty

2009 Honda Pilot

Mad_Science — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:17:35 EDT

@Dr. Schm: You're forgetting other value-add features like increased weight and new Highly Derivative™ Styling!

Mad_Science

2009 Honda Pilot

Mysterious Utility Bento — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:15:50 EDT

The interior has more buttons than Mary Tyler Moore's coat!

Mysterious Utility Bento

2009 Honda Pilot

DannyBN — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:15:01 EDT

@Matt Hardigree: "In the meantime, everyone enjoy photos inside and out of the new Pilot."

Is "enjoy" really the word you were looking for?

DannyBN

2009 Honda Pilot

drdreydel — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:14:28 EDT

@staircar: Mr. Sparkle indeed!!

Honda is having quite a year in its design department. What with the TSX's power plenum grill and now this. Ugh.

drdreydel

2009 Honda Pilot

Schm thinks that the Volt may get him laid. . . — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:10:55 EDT

Im just like "And this is better than the old one in what way??"

Honda: Well its new. . .

Me: Not Good enough. Not good enough at all.

Schm thinks that the Volt may get him laid. . .

2009 Honda Pilot

evoCS is possibly NSFW — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:06:45 EDT

@staircar: Good call. Here I was thinking maybe the Pilot was just surprised to be having it's photo taken

evoCS is possibly NSFW

2009 Honda Pilot

staircar — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:02:20 EDT

I dunno what it is, but the front end reminds me of Mr. Sparkle for some reason.

"I am disrespectful to dirt! Can you see I am serious!"

staircar

2009 Honda Pilot

Mad_Science — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:02:20 EDT

Unfortunately, that $500 is in Jalopnik Dollars™, and redeemable only for Skull-driveshaft stickers, "Hoon of the Day" and "Save the Enzos" shirts.

Sounds fine to me.

Mad_Science

2009 Honda Pilot

supra89t — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:00:26 EDT

Blah. Looks like a Tribute mated with a 4Runner....only not as interesting as you would think something like that would turn out.

supra89t

2009 Honda Pilot

graverobber- It says Loud Pipes Save Lives — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:57:16 EDT

This being Detroit, I note the one under the tent has already been stripped.

graverobber- It says Loud Pipes Save Lives