If you don't think looks are important, look at what's happened to minivans... if you can find one to look at. Only a handful of them are still being made.
Chiefly — arguably — because of the way they look.
The way they function, on the other hand, has been taken over by models such as Honda's Pilot, which is related to the company's Odyssey minivan but doesn't look anything like it.
It just works a lot like it.
What It Is
The Pilot is a midsize (bordering on full-size) crossover with three rows of seats that's related to the Odyssey minivan — but you'd never know by looking.
Like the Odyssey, the Pilot can seat up to eight people (including the driver) and both come standard with the same 3.5-liter V6 engine and 10-speed automatic transmission. But the Pilot is available with all-wheel drive, while the Odyssey comes only with front-wheel drive.
Prices start at $37,090 for the base trim LX with FWD; interestingly, the Odyssey stickers for $38,240 to start.
Adding AWD to the LX notches up the MSRP to $39,190.
A top-of-the-line Elite — which comes standard with AWD as well as a full digital instrument panel, a head-up display, heated and ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, a heated steering wheel and a 12-speaker Bose audio system — lists for $52,480.
There is also a TrailSport version that increases the Pilot's off-road capability with a set of 18-inch all-terrain tires (plus a full-size spare in lieu of the space-saver spare), increased ground clearance, skid plates and a suspension with more travel. AWD and a Class III hitch are also included.
The TrailSport stickers for $48,800.
What's New For 2024
The Pilot received a major makeover for the 2023 model year; the '24 carries over the same as last year's model.
What's Good
Does most of the things a minivan does (and some things a minivan can't) without looking like one.
Standard V6 (rather than a turbo four).
TrailSport version offers almost-SUV capability.
What's Not So Good
Third row's a tighter squeeze than a minivan's third row, and it's harder to get to them because there aren't sliding doors, like a minivan would have.
Minivans still offer more cargo room (and easier loading of cargo, being much lower to the ground).
A suite of back-seat driver "advanced safety technologies" is standard in all trims.
Under The Hood
Every Pilot comes standard with a 3.5-liter V6 that makes 285 horsepower, paired with a 10-speed automatic and your choice of FWD or AWD. The Odyssey minivan comes with the same V6 (and 10-speed automatic), but in the van, the engine's rated output is down slightly, to 280 horsepower.
Interestingly, there's not that much of a fuel economy penalty to pay for owning vehicle like the Pilot with an "exotic" V6 under its hood. The FWD version of this crossover rates 19 mpg city, 27 mpg highway. As a cross-reference, the Chevy Blazer (which is slightly smaller than the Pilot and weighs about 100 pounds less than the Pilot) rates 22 mpg city, 29 mpg highway — and the Chevy is powered by a 2.0-liter four (that only makes 228 horsepower).
FWD Pilots can pull up to 3,500 pounds. If you buy AWD, this goes up to 5,000 pounds. TrailSport versions (which come standard with AWD) come with 8.3 inches of ground clearance versus 7.3 inches for the others.
On The Road
The Pilot looks like an SUV but drives like a car, which is the main draw of crossovers. They are not based on trucks and so don't feel as heavy as the truck-based vehicles they're not.
But they look like the truck-based SUVs. They're not — and that's part of the appeal. Another part of it is the SUVesque feeling of elevation, of riding higher than a car (or a minivan). The Pilot's like that without being so high you need a step ladder (or running boards) to climb in it.
The V6's strongest suit is that it is a V6. And that it's a Honda V6.
It's difficult to convey the subtleties of both those attributes. Some turbo four-powered crossovers get to 60 about as quickly (that being in about seven seconds flat), and some V6-powered rivals like the Kia Telluride do, too.
But Honda's V6s are both glass-smooth and eager revvers. The redline is just shy of 7,000 rpm, courtesy of the famous Honda VTEC (variable cam timing) system that ramps up the aggressiveness of the valve/cam timing at higher engine speeds while keeping it so smooth at idle you can't tell it's idling.
This engine is also a known 200,000 miler (and then some). which is worth a lot all by itself.
At The Curb
The Pilot looks less like a minivan than it did before — and more like the SUV it isn't.
Its hood is broad and flat and extends several inches farther forward than before — until it abruptly ends in a vertical drop rather than the previously tapered look. The grille is easily three times as large as before, too.
There's also about 3 inches more Pilot now than before. At 199.9 inches long (versus 196.5 inches before), the current Pilot is as close to being full-size as it gets without moving up just a little to that class.
Honda upsized the Pilot chiefly to catch up with the Telluride and its Hyundai Palisade twin, which are its main rivals. The Telluride and Palisade used to have more room for cargo — 21 cubic feet behind their third row and 87 cubic feet with the second and third rows folded — than the Pilot. The previous (and midsize) Pilot had 16.5 cubic feet of space for cargo behind its third row and maxed out at 83.9 cubic feet. The new, just-shy-of-full-size Pilot has 18.6 cubic feet of space behind its third row and 87 cubic feet of total capacity, exactly matching the Telluride-Palisade twins.
The Rest
Eight passenger capacity is standard, but you can swap out the standard second row bench for a set of captain's chairs (just like a minivan). Unlike a minivan, the Pilot doesn't have a pair of dual-sliding doors, and that makes it not as easy to get in and out of the Pilot for people in the third row.
This is the main functional deficit you accept when you buy a crossover rather than a minivan.
The Bottom Line
The Pilot's the minivan you always wanted — and the SUV you didn't.
Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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