tftimm

I am posting this in the MDX section because I think most of you may have cross shopped the MDX and the upgraded Honda Pilot.

Where I work currently has two Chevrolet Suburbans and they are giving us trouble. I was given the go ahead to see what we might be able to do. The nearest Acura dealer is about 2+ hours away, so I can't get an Acura. It has to be a Ford, Chevy, or Honda. I prefer Honda, Ford, Chevy in that order. It must also have seating for a minimum of 7 and be available to drive on beat up roads which might take the Odyssey out of the question. I'd rather not drive a minvan, but its better than the Suburban. By the way, the Suburban is a 2005. Also, the vehicle has to be new. That's the boss speaking, not me.

I went by and looked at the Ford Expedition and the Honda Pilot. The Expedition is a nice size with plenty of room, but they want atleast $35K for the base model. I can get a loaded Pilot for that price. Inside, the pilot looked roomy with seating for seven. I do carry around 6 other people, but not on a regular basis, so it just needs to have the ability to handle 7. I haven't looked at the new Tahoe, but I'm sure there atlest $35. They had a base 2009 Pilot for $28 MSRP. The bottom line, I prefer the reliability and the looks of the Pilot over any american SUV.

Has anyone driven them? I read in consumer reports that it has substantial road noise. Is that true? I find that difficult to believe. It also says its underpowered and its breaking isn't great. I'm not going to be racing the thing, so I just need adequate. This may be a wierd question, but how is the stock radio?

Any insight into the 2009 Pilot would be appreciated as I push the boss to let me do the switch.

007Acura

i have no experience with it but this is a good review of it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otmPpMJCync

wilsel

I looked at the new ones when I was looking at an 2006 pilot. The quality of materials is definetly better on the previous body style. The new one has a lot of cheap looking plastic on the inside. I never drove a new one, because of that, and I don't like the front end. Ended up getting a 06 MDX instead of a Pilot.

sr4dt

All things aside if you need to have 5+ passengers on a regular basis then a key question becomes are you satisfied with what the 3rd row offers in terms of seating congiguration, accessibility and comfort.

Have you checked the 3rd row of pilot and seen whether it meets your needs or not.