After looking through mechanical details of both MDX and Honda Pilot, I honestly can't tell the difference between the two.
They share same platform, same engine, same transmission, and even the same AWD system (2016 Pilot gets SH-AWD).
As automobiles, they are identical twins sharing same DNA.
I honestly feel Acura MDX is nothing more than a Honda Pilot built with a fancier interior finish and brand badge along with higher price tag.
It seems like Honda is no longer putting efforts to make their luxury vehicles unique and special but rather recycling same components between moderately priced and luxury vehicle line ups...
What do you guys think about this?

 

To top off how sad this is, the pilot even offers features not available on the MDX which baffles me. I don't care that the pilot is newer, the nee features should come out on the MDX first.

Anyways, to answer your question, you need to drive both cars first before declaring them both the same. From what I gather, the pilot is really floaty and does not drive well at all. I have driven the 2016 MDX and found that it drove pretty well and felt much smaller than it was. I have no experience with the pilot. I remember the last generation pilot had an ok quality interior, though I would describe it as "durable". I don't know how this generation is.

So if you plan to use these 3-row crossovers like they are intended, that is to say you plan to use them to drive to school and around town and don't care about curvy road handling, then you should save the money and go with the pilot. If you really do care about badge appeal and handling, the MDX is your car.

Just because they share a lot of hardware, doesn't mean they drive anything like each other.

 

Oh, they can/do share a ton of DNA, that much is for sure. But, to me, if you want something that looks nice, you get the MDX. Not that the Pilot's bad, it's just not the MDX.

Now, if the logical side of your brain prevails, you buy the Pilot, and call it a day. Anyway, why wouldn't Honda take advantage of scaled economies? It's crucial to drive costs down, if they want to be competitive.

How much would it cost to build one Pilot? Or, how much to build one MDX? How about 500k of each, and have them share a boat-load parts? What would you do?

Bury it in the sheet-metal, as many can't see beyond that, anyway. I thought about FWD and RWD vehicles, and how people, many, have no idea that there's a difference.

Are you leaning towards one or the other?

 

You can only call buying the pilot over the MDX logical if they were both the exact same thing, think chevy tahoe vs GMC yukon type deal. However in reality they drive completely different and the pilot offers better interior space vs the MDX so one is more family oriented while the other is more sport oriented.

But I do see what you might be trying to say, both are family crossovers and are no race cars. In Canada the pilot elite is 55-60k iirc while the mdx elite is 70k....does that 10k add up to enough difference to where you would want the MDX? That is a fully subjective question. I watched some online reviews of the pilot and it looks like it now matches the MDX in terms of interior quality...so if I were in the position to buy...it would be a little tough to be honest especially with the pilot now having SH-AWD.

 

I'm seeing about 5X-10X more of the latest designed Pilots around town compared to 14-17 MDXs AND 13-17 RDXs combined. I think the Pilot is made for different crowd trying to decide between a mini-van or SUV with the emphasis on Utility. I see the MDX as SUV with the emphasis on Sport with minor sacrifices in Utility. I don't know why Acura is a 1/2 Gen behind Honda with tech and features in the last few years? A 2011 Pilot Touring was box on wheels with pogo sticks for suspension parts and 50 less hp compared to my 11 MDX Adv. I can see how the 17 Pilot -vs- 17 MDX comes down to $$$ and styling compared to HP, features, safety, tech, handling, or luxury a few years ago. I'm really would have to think hard between the Pilot, Ridgeline, and MDX when it comes time for me to put my 06 TSX or 08 RDX out to pasture. Leaning hard towards the Ridgeline because it is suppose to have a tighter suspension and might drive similar to the sh-awd MDX when just awd is needed.

 

That's the thing for me when I was looking to trade up from my 14 TL SHAWD. On paper, everything mechanically is the same but the test drive changed everything for me. The Pilot feels like a mini-van, it feels boaty (is that a word?) when it comes to taking turns and curves. The software programming is different between the Pilot and MDX. The dash itself doesn't feel driver centric and to me it doesn't feel right. You know when it the vehicle is the right one after conducting test drives. Jumping into the MDX a few weeks later, it felt familiar and 'just right' during the extended test drive. It felt like my TL SH-AWD in a taller SUV. 10K+ difference but I want something that excites me everytime I drive and not just something to drive to places for the next 8-10 + years. Now the good thing is, like any other Honda/Acura models, I can just go to Honda and get some minor maintenance done.

 

I didn't test drive Pilot but I know MDX is fun to drive.
Literally, I was talking to one of my colleagues today and she told me that they went to test drive MDX. They loved it but it was too pricy. Then they decided to test drive Pilot. As per observation, there is a huge different in quality, ride and overall finishing.

She fell in love with MDX but due to the price they might go with Pilot. So, let's not conclude that Pilot and MDX are the same

 

IMO the pilot is a much better buy. Same power train, newer technologies and cheaper.

I know many will argue that the MDX has nicer interior/exterior and drive better. But does it justify the price difference? it's a personal preference i guess

 

so, basically.....Your Mileage Will Vary....just like anything in life.....

 

Yup, you say Tomatoe, I say Tomahto

 

We also cross shopped them in May 2016. As others stated, Pilot drove boaty and felt huge in comparison to MDX. We picked up a CPO 2015 MDX tech for same price as a new 2016 Pilot EX-L. The neat feature the Pilot has that the MDX is missing is the right side view camera that activates with right turn signal. Not sure how useful it is in day to day use, but it was cool to see.

 

I have a question and a comment about this:

Is it possible to activate the camera manually for parking parallel? I feel like because you would use your signal anyways it would come on, just curious.

My comment is that in terms of a helpful feature, this is utterly stupid because really where should you be looking when trying to change lanes? Certainly not down and at the dashboard! This seems ultra gimmicky and very useless except for parallel parking where a birds eye view (is this available on the pilot like it is on the highlander and sorento?) camera system is much more useful.

 

Just googled it. Yes you can manually activate it. It's called LaneWatch™ As I said, not sure how useful it is vs gimmicky. I too expect it would be most useful for parallel parking.


http://news.honda.com/newsandviews/a...spx?id=8493-en

 

Thank you for posting that! Yes then I think we are in agreement that this is a way of getting out of installing a birds eye view system while trying to make it look like it's a better feature. That's sad when things like a 14k nissan has it and I beleive even the honda fit does?

 

my son has a pilot. Dont think it rides as nice as my mdx

 

I'm curious how different shocks, struts, springs, endlinks, front/rear stabilizer bar, other suspension components are from the MDX -vs- Pilot? If you can make the Pilot handle like an MDX, it is just a question of styling and an extra $10,000 in your pocket.

 

Wife has a 2016 Pilot AWD (SH-AWD w/ Sensing).
I have a 2015 Acura TLX 2.4L w/ Tech.

We have 2 elementary age kids and chose the Pilot for a variety of reasons, mainly interior room and price. It's bigger in the cabin than an MDX and there is NOTHING that can touch it based on price alone. Try it! Not the Highlander, 4 Runner, etc. Sadly, I think the Pilot's main competitors are the MDX and maybe the Infiniti QX60, which we also looked at (smaller inside, more $$$$).

The only thing I don't like about the Pilot is the styling; the MDX is much better to look at. The Pilot does not feel floaty to me at all and is faster in acceleration than my TLX (I4 vs. V6). We deliberately chose the EX-L package to get the 6-speed in order to avoid any 9-speed transmission issues/hiccups. I am sure there are several noticeable little differences between the Pilot and MDX, in favor of the MDX, but we ultimately decided those didn't add up to the added cost. Plus, the Pilot strongly holds its value, as we found out on trade-in of our 2012.

Really, you can't go wrong with either -- just depends on your needs/criteria on what works for you. I will say that Acura SERIOUSLY needs to up its game to quit making its parent company its main competitor, as well.

 

I drove a Pilot last weekend, although it was a short trip, I feel like it is a great car. It accelerates faster than both our 07 and 13 MDX. I don't buy brand new cars so I don't know how the Pilot will age but I know that the MDX ages well, sure, it does not have the bells and whistles in the tech department, our MDXs are so far behind in tech, the back up camera is a joke compared to my bro in law's Lexus, lol .. But reliability and fun to drive is at the top of my priority and nothing out there that is a 7 seat SUV, I have driven that is more fun to drive than the MDX in my opinion. I am sure the Pilot is nice, one thing is it seems like Honda has more advanced tech than Acura. They have this camera on the side mirror where when you signal and turn, you can see the sides, great feature.