Pilot tries to steer a middle course

Honda boosts size of refreshed SUV amid soaring gas prices – but ditches optional V8

Special to the Star

Jun 14, 2008

MONT TREMBLANT, QUE.–Promoting an eight-passenger SUV with gas prices soaring as high as they are must make Honda feel a bit queasy.

Especially since the second generation Pilot the automaker rolled out in this holiday region an hour north of Montreal is larger than the first, with a longer wheelbase (75 mm) and wider (35 mm in front and 25 mm in the rear) stance. It's squarer and heavier-looking – all changes its customers clamoured for, according to Honda, who says its customers wanted the Pilot to be "more SUV-like."

Really? These questions were asked when? From a pre-production perspective it must have been more than 12 months ago and 24 months is more likely – in other words, before gas prices took off for the stratosphere.

Well, those customers are getting what they asked for – the question now is whether they will buy it.

Pricing on the 2009 Pilot will remain at '08 levels. Prices start at $36,820 for the 2WD base LX model and up to a new trim level called the Touring for $49,920.

Honda, like anyone else, couldn't really have predicted the speed at which buyers would sour on large SUVs, but it did make one apparent concession to the changing times.

Though it bumped up the size of the Pilot, it stuck with its smaller engine, passing on the idea of equipping the new Pilot with a V8. And that may end up being the SUV's saving grace.

Instead, the carmaker opted to bump up the horsepower and develop a new cylinder deactivation system on the current 3.5 L V6 that cuts gas consumption.

The new 3.5 L VCM (Variable Cylinder Management) engine is Honda's version of cylinder deactivation that companies like Dodge and GM have had success with.

A previous version of VCM, introduced on two-wheel drive Pilots in 2007 (these switched from three-cylinder to six-cylinder operation only), was obviously not deemed hearty enough to propel the AWD system. So on the new Pilot, VCM can switch from three-cylinder to four-cylinder operation as well as the full six.

The onboard computer makes a judgment on how many cylinders you need, based on some combination of engine speed and torque. If you're going up a hill and it senses you are lugging, it will switch from three to four cylinder mode. If your engine revs drop still further, it will add in all six cylinders.The result is more power and a 7 per cent fuel savings over the '08 unequipped model, according to Honda.

Driving the holiday back roads of Lanaudière, I watched a small "Eco" display light up in the tachometer each time the engine was in three or four-cylinder mode. When full power was called for it went off. On the hilly Laurentian mountain roads it was flashing most of the time.

One reason may have been the 2,090 kg curb weight of the Touring model I was driving. But down on the highway it was possible to get the "Eco" light to stay on for longer periods – and it's here that the fuel savings are likely to greatest.

Honda says its VCM is designed "to be unnoticeable to the driver," but perhaps because I was concentrating on it, I did notice it shifting between modes.

The new VCM system is paired with the current five-speed transmission, although the gear ratios have been tweaked with an eye to getting a bit more grunt off the line and a higher overdrive fifth gear.

Honda arranged an off-road course for my drive – nothing extreme – as they themselves call the Pilot 4WD system (with refreshing honesty), suited to "medium-duty off-road needs." And for snowy cottage roads it will be fine, but for anything tougher than jumping curbs to get out of pay parking lots – forget it.

While there is a "4WD lock" mode, this works only in first or second gear, and only locks the torque between front and rear axle, not the wheels.

Still, on the sand and gravel hills (where the cloud of black flies made no distinction between cultures, biting French and English alike), it was enough, and the ruggedness of the new MacPherson strut front and rear independent suspension proved itself.

Another item new to Pilot this year is a Hill Start Assist, which holds the vehicle in place for up to two seconds as your foot moves between the brake and gas pedal – however steep the grade.

Many of the new features inside the '09 Pilot benefit passengers. The larger cabin makes for more space in the third row, and there are gains in legroom and a larger access when the second row is tipped forward. The third row also gets new rear HVAC vents along with independent temperature/fan control. There are also new child seat anchor positions – three in the second row and one in the third.

Also in the back, the rear gate gets flip-up glass – key fob operated – which opens to an additional 96 litres of space behind that third row. For the suburban handyman, Pilot now passes the flat-on-the-floor four-foot-wide plywood test.

Up front the driver gets a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, auto up/down windows on both sides, programmable auto door locks, an audio input jack and active head restraints. The centre stack is also new, with a 747's worth of controls and buttons for the stereo, HVAC and navigation system. But there is still too much dull, grey plastic.

The '09 Pilot, in showrooms now, continues its role as the big Honda people-mover with positive changes for '09 – yet nothing radical.

This is sometimes cause for criticism, but in a karmic display of "timing is everything," Honda has to be happy it didn't bow to peer pressure and offer a V8.

Toronto Star