2003 Honda Pilot - 4WD and Room for Eight
Honda is well known for building big, powerful trucks, right? If you said yes to this question where have you been for the last 35 years? The rest of you are quite aware that Honda is legendary for fuel efficient economy cars, sporty coupes and more recently, minivans and compact SUVs. That said its minivan just happens to be the largest and most powerful in its FWD class. This same Odyssey van recently spawned the Acura MDX, one of the most dynamic handlers in the SUV category. Now this platform brings us Honda's first midsize SUV, or should we call it full-size?
Sure it's 275 mm (10 in) shorter than a GMC Yukon, but that doesn't tell the entire story. What about curb weight? The Yukon weighs in at 2,190 kg (4,828 lb) while the Pilot is only 183 kg (403 lb) lighter at 2,007 kg (4,425 lb). How about passenger capacity? The base Pilot seats 8, albeit a rather tight squeeze in the 3rd row for most adults, while the Yukon only 7 (9 in the extended Yukon XL). Despite its commodious interior another comparison shows that the Pilot is only 90 mm (3.5 in) longer than the 5-person Toyota Highlander. That's not much difference when it comes to negotiating a parking spot, putting it just on the larger side of midsize.