The Pilot's conservative two-box design is inoffensive, but a little too "white bread" for me. Moving indoors doesn't spice things up much either, albeit the dash layout and many convenient storage repositories are well thought-out. And in typical Honda fashion, fit and finish is first rate. The Pilot's unibody construction adds to its solidity, creating an automotive environment that is rattle free, and tight-as-a-drum. Legroom in the expansive cabin is more than adequate in the front and second rows, with headroom that's nothing short of massive, even with the driver's manual height adjustment at its peak setting.
 |
| The Pilot's conservative two-box design is inoffensive, but a little too "white bread" for me. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
Despite such commendable traits, I have bones to pick regarding a couple aspects of the Pilot's interior. Bone one pertains to the restrained resting area for the driver's left foot. During long drives, an inability to stretch-out my left leg, due to the intrusion of the wheel-well, felt awkward and constraining. But this small irritation was easily balanced with the tremendous, fatigue-free, comfort of the firm Honda buckets. Bone two relates to the imprecise and clumsy movement of the column-mounted shift lever. When shifting from Park to Drive, I often inadvertently over-shifted Drive and ended up in D3 or worse yet, D2 - thus limiting the full-rage of gears available to the automatic's shift-logic. I also found Neutral more than once when returning to Drive after downshifting to take advantage of engine-braking on long descents. Personally, I would forgo some of the clutter-inducing center-console storage in favor of a gated, MDX-like floor shifter.
 |
| Not that anyone would ever want to, but a Pilot will safely transport a driver and seven guests. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
Regardless of where its transmission is shifted from, one would be enormously challenged to find deal-breaking criticism with the Pilot's passenger-hauling functionality. Not that anyone would ever want to, but a Pilot will safely transport a driver and seven guests. The vehicle will seat two in its comfortable front buckets and three per bench thereafter. The entire occupant octet can be secured by 3-point seat belts. The second row 40/60 split folding bench is wide enough to reasonably accommodate three friendly adults, however the three assigned to the third-row must be the closest of friends, literally; this seating is best left to gymnasts or agile children. Both the second and third rows fold flat, creating one of the most cavernous cargo bins in the field of midsize SUVs at 2,557 liters (90.3 cu ft).