2008 Honda Pilot Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The Pilot advertises its utility with an upright silhouette and blocky, yet upbeat, styling. This design provides plenty of ground clearance and solid visibility for the driver. It should be noted that the Pilot is slated for a redesign in 2009, and the current model is starting to show signs of age. This is especially true of the cabin, which packs a lot of small buttons into the centre console. The current trend is big, easy-to-operate buttons and dials.

Design trends aside, the Pilot has fantastic fit and finish and uses top-notch materials. Regardless of age, the Honda Pilot remains a wonderfully refined SUV. For 2008, Honda has rearranged the trim offerings for Canada: the base LX receives some minor upgrades, while the former EX and EX-L trims have been combined into a single new trim called SE. EX-L Navi continues to top the Canadian lineup.

Standard features on the LX include 16-inch alloy wheels power windows, remote keyless entry, a quartet of 12-volt power outlets, air conditioning, and cruise control. The SE trim adds automatic climate control, a sunroof, a six-CD changer, fog lights, an eight-way height-adjustable driver’s seat, a rear-seat entertainment system, and more. The Honda Pilot EX-L Navi comes with leather seats and heated front seats (which are an option on SE) and navigation, but strangely, you cannot get both that and the rear-seat entertainment system in the same car.

A 3.5-litre V6 engine powers the Honda Pilot. It makes power specs of 244 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque. A five-speed automatic transmission routes power to either the front wheels (FWD) or to all-wheel drive (AWD). (Note that Honda's literature refers to the latter as four-wheel drive, or 4WD.) This powertrain provides smooth, confident power delivery. It never lacks in power, and even when pushed, the engine is relatively quiet.

The 4WD system employs something called Variable Torque Management to send power to the front wheels in normal driving conditions. When one or more of the wheels lose traction, the system can direct up to 50% of the power to the rear wheels.

The Pilot provides a comfortable ride, owing to the car-based DNA that makes it a crossover. This makes it great over potholes and for long trips. While comfortable, the Pilot is not particularly agile, which is quickly becoming a priority in this segment.

The Honda Pilot provides seating for seven or eight passengers, depending on the configuration selected. The eight-passenger setup features a middle bench for its second-row seating, while the seven-passenger arrangement provides second-row captains chairs. The space between these chairs provides a small corridor to access the third row. This can also be accomplished by folding forward the bench or captain’s chairs.

The third-row seats themselves do not provide much head- or legroom and are best left for children on any drive longer than across town.

The Pilot provides 450 litres of cargo capacity behind the third row. Folding the third row down provides up to 1,347 litres of space while folding down all rear seats will grow cargo space to an impressive 2,480 litres.

Part of the Honda Pilot’s safety is found in its inherent design, including the greenhouse, which provides up to 282 degrees of visibility. Of course, a car needs more than just good sight lines to be a truly safe vehicle. The 2008 Pilot provides four-wheel antilock (ABS) disc brakes, stability control, traction control, and tire pressure monitoring as standard equipment.

The Pilot comes standard with front and side-impact airbags with front passenger occupancy sensors. The Pilot also provides head side curtain airbags for all three rows of seating.

The Pilot earns a perfect five-star crash test rating in evaluation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The FWD version of the Pilot midsize SUV is the more efficient of the two drivetrain options. It returns 13.3 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving and 8.9 on the highway. With 4WD, the Pilot returns fuel economy of 14.1 L/100 km city and 9.7 highway.

The model year 2008 Honda Pilot starts at new car pricing of $36,820 for an LX FWD. Adding 4WD brings the price to $39,820. A Honda Pilot SE starts at $43,990, while a range-topping 4WD EX-L w/ Navi trim level costs $46,690.

Note: Images show a US model.