I'm going to go out on a limb here and declare the Honda Pilot the SUV for the hip mom who is not yet ready to succumb to the minivan Gods.
My husband I purchased the 2008 model of this vehicle in December 2007 in preparation for our family growing from 4 to 5 as we anticipated the arrival of our third child. It has been a great purchase and we are glad we invested in it.
Granted with all three rows in full use there is clearly not enough trunk space to fit our B.O.B. jogging stroller, yet alone two full sized suitcases (one obvious flaw) but the 2008 version which we have is quite roomy. My 6 foot 3 inch tall husband can sit comfortably behind the steering wheel and even behind the driver's seat when my 5 foot 3 behind is driving and have the seat pulled up! ha! It has great legroom.
The cabin is also spacious and we can fit three car seats (a convertible infants seat, a child booster and an older child's booster seat) and still have room for 4 other adult passengers besides the driver. With family that stay with us 6 months out of the year, we couldn't afford to get a SUV just for us and our kids. It is not always practical and easy to have to travel with a caravan to mini shopping trips if our guests want to come with on a mini excursion with us.
While it is not an ultra luxury vehicle like the BMW X5 and the Mercedes GL-Class SUVs or the Lexus LX 570, or the Volvo xc90 or the Land Rover, it has much more space than those vehicles. Few of those SUVs can comfortably fit 8 adults like the Pilot can. Still, it's frame and body is sleek looking and it fits in well in a parking lot with those upscale vehicles. It also has all the upgrades and fancy bells and whistles as those other makes. For example, we love to show off the voice activated command system. New passengers in our car are always geeked to here us ask "What Time is It?" and here the pleasant woman robot or whatever she is reply "It is 9:55 am" Or when we ask it to turn the fan speed up, change the radio station, adjust the heat etc. She confirms the request out loud and then obliges. That's a good girl.
Also with me not being the best parallel parker out there either, I've been batting 100 with the built in rear view camera helping me out since getting this vehicle. No more do I fear hitting the bumpers of cars to my rear because I simply have to look at the video screen on my dashboard for a very clear gauge of how close I am to the other car. It also comes with XM Satellite radio receiver installed and we got 6 months free service when we leased the car new in December 2008 as we anticipated the growth of our family from 4 to 5.
It also has individual climate control for each passenger and rear climate control as well. I am always too cold in the winter and my husband too hot so we don't have to fight over the controls. Another neat feature with our vehicle is that is has several plug in chargers with two in the front, and one in each row which is great with the sign of the times where there are families where everyone has a mobile phone and would like to charge it in the car during travel.
The car is top in its class for fuel efficiency. Sometimes, I fill it up at the beginning of the week and don't have to visit the pump again until the end of the week. Granted I work from home and my outdoor romps include me 1. dropping off the kids 5 minutes from my home 2. going to the gym, bank, grocer's or Starbucks also 5 minutes from my home. and 3. picking them back up and schlepping them to nearby activities, parks or the local McD's so...not much mileage there. However, we did travel with it to Williamsburg, Virginia this summer for vacation and got there 3 hours later on a 1/2 tank of gas.
And all that described above are the features I can think of off the top of my head.
We went to the Auto Show when it came into DC and did loads of research and comparison shopping before settling on the Pilot. I have heard great things about the Toyota line of SUVs as well, the Highlander, 4 Runner and Land Cruiser, but I am still very happy with our choice.
My husband I purchased the 2008 model of this vehicle in December 2007 in preparation for our family growing from 4 to 5 as we anticipated the arrival of our third child. It has been a great purchase and we are glad we invested in it.
Granted with all three rows in full use there is clearly not enough trunk space to fit our B.O.B. jogging stroller, yet alone two full sized suitcases (one obvious flaw) but the 2008 version which we have is quite roomy. My 6 foot 3 inch tall husband can sit comfortably behind the steering wheel and even behind the driver's seat when my 5 foot 3 behind is driving and have the seat pulled up! ha! It has great legroom.
The cabin is also spacious and we can fit three car seats (a convertible infants seat, a child booster and an older child's booster seat) and still have room for 4 other adult passengers besides the driver. With family that stay with us 6 months out of the year, we couldn't afford to get a SUV just for us and our kids. It is not always practical and easy to have to travel with a caravan to mini shopping trips if our guests want to come with on a mini excursion with us.
While it is not an ultra luxury vehicle like the BMW X5 and the Mercedes GL-Class SUVs or the Lexus LX 570, or the Volvo xc90 or the Land Rover, it has much more space than those vehicles. Few of those SUVs can comfortably fit 8 adults like the Pilot can. Still, it's frame and body is sleek looking and it fits in well in a parking lot with those upscale vehicles. It also has all the upgrades and fancy bells and whistles as those other makes. For example, we love to show off the voice activated command system. New passengers in our car are always geeked to here us ask "What Time is It?" and here the pleasant woman robot or whatever she is reply "It is 9:55 am" Or when we ask it to turn the fan speed up, change the radio station, adjust the heat etc. She confirms the request out loud and then obliges. That's a good girl.
Also with me not being the best parallel parker out there either, I've been batting 100 with the built in rear view camera helping me out since getting this vehicle. No more do I fear hitting the bumpers of cars to my rear because I simply have to look at the video screen on my dashboard for a very clear gauge of how close I am to the other car. It also comes with XM Satellite radio receiver installed and we got 6 months free service when we leased the car new in December 2008 as we anticipated the growth of our family from 4 to 5.
It also has individual climate control for each passenger and rear climate control as well. I am always too cold in the winter and my husband too hot so we don't have to fight over the controls. Another neat feature with our vehicle is that is has several plug in chargers with two in the front, and one in each row which is great with the sign of the times where there are families where everyone has a mobile phone and would like to charge it in the car during travel.
The car is top in its class for fuel efficiency. Sometimes, I fill it up at the beginning of the week and don't have to visit the pump again until the end of the week. Granted I work from home and my outdoor romps include me 1. dropping off the kids 5 minutes from my home 2. going to the gym, bank, grocer's or Starbucks also 5 minutes from my home. and 3. picking them back up and schlepping them to nearby activities, parks or the local McD's so...not much mileage there. However, we did travel with it to Williamsburg, Virginia this summer for vacation and got there 3 hours later on a 1/2 tank of gas.
And all that described above are the features I can think of off the top of my head.
We went to the Auto Show when it came into DC and did loads of research and comparison shopping before settling on the Pilot. I have heard great things about the Toyota line of SUVs as well, the Highlander, 4 Runner and Land Cruiser, but I am still very happy with our choice.
Wow! Nice Car! Hmmm..I'm thinking to change my mini van to Honda Pilot. But not now, I can't afford to buy one. hahahaha... (www.bigjobsboard.com)
Hmm...I was considering a minivan (already have an SUV), had forgotten all about the pilot.