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ROAD TEST

Killer deals out there on this reliable SUV

JEREMY CATO

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 7:30 PM EDT 08/06/08

Honda wants the 2008 models off the lot before the 2009s arrive ...Read the full article

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  1. Andrew MacKinnon from Toronto, Canada writes: Don't buy an SUV unless you really need one (i.e. you live in the country and regularly drive on dirt roads or you need to haul around large amounts of stuff). SUVs are still expensive even after the discounts and the gas prices will kill your wallet. Don't let you a couple thousand $ off make you buy an expensive SUV that will use thousands of $s more of gasoline.
  2. m. r. from Canada writes: definition of a bargain.....if you can afford to run it! I think the price of gas is still going up and may very well be a big concern to those who own or are about to buy a large car. buyer beware.
  3. Mac- GLG from Canada writes: Some of us need a little bigger vehicle. Family of 5 with a dog and a camper trailer.
    We can't all drive Smart Cars.
    Personally, I like the safety of a larger vehicle and I'll never buy a little death trap.
  4. Bert Russell Paradox, BC from Canada writes:
    Mc GLG - you sound more like an old f@art or stuck in the big rig big man
    mode - big for safety ????? ... bide your time, the big Corps know if they stick with guzzlers that their market will fail. I have a truck now (crew cab) which I will hold on to because of declined depreciation and have no other choice. (Just use it less) As soon as somebody reliable comes out with something with reasonable mileage that can pull ... I'll look at it. In the end its all about choice ... but the big three better start paying attention.
  5. Stewart Pid from Canada writes: Save even more & buy your vehicle in the US ... Honda Canada is still ripping off Canadians ... I was at the dealership in Calgary yesterday & a $2200 option is only $1300 stateside even though the dollar is par.
    The bottom line is the identical vehicle is $ 5000 cheaper in the states than in Canada. Our government crooks are helping the dealers maintain this blatant ripoff. They should open the borders totally & allow hassle free imports & watch how fast the prices equalize.
  6. Peter Douglas from Canada writes: Freedom of choice? Assuming we aren't living in Cuba (cann't be as their health care is better and they don't pay the taxes we do).....family cannot make it in an "econ-car"...... Since we all pay additional taxes to drive bigger vehicles (from day one and on-wards with the taxes on gas, etc).....that's life! I am sure if you were to look at the "greenhousing gases" generated by producing the electricity to keep our "hockey rinks" full with ice year round.....not a real necessity here....but....politically not a very wise point! So....if some of us need larger vehicles to get through life....the market place will ultimately produce more "environmental" friendly vehicles. Governments really don't excel (and haven't anywhere in history) at being smarter than the market....and I am a Civil Servant!! Waiting over 1 year for an MRI isn't really "Global standards".....so.....let's keep government out of the design and production of vehicles!! I bet on the private sector to ultimately produce more environmentally sound vehicles that also satisfy customers needs.....rather than count on government to provide "real" health care....real public education...etc...etc...etc...
  7. Bob K from United States writes: RE : Mac- GLG from Canada writes: Some of us need a little bigger vehicle. Family of 5 with a dog and a camper trailer.
    We can't all drive Smart Cars.

    Personally, I like the safety of a larger vehicle and I'll never buy a little death trap.

    I view your SUV as a premeditated personal threat to my safety, keep your family and dog at home
  8. Nardo Sancue from Canada writes: Nathan, from the venom in your response, it sounds like you know how to use a condom, but haven't used one in a while :-)

    We're in Canada and we're free to choose the car we drive. If I want to drive a big car and pay the gas to drive it, it's my choice. If you choose to drive a small car and to get in the way of my big car, it's yours. We're both free. Vive le Canada!
  9. D P from Oakville, Canada writes: Ya this is a great deal because of the reno on the '09's and oh ya THE FACT THAT SALES ARE SPIRALLING DOWN AT ACCLERATING RATES. Sorry back to gorilla Propaganda world. Yes buy a Pilot BAAAAAAAAAA!
  10. Yvonne Wackernagel from Woodville, Canada writes: Peter Douglas from Canada writes: Freedom of choice? Assuming we aren't living in Cuba (cann't be as their health care is better and they don't pay the taxes we do).....family cannot make it in an "econ-car"...... Since we all pay additional taxes to drive bigger vehicles (from day one and on-wards with the taxes on gas, etc).....that's life
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Makes a lot of difference being a civil servant with job security and particularly great benefits especially after retirement.
  11. NotASpoiledAthelete - from Canada writes: I have a CUV (X-Trail) and the idea of interior size in these cars being more than in a small car is a big falsehood.
    We're planning on buying the Merc B200 as our next car because, even though it is smaller in exterior - it actually has more litres of space behind the backseat than our CUV!
  12. Mike L. from Canada writes: I drive a Passat wagon. Plenty of interior space. Nice 200 hp turbocharged gasoline engine; efficient when you want it, power when you need it. I am currently averaging about 7.0 L/100 km with it. I just filled it up this morning and got 922.9 km on a tank of fuel, with 70 km left to empty according to the trip computer. I do mostly rural driving. It hasn't given any trouble in 51,000 km so far.

    No need for an SUV. Safety? Airbags all over the place, seat belt tensioners, excellent safety rating, stability control. Plenty of safety. And tons of room, both rear seat leg room and cargo room. A family of 5 could do just fine, and burn considerably less than the Pilot SUV.

    I actually feel safer in a car with precise handling, than in a high center of gravity SUV that drives like a truck.
  13. mike h from Canada writes: I don't really have a problem with anyone choosing this vehicle, it is not really a gas guzzler at all, it gets similar fuel economy to many larger cars. Bizare that the comments have focused on this - would you rather people purchased a suburban?

    In saying that, I just thing the Pilot is ugly and boring. I have never liked it, even the new one to come looks bland. Looks do matter, and the pilot is beyond dull.
  14. Mike B from Canada writes: From your headline, it sounds like you are trying to sell OJ's Ford Bronco.
  15. Paul Bowler from Canberra, Australia writes: Reckon my Highlander (called a "Kluger" here in Oz) is better - and the Honda design was copied from it! I feel safe in my Highlander because sitting up higher, I get a much better view of the road and the traffic, allowing me to "read" the traffic better. Despite the higher centre of gravity, the Highlander is exceptionally smooth on cornering, with very little if any sway or body-roll. For 62,000km, I have averaged 11.5 litres/100km on ordinary unleaded. Oh what a feeling!!
  16. Nick Beerman from Calgary, Canada writes: I'm an old fart and live in Oil Country. I would have no part of a vehicle such as this. Over 90% of people who buy them are buying them for status only and don't really need them.

    Any extra danger that might come in having a smaller vehicle comes from idiots who have over sized vehicles that make them feel so safe that they feel like they are invincible and drive like idiots.

    I have no use for those who substitute the size of their vehicles for having to be intelligent drivers.
  17. t d from Canada writes: surely you jest ......... there is no great deal on any vehicle in Canada as long as the auto industry insists Canadian's should pay a 26% to 50% premium over US prices.
  18. Guido Sartucci from Flin Flon, Canada writes: Go ahead and buy one in the US and see if Honda Canada honours your warranty!

    Herd us like sheep, eh?

    And what kind of vehicle is this? This Stoopid Useless Vehicle (SUV) is apparently designed for urban maroons, the cute little tank does 0-100 in 9.1 seconds with 245hp? What a slug and gas guzzler to boot - look at that city mileage with full time 4wd where you really need it! And you get sooo much interior cabin space, the average car trunk holds more too. It will probably also tip over if you challenge any corner faster than 30km/hr.

    Bargain my ash, pricey gas and global warming have made this look like the foolish vehicle that it is and Honda is trying to desperately unload. G&M is their paid shill.
  19. George Khan from Suburbia, Canada writes: Sorry, Cato, I'm not buying your ad disguised as a review. The Pilot might be a good vehicle (as Hondas generally are), but it's now got plenty of fierce competition, much of which is coming from more car-like foes.
    Also, the old perception of some people posting here about SUVs being safer is not corroborated by the actual facts; even though they may fare slightly better in some kinds of crashes, they do far worse than cars and station/sport wagons in crash avoidance and, more importantly, in rollovers
  20. That Guy from Hamilton, Canada writes: Bigger vehicles only co-relate to being safer if you actually get into an actual collision. In my book that's not safer at all.

    Avoidance is the safest option, and you can't do that nearly as easily in a large vehicle.

    Also keep in mind that if you simply lose control of your big, un-wieldly SUV (even a mid-size one) that you have significantly more momentum, making said loss of control significantly harder to recover from and if you happen to hit some sort of uneven surface, such as a ditch or sidewalk you're going to roll much more easily and for longer then if you were in an AWD passenger car or wagon.

    True it's important to do what's best for yourself, but it would do you well to remember that's you should only do what's best for yourself as long as it's also what's best for the overall group. In the case of motor vehicle purchases, this group is humanity, not your immediate family.

    SUV's are a selfish choice, period.
  21. George George from Canada writes: The stink of desperation of these dinosaur car companies is palpable.
  22. Kurtis Smith from Canada writes: The G&M tells us we MUST buy one RIGHT NOW and not wait a second not even to think. Just run out and finance that depreciating useless item. Burden yourself and your family with more debt.

    Absolutely insane.

    Maybe start trying to save 50% of your paycheck like they do in Asia. Just say no to consumerism.
  23. Allen Jones from Canada writes: Wow! I haven't seen so much passionate debate since the Quebec referendum in 1995! In my opinion, there's a place for SUVs - but the city isn't it. For all of those who see the SUV as the tool of the devil, please relax. Our carbon footprint (as far as vehicles go) is the product of the vehicle's fuel efficiency and the number of kilometres driven each year. People with large vehicles who drive rarely can emit fewer pollutants than people who rack up 10s of thousands of kilometres annually in their Smart cars. Perhaps we could all drive a little less, use public transit a little more and change our driving habits to maximize the fuel efficiency of the vehicles we drive. To me, that makes more sense than banning the SUV.
  24. Flinton Rice from Toronto, Canada writes: In a study of US accidents, they found that of every 27 accidents involving an SUV and a car (where there was a fatality) - 26 of the fatalities happened in the car.

    So, you may not like the environmental aspects of the SUV, but if you want your kids to be safe, then there really isn't a question. When legislation comes around that everyone must drive the same car then we'll all be on equal footing and we don't have to buy these SUV's.

    After all, who am I saving the environment for?
  25. Aubrey Rose from Canada writes: I get a kick out of the owners of these bloody big urban assault vehicles that could climb the Matterhorn, using their vehicles to drive to and from work every day. Gotta have a Hemi, gotta have a Super Duty, gotta have more horses than the other guy. Some people live vicariously through their vehicles, like the twerp who climbs down from his big truck and feels 7 feet tall. A lot of it is nothing more than one big pissing contest. The person with the biggest, more powerful, fastest blah blah blah wins. The winners are Esso, Ultramar, etc.
  26. M Kwad from Calgary, Canada writes: Why is it that families with three kids automatically assume that a minivan is the only way to go? I wonder what people did before minivans became so fashionable in the 80s...
  27. Kia Raju from Toronto, Canada writes: Remember coming to Canada as a immigrant in the 70's, My father drove a a Nissan Datsun, we were a family of five and had no problems. We could even get our Grand Parents to squeeze into the car.

    Just baffles me why would anyone need a drive a SUV in the burbs in such
    a flat terrain like GTA.
  28. M Samra from Toronto, ON, Canada writes: We bought an 07 Pilot a few weeks before my wife delivered our first child in December. The peace of mind knowing that you are in one of the safest cars is well worth the price.

    My wife never would have bought a gas-guzzling behemoth before this.

    But now, she loves it. It has a huge interior. My son has lots of room. All his stuff (toys, stroller, bags, etc) are stowed away in the back.

    Buy a Pilot before the 09's come out. The interior is going to be much smaller.

    To all the people who knock SUV-ownership - Don't knock it unless you have driven one.
  29. Smoke Detector from GTA AOK, Canada writes: Like most auto writing, this article is an ad in a poor disguise, designed to drive people to the actual paid advertising from the same carmakers. I have driven motorcycles, cars and SUVs, and while they all have their good and bad points, the only vehicle I was happy to get rid of was our SUV. As others have pointed out, the perceived safety benefits of SUVs are largely a myth - one might feel safer in a high, large vehicle but you aren't (don't trust my opinion, or paid media shills - look for studies done by those without a vested interest in sales or their own career). Add the increased danger to others, high gas costs/carbon footprint, lousy cargo space, etc and there's no reason for the average person to buy one. The only reasons left are vanity and status, and since there will never be any shortage of people attempting to buy their personalities, the big car makers will continue to push high-margin SUVs until the wheels (literally or figuratively) fall off.
  30. D K from Canada writes: "Flinton Rice from Toronto, Canada writes: In a study of US accidents, they found that of every 27 accidents involving an SUV and a car (where there was a fatality) - 26 of the fatalities happened in the car."

    ...and SUVS are 3 times more likely be involved in fatal one car rollovers.
  31. On Edge from Canada writes: Doncha love to see these SUVs and pickups lumbering around the mall parking lot and struggling to turn around? And blocking out the sun on city streets?

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