2009 Honda Pilot

by Chuck Giametta
Table of Contents
2009 Honda Pilot Prices
2009 Honda Pilot Road Test
2009 Honda Pilot Competition
2009 Honda Pilot Car Quote

2009 Honda Pilot buying advice
The redesigned 2009 Honda Pilot puts on a clinic, demonstrating most everything a midsize sport-utility ought to be and tossing in a couple of things you might not expect.

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One surprise might be that Pilot buyers gravitate to the upper end of the model range. Honda says the most-popular models in the Pilot lineup have been -- and will continue to be -- EX-L versions with standard leather upholstery and base prices in the $33,000-$37,000 range. That’s one reason Honda was encouraged to stretch the 2009 Pilot roster with introduction of an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Touring model that’ll sticker for around $40,000.

All 2009 Honda Pilots share the same strong engine, wide array of standard safety features, and roomy eight-passenger seating. We would not hesitate to recommend the very nice cloth-upholstered EX model, which should start around $31,500 in all-wheel drive form and comes with tri-zone automatic climate control, heated mirrors, eight-way power drivers seat, and steering-wheel audio controls.

But if you’ve got the earnings and the feel a yearning for such extras as leather upholstery, power moonroof, and heated front seats, join the crowd and step up the EX-L (around $34,000 with AWD) or EX-L RES with rear-seat DVD entertainment (around $35,500 with AWD).

These prices are competitive with similarly equipped rivals. If you don’t consider Pilot’s blocky styling a turn-off, you’re likely to find none of those rivals quite matches the 2009 Honda Pilot’s compendium of virtues.

What you’ve got to know about the 2009 Honda Pilot
The 2009 Honda Pilot lifts the curtain on the second-generation of this critically and commercially successful midsize SUV. Like the first-generation, on sale model years 2003-2008, the 2009 Honda Pilot is a so-called crossover SUV. Crossovers eschew rugged truck-like body-on-frame engineering for a lighter, car-like “unibody” design. Below the sheetmetal, the 2009 Pilot shares its basic structure with the MDX premium midsize-SUV from Honda’s upscale Acura brand.

The 2009 Honda Pilot continues with a 3.5-liter V-6 as the sole engine, though it has more power and better fuel economy than the previous version. It comes in four trim levels, each offering a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The Pilot is built at Honda’s plant in Alabama.

The 2009 Honda Pilot release date is May 22, 2008.

Look for the basic design of the 2009 Honda Pilot to remain unchanged through model-year 2013 or 2014. Some reports suggest Honda will offer the Pilot with a diesel engine after the 2009 model year. And expect some minor styling alterations around model-year 2012.

What’s changed about the 2009 Honda Pilot
The 2009 Honda Pilot is slightly longer, wider, taller, and heavier than its predecessor, but its exterior dimensions remain among the tidiest in the midsize-SUV category. Interior volume grows, too, and no competitive SUV uses its cabin space more efficiently.

Styling is an evolution of the previous look, still upright and square, but more self-consciously macho. Fender flares are exaggerated, roof pillars are thicker, and the nose looks like the snout of some sort of robot bulldog. Honda says Pilot’s stylists were inspired by “the beveled lines of an ultra-rugged laptop computer.”

New-for-2009 features include a tailgate with separate-opening glass, anchoring locations for four child seats (up from two and the most in the class), a steering column that telescopes as well as tilts, and front windows that automatically power up as well as down. Standard wheel and tire diameter is 17 inches, up from 16, and now standard is Hill Start Assist, which keeps the Pilot from rolling backward during the driver’s transition from brake to accelerator.

Under the hood, the 3.5-liter V-6 has 250 horsepower and 253 pounds-feet of torque, up from 244 and 240. More significantly, it utilizes the newest iteration of Honda’s Variable Cylinder Management, which automatically transitions between six, four, and three cylinders to balance power needs and fuel economy. This V-6 is also found in Honda’s Accord car and its Odyssey minivan. A cylinder-deactivation system was used in previous Pilots, but didn’t have the interim four-cylinder mode and was unavailable on AWD models. A five-speed automatic remains the sole transmission but the shift lever is relocated from the steering column to the base of the dashboard.