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NFT: Honda Pilot vs. Toyota Highlander

davek3698 : 10/15/2014 6:29 pm
Time for a new SUV for the wife as her '04 Explorer has one foot in the grave. Looking at mid-sized SUVs again. Would love a full-sized one, but with her commute to work it wouldn’t make sense. We’ve narrowed it down to the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander (I think). I like the Pilot, but she likes the Highlander mainly because it offers captain’s chair in the middle row for our two kids. (We travel a lot on long weekends, 4+ hours away) Pilot seems to have a lot more room back there overall though. Big dog in the equation as well. Anyone have either here and willing to offer opinions? TIA
What is wrong with another Explorer  
Chef : 10/15/2014 7:03 pm : link
.
transmission  
davek3698 : 10/15/2014 7:14 pm : link
Problems that ford new was widespread but did nothing about. Time for something different.
I thought you were gonna say that  
Chef : 10/15/2014 7:20 pm : link
yes that plagued that Explorer era.. I have a 2007 and the 6 speed tranny is not even Ford, it is built by Mercedes.. Check out what the new trannies are..

I am a Ford guy but I know the past issues
The Pilot has a lot more room, doesn't it?  
yatqb : 10/15/2014 7:20 pm : link
I drive an old Pilot and have never had any trouble with it.

When I test drove the Highlander it's ride was smoother than the Pilot, but the Pilot's roominess was quite attractive to us. We moved two kids in and out of college with it, our kids could sleep in separate rows on long trips, and it still gave us room for luggage behind the 3rd row.
Jeep Grand Cherokee  
fivehead : 10/15/2014 7:24 pm : link
Winner winner chicken dinner.
We went from the Sienna to a 4Runner in....  
Ryan : 10/15/2014 7:24 pm : link
...May but test drove the new Highlander (we had one previously leasing it from '08-'10). Once we got in both my wife and I immediately said it feels exactly like the Sienna inside - very open and cavernous for a mid-sized SUV. They drive and ride really well too being on the Avalon frame - I think it's the best pairing for Toyota's V6 which feels a little sluggish at times in the 4Runner.
I love my pilot  
mattlawson : 10/15/2014 7:26 pm : link
2008. Leather. Roof rack.

It's not the biggest truck ever made - but it's a comfortable ride and has balls on the highway. Good gas mileage and have never had a problem with it. Oil changes - that's it.
I have a new cross trek Subaru  
ron in new mexico : 10/15/2014 7:44 pm : link
and my daughter has a new outback.

Both are great to my opinion. Knock on wood no recalls no problems. I owned a new Impreza before that and went to the cross trek for better clearance.

the outback is high 20's and my cross trek which is a hybrid is around 36 right now. The impreza was the same around 36 some city but most highway.

Small engines not to fast but good enough. Both the cross trek and outback can tow.
I drove both  
pjcas18 : 10/15/2014 7:52 pm : link
and the Jeep.

hated the Highlander, felt like a minivan. Loved the Pilot, liked the Jeep.

the Jeep had no third row - which might not be a big deal for you and maybe they do now, but maybe it is with the dog, etc (or not). we wanted one, it wasn't a "have to have" but a prefer to have.

I was close to getting the Pilot than the Acura dealer called with some customer loyalty program if I traded in my old acura and a they had great deal on a 2013 Acura MDX brand new, fully loaded.

no brainer, so I got the Acura MDX.

But I was going to get a Pilot otherwise.

And the Jeep dealers are the worst negotiators (at the dealerships I went to).
Dodge Durango  
jimv667 : 10/15/2014 8:01 pm : link
For those looking for a 3 row Jeep.
The Pilot has Balls?  
GiantJohn : 10/15/2014 8:03 pm : link
Really? I've owned two of them. The first was better than the second. But power was not a factor at all. Funny thing with the second veh. Was when I tried to start it and outside temp was less 10 degrees the motor sounded like it was going to blow up. Honda could never fix it though because it was always warmer in their shop.
Good cars but utility was the best thing with them. Not performance at all. Gas mileage was not that good either. I've moved on to a BMW X3 which is a different story. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Just went through the same thing in april  
chiefgiant40 : 10/15/2014 8:38 pm : link
Narrowed it down to pilot and highlander. Ended up going with the highlander and my wife absolutely loves it. We do 8+ hour drives twice a year. She loves the captains chairs and it drives great.

Pilot is definitely bigger and has more storage. Had better visibility but my opinion was the highlander drives better and the interior and controls were much nicer. Just my opinion and think we'd have been happy either way.
My wife has a Chevy Traverse  
fivehead : 10/15/2014 9:05 pm : link
and she loves it. It gets 22MPG on the highway, and is all wheel drive. It has 3 rows of seats, so our kids are comfortable on long trips.

RE: The Pilot has Balls?  
mattlawson : 10/15/2014 9:13 pm : link
In comment 11922353 GiantJohn said:
Quote:
Really? I've owned two of them. The first was better than the second. But power was not a factor at all. Funny thing with the second veh. Was when I tried to start it and outside temp was less 10 degrees the motor sounded like it was going to blow up. Honda could never fix it though because it was always warmer in their shop.
Good cars but utility was the best thing with them. Not performance at all. Gas mileage was not that good either. I've moved on to a BMW X3 which is a different story. Good luck with whatever you decide.



never had any issues like this. our truck rocks. granted its the nicest model in the line - but we love it.
Whatever you decide on  
ron in new mexico : 10/15/2014 9:39 pm : link
my advice is to negotiate it on line. I did my last three new vehicles and always end up getting a better price. The first one by just getting the on line price and having a local dealer meet it.

Takes a bit of work to compare apples to apples as they try to trick the trade with differing things options and such. But it is worth it.
This last go round I saved a thousand, off all the other quotes but had to travel to Texas which cost me 200. All in all 800 saved. Not much considering the overall price but a buck is a buck. I get about 2k off our local price, as the dealers in New Mexico pretty much such and are not competitive.
PILOT!!!  
ShocknAwe80 : 10/16/2014 9:07 am : link
I had a 2005 Honda Pilot that was unfortunately washed away in Sandy... It had 220,000 miles on it and ran like the day I bought it. Never had any problems other than general maintenance.

Unfortunately for me I absolutely hate the new body style and feel like the new interior looks very cheap. I always wanted the Jeep Grand Cherokee so I took my insurance money (they really hooked it up after Sandy, I got like 11K for the Honda) and bought a 2013 Grand Cherokee Limited, which was subsequently totaled in an accident so I now have the 2014 Limited and I LOVE IT... I can't say enough great things about it except the trunk space.. kind of small...
I have a 2014 Highlander  
I Love Clams Casino : 10/16/2014 9:18 am : link
and love it, the 6 cyl version. It's actually my wife's.

I don't have much to compare it to though since this is our first SUV. I know that the Highlander seemed to get a bit bigger, a bigger wheel base and taller stand than models dating back a few years....it seems the Rav4 has taken the place of what the Highlander used to be.

I think you'll find any comparable Honda Pilots at a much higher price, 1,000 to 1,500 overall (just a guess)
Thanks guys.  
davek3698 : 10/16/2014 9:30 am : link
My wife’s credit union (teacher) has a dedicated car buying guy with rapports at local dealerships. He quoted prices lower than MSRP for both. 2015 Limited Highlander for $38,590 and a 2105 Touring Pilot for $37,900. I think it basically comes down to the captain chairs of the Highlander vs the extra cargo space of the Pilot.
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