The 2015 Honda Pilot is the oldest model currently being offered by the Japanese automaker; the current (second) generation Honda Pilot was introduced in 2009. But for 2016, Honda has introduced an all-new sleeker looking Pilot, which should be on sale now or soon.
The 2015 Honda Pilot is offered in five trims in Canada, with the base 2WD LX starting at $35,100 and top of the line AWD Touring starting at $48,500. For our weekly review, we had the 2015 Honda Pilot SE, which is a new trim for 2015, it is the mid-model and has a starting price of $42,500. With the new 2016 Pilot being introduced, I’m sure you can get a good deal on the outgoing 2015 model, if you can find one at a dealership.
All 2015 Honda Pilots are powered by 3.5 liter V6 engines, producing 250 horsepower at 5,700 rpm and 253 pound-feet of torque at 4,800 rpm. Power is sent to either the front wheels or all-four wheels via a 5-speed automatic transmission. The AWD models are rated at 13.8/9.7/12.0 L/100 km (city/highway/combined). For our week-long review, we averaged 14.5 L/100 km in mostly city driving; on my test loop of about 24 kilometers, half city half highway and driving like a true gentleman, I averaged 10.6 L/100 km.
The Honda Pilot is one of those vehicles I don’t normally see many of on the road, but the day I picked up our review car and started paying attention to other Pilots, I saw them everywhere. I guess it’s a vehicle I don’t normally look for because I’m more of an non-practical vehicle kind of a guy and this is a family vehicle.
The Pilot is a very practical family vehicle with a lot of interior room for families and all their stuff. It has seating for eight passengers and there is a lot of interior space. It is a good alternative to a minivan, with decent ground clearance and available AWD, it should be good for light off-road duties. The Pilot also comes with a tow hitch and is capable of towing up to 2,045 kilograms, on the AWD model.
The exterior shape of the Pilot is very boxy, which should make the vehicle very noticeable (but I don’t notice them for some reason). The styling is truck-like and is much more masculine than a minivan, however, this boxy design doesn’t make it onto the 2016 model thanks to higher fuel efficiency requirements by the government. The 2015 Pilot isn’t a bad design and it definitely is different from the average CUV/SUV.
The interior looks very utilitarian, almost like an American truck, with lots of straight lines and a lot of little storage spots for all your gadgets and nicknack. The straight lines give the interior an airy feel and adds to the available space. The second and third row passengers have lots of leg and head room, making it a perfect vehicle for a family with kids and a dog or two and all their soccer/hockey gear.
The V6 engine is powerful enough for this vehicle, you don’t feel slow in traffic and highway cruising is a pretty easy task. The Pilot passes other vehicles without a problem and the 5-speed transmission feels robust, maybe not as efficient as transmissions with more gears but it doesn’t need to constantly downshift to pass other cars on the highway.
The 2015 Honda Pilot may look like an old vehicle but it’s still available with a lot of technology available on other newer Hondas. Below are some of the available and optional safety and convenience items available on the Honda Pilot.
- Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD)
- Hill Start Assist
- Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
- Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with Traction Control
- Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)
- Auto-dimming rearview mirror
- Rearview camera
- Body-coloured front and rear parking sensors
- Exterior temperature indicator
- Front and rear air conditioning system
- Tri-zone automatic climate control with air-filtration system
- HandsFreeLink™-bilingual Bluetooth® wireless mobile phone interface
- Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System with steering wheel-mounted controls
- Multi-Information Display (MID)
- Multi-functional centre console storage
- Power windows with auto-up/down driver and passenger window
- Remote entry system
- Second-row automatic HVAC controls
- Steering wheel-mounted cruise control
- Tilt and telescoping steering column
- Honda DVD Rear Entertainment System with 9-inch display
- 8″ i-MID (intelligent Multi-Information Display) TFT display
- Bluetooth® Streaming Audio
- MP3/auxiliary input jack
- Steering wheel-mounted audio controls with illumination
- USB audio interface
- SiriusXM
