I recently traded a 2002 Acura MDX for a 2006 Honda Pilot. I purchased my MDX new and drove it over 80,000 miles. It was not as trouble free as it's reputation might indicate. The most serious problem was a tranny replacement which Acura took care of even though I was a little over the mileage requirement. I was ready for a new vehicle so I shopped pretty much all of the makers and found that the Pilot/ MDX was the right vehicle for me in terms of size, ride, equipment, resale, etc. My wife preferred the MDX because she really liked the styling but when we compared the vehicles and looked hard at the numbers, the Pilot was the clear winner.

After owning both vehicles I can honestly say that the difference between the two is simply styling and marketing. In my opinion Honda goes to great lengths to separate the vehicles through their marketing strategy to the point where they might actually down play the Pilot. The MDX brochure talks about things like speed sensitive intermittent wipers, dual illuminated visors, adjustable second row seating just to name a few. Well those features and many others go unmentioned in the Pilot brochure but they are in the vehicle. The ride of the Pilot is better in my opinion and performance is equal even though the Pilot uses regular gas vs. premium for the MDX. Insurance is significantly less in my state and the resale is better since the price is lower. There is much more competition between Honda dealers for your business so you can buy a Pilot for invoice or below. I saved over $6,000 for my 4WD EXL vs. a base MDX and I couldn't be happier.