Where do I begin? Is the Pilot a stupendous vehicle, no. Is it a bottom feeder, no. it is exactly where Honda planned for it to be, middle of the road, yet, admittedly, it is high up in the middle!

I'm an admitted car nut and we picked up our brand new 06 Pilot EX-L late October of 2005. Having come from two Ford Windstars, a 1996 then a 2001, (which were purchased because they were cheaper) I knew I would like the Honda because I had always wanted a high capacity Honda vehicle, but could never afford one. I have 3 kids and a dog, so I need all the space I can get, but I grew weary of minivans so I decided to venture out.

So let's take a look at the categories:

Overall looks:

2006 was the first freshening of the front and rear fascias of the Pilot with its new "bullnose" grill with the redesigned projector beam headlights and its clear lens taillights and slightly redesigned bumper. The front end took a little getting used to over the 2003-2005 run, but instead of looking like a CR-V on steroids, it now becomes its own car. Additional changes over previous year models include body color mirrors and door handles, new alloy wheels for the EX models and painted over alloys from the previous year models for the LX. The look is functional, if a bit slab sided, with a little hint of muscle. To me, darker colors look better than lighter colors on this vehicle because of its boxiness.

The interior is well laid out, but I found the door panels a bit plasticky. The new blackout dash on the EX is kind of cool (having backlit electroluminescent gauges) and the dash is generally freshened with more of an upscale look over the previous year models. Leather seats are now solid leather over perforated leather now. A nice smooth headliner is present the materials otherwise used throughout are of good quality.

Drivetrain:

Honda carries over from 2005 the 3.5 Liter J35 series engine with VTEC, now producing (the newly SAE corrected) 244HP and 242lb-ft of torque. This is essentially the same engine from the current Acura MDX and, surprisingly, although the MDX makes some 9 hp and 8 lb-ft more, the Pilot outruns the MDX to 60mph and outhandles it too (.74g vs .73g according to Car and Driver specs) despite the MDX being lighter and smaller.

The transmissions and the VTM-4 On demand 4 wheel drive systems are essentially identical.

The five speed automatic transmission is a welcomed change over the 4 speed auto in the Windstar, keeping revs to about 2000 rpm at highway speeds. Shifts are smooth and fairly quick; the tranny never shy to shift at the redline when the pedal is to the metal.

The engine is swift and silent .. very stealthy indeed in comparison to what I was used to. Typical of Honda engines (I've owned Accords and an Acura Integra before also) there is a sewing-machine-like feel and sound to the smooth 24-valve SOHC V6.

The engine bay is well laid out and everything is pretty easy to get to, except for the rear bank of spark plugs (like any transverse engine).

Practicality:

Although the Pilot can hold 8, 5 is very comfy with baggage for a week long trip. If you are going for 8 adults, it had better be a day trip because there isn't much room behind the seats after the third row is raised, plus legroom for those banished to the third seat is a bit limited.

There are a grand total of 8 cupholders I can recall on my EX-L, whose leather seating surfaces are nice on the front and second row seats only. The binnacle between driver and passenger is large and the storage areas aft of the cupholders are useful, if a bit shallow. Glove box is of good size, but I think it would have been nice to have some under seat storage as well.

The second row seat is wide enough for two booster seats and a 11 year old, so hooray for that when I have to have the third row seat down.

The intent of the Pilot is for higher ground clearance AWD travel, not for serious off-roading at all, as the 4wd is on demand only and without a low-range.

Economy:

During the breaking-in period, on which my Pilot took nearly 5000 miles (the manual says 1500) my Pilot got poor gas mileage (avg about 12mpg, but mostly it was little jaunts to take kids to school only) After making a few 100+ mile trips, it loosened up a bit to 14-15mpg, but it is still under the sticker advertised 17mpg city. Highway mileage is difficult to quote as I have yet to make a trip that goes through a whole tankful. I've had to change oil once during that time, but have not had any major issues, except when I had a window regulator changed out under warranty due to some noise.

Performance/Road feel:

The Pilot is a competent if not good performer on the road with a strong V6 engine that loves to rev. While the VTEC switchover is not as pronounced in Honda's only mid-sized SUV, it has a good punch around 4500-5000rpm when the gas pedal is mashed.

The Pilot is fairly stiffly sprung, providing a firm, but not punishing ride with just a hint of float over large bumps. The swaybars could be a bit thicker to prevent the evident body roll when cornering.

The stock Goodyear tires are a little slick in the wet, but not unreasonably loud or harsh. Forums I have read say moving to another tire, however, leads to significant gains in the grip and quietness departments.

Over smooth pavement, the Pilot is a champ with little wind noise under 60 and great triple seals in the doors which really helps with the road noise. Over rough roads, there is some noise that invades the cabin, but not too much that it is unbearable.

Comparisons:
To the Toyota Highlander: The Highlander is also a competent car, but it seemed undersized, underpowered, undersprung and even more blah (i.e. no personality) than the Pilot
To the Ford Freestyle: It's a Ford! It's kind of low and a little tight inside.
To the Chrysler Pacifica: Whoa, that's expensive and it looks like a glorified soccer mom's car!
To the Ford Explorer: There were just too many of them out there and I couldn't even think of being even somewhat unique.

Conclusion:

What we have here is a reasonably good looking, quiet, comfortable, and very competent car that is worlds apart from my Windstar that I hope to keep for a long time.