Help me buy a new SUV
03-16-09, 10:51 AM
#62
DASH- not trying to be rude here but did you even read the parts I highlighted? He mentioned that within his extended family there is an MDX, Pilot and X5. The next line down he noted that HE is the owner of the X5. Did you miss that part?
I know the point you're trying to make with the "My mom's coworker's friend's son's baby sitter's baby daddy's momma's grocery clerk's vet has a BMW that blew up and cost him 10K to fix" but if the man says he owns the car then who are we to not believe him?
I know the point you're trying to make with the "My mom's coworker's friend's son's baby sitter's baby daddy's momma's grocery clerk's vet has a BMW that blew up and cost him 10K to fix" but if the man says he owns the car then who are we to not believe him?
03-16-09, 11:07 AM
#63
I know the point you're trying to make with the "My mom's coworker's friend's son's baby sitter's baby daddy's momma's grocery clerk's vet has a BMW that blew up and cost him 10K to fix" but if the man says he owns the car then who are we to not believe him?
03-16-09, 11:13 AM
#66
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03-16-09, 11:16 AM
#67
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03-16-09, 11:23 AM
#68
Lexus Fanatic
As for the issue at hand...I would personally narrow it down to the Highlander and CX-9. The Pilot, while a solid all around choice, is simply aesthetically unattractive to me both inside and out. The first Pilot was a pretty good looking truck but they made the recent one look like a Pathfinder with an oversize USB port on the front of it. Additionally I really don't like the overall layout and design of the interior, especially the dash area in front of the passenger.
In a nutshell, I really like the exterior design of both the CX-9 and Highlander- the Mazda is a little more upscale and elegant looking while the Toyota seems more unique and unmistakable. I have heard a lot of people mistake the CX-9 for an RX so that could be good or bad just depending on how you look at it. I like the exterior of both equally but for different reasons.
I find the interior of the Highlander to be a bit more polished and better executed overall, but also really like the Mazda. The Toyota has the right materials in the right places with an elegant and easy to use layout while the CX-9 may be a little too simplistic for me. I noted above that the Mazda looks a little more elegant outside and I would flip that for the interior and say that the Toyota looks more upscale in my eyes.
In a nutshell, I really like the exterior design of both the CX-9 and Highlander- the Mazda is a little more upscale and elegant looking while the Toyota seems more unique and unmistakable. I have heard a lot of people mistake the CX-9 for an RX so that could be good or bad just depending on how you look at it. I like the exterior of both equally but for different reasons.
I find the interior of the Highlander to be a bit more polished and better executed overall, but also really like the Mazda. The Toyota has the right materials in the right places with an elegant and easy to use layout while the CX-9 may be a little too simplistic for me. I noted above that the Mazda looks a little more elegant outside and I would flip that for the interior and say that the Toyota looks more upscale in my eyes.
03-16-09, 11:26 AM
#69
Lexus Fanatic
I wouldn't be too hard on DASHOCKER, MPLexus. There are a lot of good vehicles and choices out there, all competing for our car-buying dollars. Sometimes it's just not easy to make up your mind, even for solid AWD and Subaru guys like me.
03-16-09, 11:34 AM
#70
You opinion noted and respected, but I think you are putting way too much emphasis on looks, style, and "image". The Pilot, in many ways, is an excellent mid-sized SUV. If it otherwise meets his needs, then why not? I see little reason to reject a competent vehicle simply because of "looks".
Looking across this class you see seating for 3, a 5 or 6AT, 3.5-3.7L V6s, similar space and storage, familiar driving dynamics, and similar overall practicality so design is one of the few things that really seperates them. I think the Pilot is a very reasonable and capable 'ute but the USB-port front end and cheap (imo) looking center stack really are a deal breaker.
It matters to me how a car looks. To me there is no comparison:
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VS
The front of the Pilot looks like a scared, bionic insect with USB port for a mouth.
03-16-09, 11:50 AM
#73
Road noise is significant with a number of Honda-designed vehicles, but in general, they are extremely well-built. It is unusual (but, of course, not unheard of) for a Pilot such as yours to have a lot of warranty issues, although some older Acura TLs and Accords were built with defective automatic transmissions. Consumer Reports, perhaps the best source available, gives the Pilot, like most Hondas, an above-average reliability rating.
http://www.hondapilot.org/forums/sho...threadid=18905
It is not unusual for the Pilot to have a lot of problems. And I disagree about Consumer Reports as being the best source of information. The best data comes from actual owners who drives the car everyday, pays for all the repairs and not get any commissions out of a good review, if any. Refer to the above-mentioned forum again. There are some lucky ones with perfect vehicles, and they tend to jump on posters with problems, and then of course there are problem-plagued Pilot owners like myself. That forum is pretty good, most of the members are nice and honest. Too bad the vehicle to which it is named for and discussed is garbage.
Last edited by malmon; 03-16-09 at 11:56 AM.
03-16-09, 11:56 AM
#74
Color me not impressed. If you want to learn about oil separator failures, hit x5world. Otherwise go back to trolling.
03-16-09, 11:56 AM
#75
Even looking at the interiors...there is really no contest IMO. Toyota and Mazda blow the Pilot away with a better layout, nicer materials, and more elegant details. It sounds harsh but in all honesty the Pilot interior looks like it was designed by Fisher Price- the expanse of big chunky plastic and hard shapes...It just looks horrible IMO.
The CX-9 has a few shiny hard plastics that could have been better, but overall it is worlds above the Pilot and the Highlander is even better.
The CX-9 has a few shiny hard plastics that could have been better, but overall it is worlds above the Pilot and the Highlander is even better.