Soon after the 2016 Honda HR-V hits the showroom this spring, the redesigned 2016 Pilot will follow.
Edmunds reports the new SUV “will redefine what is possible with an eight-passenger midsize SUV,” according to Honda’s U.S. automotive division vice president John Mendel. Power will likely remain the 3.5-liter V6 found in the current Pilot. Competitors include the Ford Explorer and Toyota 4Runner.
Further down the road, Mendel says “a completely reengineered” Ridgeline will turn up, either as a 2016 or 2017 model. The Ridgeline will be doing battle against the Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins, as well as the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma.
Finally, Honda will have a turbocharged model by the end of 2015 that has one of the automaker’s forthcoming new VTEC turbo-four family of engines under the hood, while the FCV Concept’s production-ready version will hit U.S. showrooms next year, followed by a PHEV and EV by 2018.
I hope the picture isn’t the redesigned Pilot. Also I’m not sure how the 4Runner is a competitor, it’s an SUV while the pilot remains a crossover. Furthermore the same can be said for the Ridgeline and the GM twins.
Carry on Honda, I’m sure Toyota and especially GM are trembling.
LOL that’s the current Pilot. Which looks 98% the same as the one you could buy in 2006. When I think Pilot in my mind, a blurry image of the original version comes up, in purple. I had to look up the difference on an Internet.
Which particular Internet did you look it up on?
I had to use The Google. The Bing was too difficult to navigate with Netscape 8.0.
8.0? There’s a new one out?
I dunno it came with the AOL CD I got at CompuServe when I was buying some blank CD-RW’s to make mix tapes.
Was that you in the Dungeons & Dragons chat room talking about the new Windows 95? Crazy cool stuff
LOL, chat rooms. It’s what we nearly do here.
My first chat room was nothing but little green DOS letters. None this fancy stuff
*sigh*
UR so old, do you even tex bro?
Only when I’m driving
I suppose you’re going to tell me texting while driving is passe now too
Pick me up a pack of smokes, then get off my lawn
Okay Lucky’s Non-filter it is. And maybe some Brill Cream.
Brill Cream? Um, sure, Here’s the keys to my Olds F-85, if you hurry back you’ll just make the beginning of “The Lucy Show” on my new color TV. All three stations come in real clear, sometimes if I put aluminum foil on the rabbit ears I can even pick up PBS, but there’s never anything good on it
I’m thinking of getting a 4Runner, but would consider a Pilot instead if it is sufficiently improved. The current one sucks. There is a market for an “enhanced” crossover, like the Grand Cherokee essentially is. I hope Honda heads in that direction.
You’re shopping a BoF truck against a unibody? The 4Runner will lose on practicality if you don’t plan on taking it off-roading. Then again, it’s more macho.
You’d be surprised, look at the numbers for cargo space with back seats up and down, the 4Runner actually beats a lot of midsize SUVs like the Explorer and Highlander.
The two are barely interchangeable. The Pilot is basically an FWD vehicle with a “slip and grip” 4wd system. I can tell you from experience that it’s way less effective than any true 4wd system, or even a rear wheel biased AWD system.
It still looks like a box. These things should be required to have commercial plates. Drivers should also be required to have a commercial license the why they drive.
“My opinion should be law.”
FWIW, this is the current Pilot. And it’s smaller than a Tahoe. It’s a mid-size CUV that sacrifices “sporty” styling for actual interior practicality.
if this is a photo of the new one, Honda can throw in the towel now.
rest assured, honda will disappoint.
I don’t think this is new version at all. Just some old stock photo. My third car is a Honda Pilot and I will tell you I hate it. It is boring, slow, underpowered, and devoid of all soul and fun. I literally feel that any soul was engineered out of the car on purpose. I would unload it if it weren’t for the fact that it’s paid for. It makes a good dog and road trip car and not much else except pure utility. I would have absolutely zero interest in a new model and driving the pilot now just reaffirms why I will never again purchase a Honda.
This is *NOT* the redesigned Pilot. The Pilot in the picture is the current model
Carry on
Probably a bad sign for Honda that those commenting here don’t know that the vehicle pictured above has been on the road for the last 6 years.
I had to google it to be sure
Dearest B&B, that is the 2015 Pilot. The 2016 Pilot is currently swathed in an ensemble meant to obscure its looks while looking as dreadful to spy photographers as possible. Rest assured, when the SUV reveals its new look to the world, we’ll have those images for you.
Thank you, here’s a pic in it’s tacky incognito garb
http://new2016hondapilot.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2016-Honda-Pilot-vs-2015-Honda-Pilot-front-end.jpg
Looks to be pretty much a big brother to the CR-V.
Toyota 4 Runner is not Pilot competition.
Toyota Highlander, GMC Acadia are where the 8 passengers are.
This seems to be a common TTAC problem:
1.) Article announcing next generation of a model accompanied by photo of the previous generation
2.) Comments decrying lack of progress in next-gen model’s design based on photo of the previous-gen model;
3.) A string of responses to comments ranging from polite correction to mocking of original commenter’s ignorance and/or lack of reading comprehension ensues;
3a.) DeadWeight may or may not mention his hatred of the ATS’s instrumentation;
4.) One of these original commenters, who happens to work at a nuclear missle silo, accidentally hits the launch button in a fit of anger…
5.) ARMAGEDDON.
Use of simple photo captions, or a note in the article saying something like (not pictured) could go a long way towards preventing Steps 2-5.
Not a moment too soon, Honda. The dash design in particular can only get better. It has a playskool feel with huge gaps at the seams, pretty weak even for a car costing half as much.
Which is the problem I have with the Ridgeline.
If it turns out to be based on the new MDX, it has promise.
I test drove the MDX, and for what it is, it is a winner.
I have a 2005 Pilot and will say it has done its job since day 1, if I was in the market for one, which I am not , I would check out the new Pilot when it comes out, and it would be high on my list compared to the others in the field, why you may ask, 95,000 miles and the only thing we ever put in it as far as repairs was one battery, about 5 years ago and one $300 repair for a sensor. It served its purpose carpooling kids to and from school, games, vacations… with no drama. Most people I know love their Pilots and would look at the new ones, this is why they will sell a bunch. My 05 I am sure does not match up to the new explorer, et al but it is paid for , has given us no issues and done its job what more can you ask from a crossover.
You have a Gen 1 Pilot…superior in nearly every way to the current model. I like big, boxy crossovers…but the Gen 2 had no redeeming visual points and negative points for the interior.
Looking forward to Gen 3….
Must the price of reliability always be driving a boring POS????
Not sure about that but to my wife she will trade headache for boredom every time and I think that is the way a lot of folks think. I drive a TDI wagon so I am at the other end of the spectrum
When something becomes popular, it becomes boring.
That’s the Toyota’s attempt at aggressive design language fell flat. It becomes bland, not because of anything inherent in the visuol design, but because there are a dozen of them in every office parking lot.
I’m amazed by the degree to which the car business is a fashion industry.
the new SUV “will redefine what is possible with an eight-passenger midsize SUV”
I can guess: Since it’s a mid-size AND eight-passenger vehicle, the middle and/or 3rd-row passengers will be squashed for seating. You can’t make the interior bigger than the exterior. Or maybe they’ll just eliminate the cargo area, which would be a novel approach.
If you really need eight-passenger seating, get a van.
The amazing thing about the Pilot is that it offers most of the room available in a GMC Acadia in a PKG that is 10 inch’s shorter. Matters a lot in urban areas. The engine has an immediate response not found in the Lambada sisters. The nice & new 2014 Highlander that copied the Pilot’s dimensions and 8 seats does not pull it off like the old girl does. Most ownrs use it as a 5 passenger with carpooling ability upto 8 when needed. That way it shines. No drama however.
I feel like the first gen Pilot was BETTER than the second gen. Hopefully this new one gets it right. The MDX is amazing, the Pilot should be good too.
Cars.com reports that the Pilot and freshed RDX will revealed at the Chicago Auto Show next month, teaser illustration at the link:
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2015/01/2016-honda-pilot-2016-acura-rdx-to-debut-in-chicago.html
First Gen Pilot and brother Ridgeline are known to be overbuilt
By the by, I feel the Pilot does battle with the Highlander more than the 4Runner. And to an extent, more than the Explorer. The Explorer is more in check with the GC.
Eight passenger? I thought nearly everything in that class was seven passenger. 2 front/3 middle/2 rear.
They will probably squeeze a third seat into the third row, just as Chevy did with the 2016 Volt. So instead of accommodating 2 small people, it will now accommodate 3 tiny people.
Given what the CRV has de-volved into the Pilots pretty refreshing, I hope the redesign keeps the boxy shape and fairly pleasant aesthetics.
Yes the designs been on the road for nearly 6 years now, didn’t we all praise a certain Ford for keeping a certain platform on the road for almost 30 years?
The side/greenhouse looks pretty good based on the teaser, just hope that the front end doesn’t looked like the CR-V or HR-V.
Let’s all wait for the gen 6 VTEC turbo-SIX.
The 4Runner is a body-on-frame truck/SUV. Completely different! For me, Honda and SUVs don’t mix…