Honda Pilot Diary, or a New Year's Tale

Part one, city
December 31, 2009, 14:00 Moscow time
Today everyone around is strangely happy — smiling from ear to ear, dancing on the spot, hanging shiny tinsel and putting up decorated plastic Christmas trees. It's clear, they have a holiday. I can hear them chatting animatedly: "Where are you celebrating? Really? And then? Well, great!" And I have to stand here and be bored all night... How tired I am of standing still on this polished floor and looking at my own reflection in the windows! I am handsome, impressive, in the prime of my life. I so want to break out, race along the highway, churn through mud, travel the whole planet!

- Here, take a look, a wonderful option, a 2009 "Pilot", 3.5-liter engine, automatic transmission, maximum Executive trim...

Oh, they're looking at me! Right before New Year? Surely they just came in to warm up or just to sit and feel. I've stopped believing them. Although, they seem like nice people, a young couple, smiling at me. Hey, you two! I'm here!

- But why black? – the girl said displeasedly. – I'd like something lighter...
Do SUVs even come in any color but black! Just look at me!
- I like black, - the guy answered calmly. That's right, let's go quickly! You like me, don't you?
- Its design is interesting, so masculine, chiseled, a bit rough, but attractive.
- Right, - our manager chimed in. – It's an American.
- It looks like a real SUV, large, but in essence it's more of a crossover? The ground clearance seems small... The appearance is serious, solid.
- But inside it's just huge! Get in, you could live here! And the trunk is like a truck's!
- Length 4870 mm, width – 1995 mm, height – 1845 mm, wheelbase – 2780 mm, ground clearance – 203 mm, - the manager recited from memory. – The VTM-4 all-wheel drive distributes torque to all wheels. On slippery surfaces you can engage the lock, and then maximum torque goes to the rear axle — for better off-road capability. So, are you taking it for the holidays? You'll drive around, decide...

No way! They're taking the keys! Finally, freedom! Hurray!

The red Jazz and white Civic watched me with envious looks. The doors slammed shut, and here I am on the street with my new owners.

December 31, 2009, 15:00 Moscow time
Brr, it's cold out here! And dirty, now my polished sides will get covered in spots. Do they seriously want me to drive through this snowy slush with chemicals??

- Let's go, we have a full day today! First, we'll stop at the store, then quickly home — to get ready for the party, then we need to pick up friends, and on the first in the morning to the dacha...
- Yeah! Listen, I like it here! The plastic is a bit hard, it's an American after all, but it looks stylish, all these angular shapes... And the round air vents are a nice contrast.
- I like that there are tons of compartments and pockets, look: a niche under the center console, a big bin in the armrest, door pockets, cupholders and a niche in the center — and it even closes with a cover, convenient. And even pockets above the glovebox! Just right for the passenger's phone...
- The gear lever is positioned unusually, high, almost at the steering wheel, but actually convenient. And where's the handbrake? Ah, here, American style — a foot brake!
- Foot brake.

While my drivers turned the seat heating to full, scattered phones, keys, gloves, hats in all corners and continued to study the interior. He liked the white instruments with light-lilac backlighting and clear scales located under the needles — so the numbers aren't obscured. He liked the leather steering wheel with comfortable grips on the rim and well-placed buttons for music and trip computer control, fully electric seats (driver's with memory for two people!). She was delighted by the many neat buttons on the center console and the black monochrome monitor with white indicators. Oh, it's a pity that unlike the American versions, I don't have a color display! But I have 257 thoroughbred "horses" and a nimble five-speed automatic transmission.

My 3.5-liter V6 instantly responded to the gas pedal and easily merged into the dense pre-holiday traffic.

December 31, 2009, 15:30 Moscow time
- It accelerates great! I like the seating position: on one hand, it's high, excellent visibility, on the other — with adjustments you can find the perfect position, plenty of legroom, the steering wheel at the right distance. The steering is firm, fills with weight at speed. And the stability control works flawlessly: I don't even notice when a skid begins — only the icon on the dash flashes, and the car drives through this slush as if on asphalt! Almost like a sedan.
- I'm just worried about fuel consumption, - she said uncertainly.
- Right now in traffic it shows 20 liters. Well, we'll see what happens later. There's a headlight washer, see how the jets fly up to the roof? If you press lightly, the washer fluid goes only to the windshield — convenient to adjust. And the music is decent: the sound is quite clean, with a subwoofer in the back, although, of course, you could install a more powerful system...
- Everyone yields on the road, after all, its front end is imposing.

Seems like they like everything so far!

December 31, 2009, 21:30 Moscow time
8 people. Ha, and they thought they'd take two cars! Why, if on my second row three can sit comfortably with elbows spread, and even on the third row you can seat three if you want! Of course, legroom on the third row will be a bit tight, but you can slide the second row forward a bit, and everyone will sit comfortably. For long distances, traveling in such a big company is tiring, but we're not going far today!

- Wow, it's royal here! You can sit cross-legged, and there's your own climate control, and seat heating!
- Let's go!
- It rides a bit stiff, right? Although smooth, bumps are barely felt.
- At speed it holds like glued and handles like a sedan, - my driver said with pleasure. – It enters a corner and holds the line to the end, excellent feedback. And the brakes simply delight me, very informative.
- Let's open the sunroof!
- Too bad the sunroof is small, you can't stick your head out to dance! Otherwise we'd put on a show!
- Oh, what's this mirror? A panoramic view of the cabin? Ha-ha, soon you'll be watching your kids like that!
- Well, what do you think, why are we looking at the "Pilot"!

On the second row almost like in a business-class sedan

We were speeding through the brightly lit Moscow towards the center. However, breaking through the cordon was no longer possible — all streets were closed an hour earlier than promised on the radio. The car crawled slowly in a traffic jam, and crowds of people walked past us on the sidewalk. Then we decided that I would stay in the alley, and they would go further on foot. Poor things, how cold they must be! I'll wait, hoping they return quickly.

December 31, 2009, 23:45 MSK
— That was the last party from "Megapolis FM"! Terrible organization, just a disgrace! And what are we supposed to do now, there's almost nothing left until midnight! We definitely won't make it anywhere!
They returned so soon? Something went wrong?
— Don't worry, girls. We'll celebrate the New Year here! Open the champagne! Together with Medvedev and the chimes! Hurray!
Hurray! And it's okay that the seats are soaked with champagne — leather, it will survive!
— Damn, so we'll spend the whole 2010 in a car? How you celebrate the New Year is how you'll spend it…

Part two, suburban
January 1, 2010
We're heading to the dacha! I think it will be much more fun there than in the capital, and the air, as I've heard, is cleaner. My companions have plans for shashlik in the forest, skiing, and trips to neighboring regions.

This time she got behind the wheel — the seat immediately remembered the second driver's settings.

— The dimensions feel great, that's the main thing for me…
— As for any woman!
— Oh, come on! The rearview camera is a lifesaver, with it you feel much more confident than with parking sensors, you can see everything down to the millimeter. True, it constantly needs wiping off dirt. And I also like the spot blue lighting in the cabin — we women generally don't like driving in the dark. It's good that the doors can be locked from both the passenger and driver's seats. There's even a compass! I don't understand why it's here, but it's funny!

On the empty highway of January 1st, we sped easily and quickly. They turned on cruise control, and the ECO indicator lit up on the dashboard. When you take your foot off the gas pedal, the i-VTEC system closes valves in one or more cylinders, saving fuel. My companions noted with delight that at this pace, fuel consumption was reduced to 13.9 liters, but that seems to be my personal record. They feed me good 95-octane gasoline, although I can easily digest 92-octane too. Let that remain my secret — I can have my quirks!

January 3, 2010
Today we went to Tula — that's about 300 km from the dacha. Judging by everything, such a distance didn't tire my companions — neither the driver nor the passenger. The CD changer holds six discs. They said we can safely go on longer trips: comfortable seats, smooth ride without rocking, and excellent sound insulation allow covering hundreds of kilometers a day without fatigue. Maybe we should dash to St. Petersburg?

Before Yasnaya Polyana, we had to turn onto an icy snowy road, but everything went smoothly. He noted that even on non-studded tires, we hold up excellently.

We were absolutely delighted with Yasnaya Polyana (though they didn't let me onto the estate grounds of the count!). It's no wonder Leo Tolstoy wrote his masterpieces — with such a view from the window!

Tomorrow we're going to Kaluga!

January 5, 2010
Today we're going for shashlik somewhere in the forest. I'm a bit nervous: the ground clearance isn't the biggest, and instead of studs, I have "Velcro" tires. Will I handle winter off-road?

Before leaving the asphalt, we forcibly locked the rear-wheel drive coupling in first gear (the VTM-4 Lock button works only in first and second gear and in reverse — at speeds no higher than 29 km/h). I won't say we ventured into completely impassable wilds, but getting through ruts and fairly deep snowdrifts was no problem even on "Velcro." The ground clearance handled the embankments perfectly, only the spare tire hanging under the bottom left its weighty mark in the snow.

But I do have connectors for iPod and iPhone. It's a pity there's no proper power outlet — it would definitely come in handy on such outings.

Short trips out of town for a picnic? With pleasure. Serious off-road? Spare me.

Short trips into nature — please. But real off-road — sorry, not for me.

January 8, 2010
They woke me up at seven in the morning, shameless people. We're going to the airport to meet another friend of theirs. It's minus 19 degrees, but I started right away, the washer fluid works perfectly, the cabin warmed up in a couple of minutes. Even the screens didn't lag in the cold.

It turned out the guest had flown in from the States, and that's practically my homeland! As a gift, I got an American license plate, and seeing my trunk, she couldn't get over her admiration for a long time. The owners grumbled that the base didn't include a cargo cover to hide luggage from prying eyes — it needs to be ordered separately. But they proudly showed off the power tailgate — that's a yes! Additionally, you can open just the glass without lifting the whole door.

And if you fold the second-row seats — it's just a colossal volume! You could load a horse!

Oh, they're asking if a snowmobile will fit in there. Guys, better take a trailer — luckily I have a hitch, and even a trailer stability system is provided.

All the way back we chatted about nothing, but as soon as the guest started talking about the most fascinating thing — American highways and the local fleet — we were already at home.

January 10, 2010
We're back in Moscow. Traffic jams, traffic jams, traffic jams — oh, how I miss the open space! And finding parking near the house wasn't immediate — with my dimensions, you can't squeeze into just any gap. They pulled out gas station receipts: it turns out, over 2,100 km I drank fuel worth 7,500 rubles. Is that a lot or normal? And what's next?

Minimum fuel consumption over 10 days of operation was 13.9 liters per 100 km

Along the familiar road, we headed to the dealership. Parked by the door, I tried my best to catch their conversation with the manager.

Off asphalt, the Pilot is hindered by its modest ground clearance and the spare tire attached to the underside.

— No, this is, of course, not an SUV, rather a family wagon — spacious, roomy, moderately comfortable, peppy…
— The trunk is huge...
— But it drinks quite a bit: if 13–14 liters on the highway is tolerable, then in the city the appetite grows to 18–20 liters…
— It goes briskly, stable, handles well…
— Then again, the tax — after all, 257 “horses”…
— But there are 10 airbags…
— I like the exterior: unusual, brutal, aggressive. The interior is plain, but such asceticism even fits…
— It looks like an SUV, but you wouldn't take it on serious off-road, and honestly, we don't go further than picnics. But when kids come along… Just right for a big family…
— It's well equipped: three-zone climate, power tailgate, power seat adjustments, auto-dimming mirror, parking sensors and rearview camera, cruise control, leather…
— Well, over 1.7 million…
— The base version is 1,480,000 rubles…
— I think, still the top one…

They fell silent and exchanged glances. I think it's all clear!

Svetlana Aleeva