 What beauty all around! Tall pines, water like a mirror, soft sand, and a bit further away — almost sheer cliffs, and in the midst of all this splendor — a Honda Pilot. I'm chewing a sandwich and catching myself thinking that this crossover surprisingly fits organically into such a pristine landscape. Pilot especially pairs well with mountains and rocks: just as chiseled, with sharp edges, as if hewn from a single piece of rock. I recall the words of a Honda representative at the presentation: they said that when creating the Pilot's design, they were inspired by the Panasonic Toughbook laptop. And indeed, it looks similar! Both appear rugged, solid, without excess. And you know what computer geeks call the Toughbook line among themselves? "Ruggedized." Well, the Karelian roads are an ideal proving ground to test how much the new Pilot lives up to that nickname. Lunch is over, time to get behind the wheel! |
 Inside the Pilot, the toughbook theme continues. Everything is deliberately angular, with sharp shapes, monumental. The center console is a real block. You immediately feel: this thing is made solidly, to last. No wonder it easily accommodates climate control, audio system, a huge niche for the info display, the lever of the five-speed automatic, impressive air vent deflectors, and a simply bottomless compartment for small items. If you put a phone or a pack of cigarettes there, you'll have to literally dive in with a flashlight to retrieve them! |
 Various boxes, cup holders, shelves, and little drawers are the main feature of the Pilot's interior. They are everywhere: in the doors, on both sides of the front panel, in the center, in the seats, in the trunk — it seems even where you don't expect them. Special attention is drawn to the center console. A bucket of potatoes can easily fit into the closing armrest box. There's also a place for an AUX input and a 12-volt outlet (apparently, just for that same flashlight if something gets lost). But that's not all. There's a huge compartment with a sliding curtain. If Honda designers were inspired by a laptop when creating the design, here they clearly used roller blinds as a source of ideas! If the seats weren't equipped with ISOfix mounts, you could easily lay a child there — after removing the cup holders and partitions. |
 In the simpler Elegance trim, the seats are upholstered in fabric, and the steering wheel is plastic, which for a car of this class looks, to put it mildly, unexpected. If you pay an extra 100,000 rubles and take the Pilot in Executive trim, the interior will be leather, and the car will also get a sunroof, power-adjustable front seats with driver memory, power tailgate, parking sensors with rearview camera, and curtains for the second row. It's comfortable to sit. The range of adjustments (even mechanical in Elegance) is enough for tall drivers. I was especially pleased that the front seats hold your shoulders well. Over 100 km of broken Karelian asphalt, I never had to adjust the seat. The seating position is not as high as in most SUVs, which allows you to feel the car better. |
 The steering wheel also pleased — both in cross-section and size, in my opinion, it's optimal. The three semi-transparent instrument dials with red needles are perfectly readable, although they look a bit childish against all this adult ruggedness. Bam-bam-tararam! I got distracted by the instruments. And again caught a deep pothole. The broken Karelian asphalt doesn't let you relax for a second. It's better to avoid potholes in the Pilot. Honda engineers are not lying when they say directly: "Pilot is not an SUV!" And that's really true. The suspension is almost car-like — MacPherson struts in front and a short-travel multi-link in the rear, which is clearly visible when the wheel is hanging. The combination of bottoming out on sharp-edged bumps and rocking on gentle waves is especially hard on rear passengers. Once in the back, after just a couple of dozen kilometers, I caught myself feeling something forgotten since childhood — I was getting motion sick! |
 But there are three seat belts in the second row, and the same number in the last one. The Pilot is positioned as an eight-seater. But if the middle row is really comfortable even for three, provided that tall people sit in front, then in the "trunk" three adults will be a bit cramped. Two is fine, but a third is clearly extra. And access to the third row of seats is not the most convenient. But if you fold them down, you get a huge cargo area. And how such an abundance of space will please owners of ordinary sedans! Stop. What do sedans have to do with it, you ask? It's simple. Honda marketers see Pilot owners as those who previously drove a regular dynamic sedan (like an Accord) but lacked an aggressive look and large interior space. At the same time, they emphasize that the Pilot is not lacking in dynamics either. |
 Of course, you can't call the new Honda crossover fast, but 257 horsepower from the 3.5-liter V6 is quite enough for moderate acceleration of a two-ton giant. No other engine is available for the Pilot. The V6 paired with the five-speed automatic works in an American way — calm and unhurried — the automatic transmission settings (like the suspension, by the way) for Russia remain the same as for the US market. When you floor the gas pedal, there's a long-awaited pleasant acceleration, but with a noticeable pause. You can, of course, press the overdrive button to deprive the "gearbox" of a couple of top gears, but it doesn't add much briskness. But in a straight line, the Pilot flies decently, and the long steering wheel doesn't hinder that. Smooth, quiet, comfortable, without jolts, jerks, or fuss. The spurred engine, suspension, and transmission are barely audible behind excellent sound insulation. Honda's proprietary Active Noise Cancellation system also helps, reproducing sounds in antiphase through the audio system speakers. |
 During that "picnic on the roadside" I mentioned at the beginning, we decided to test what the Pilot can do off-road. You know, in the NBA there once played a big white center — Bill Laimbeer from the Boston Celtics. Big, but couldn't jump. They said about him that he couldn't jump over a stamp album. The Pilot is somewhat like that basketball player. Serious appearance, big wheels, angular body. I'm just too tough, as the Rolling Stones sing! But it's better not to go into mud or mountains in it. The VTM-4 transmission, like the suspension, is clearly not designed for that. During diagonal wheel hanging, the rear unloaded wheel lifts off the ground too quickly, and then VSA kicks in. But it brakes the wheel sluggishly, allowing you to dig in. The developers were right — not an SUV, but just a big and aggressive-looking car. |
 So, did the Pilot confirm its previously assigned title of "Ruggedized"? By the sum of points, perhaps yes: the crossover's appearance screams it, the interior picks it up, the huge dimensions inspire respect and confidence in its capabilities, the engine and gearbox don't surprise but don't annoy either. Are the suspension and all-wheel drive too simple? Well, they said: "Not an SUV, just a crossover." Do you feel the difference? |
 FOR YOUR INFORMATION The Republic of Karelia is located in the northwest of Russia and is part of the Northern Economic Region of the Russian Federation. In terms of size, Karelia ranks 5th among the republics of the Russian Federation; its territory is comparable to Greece or Bulgaria and is four times larger than Switzerland, Denmark, or the Netherlands. In the west, Karelia borders Finland, in the south — Leningrad and Vologda Oblasts, in the north — Murmansk Oblast, in the east — Arkhangelsk Oblast. In the northeast, the republic is washed by the White Sea. The western border of Karelia coincides with the state border of the Russian Federation and Finland and has a length of 723 km. |
 Four indigenous peoples live in Karelia: Karelians, Finns, Vepsians, and Russians. Karelia is one of the most beautiful corners of our country. Amazingly attractive and kind northern nature with purest lakes, mountain rivers and waterfalls, virgin forests, and bottomless blue sky. |
 Body and safety |
Increased strength
When it comes to fighting Trying to play it rough I will take you twenty rounds I'm just too tough, too tough The Rolling Stones. Too Tough Bam-bam-tara-ram! No, the Pilot is fine, it's just that we're tearing along Karelian roads, built apparently back in the middle of the last century and never repaired since. And what's that persistently squeaking in the trunk? Oh, it's just a lunch-box, carefully placed by Honda representatives in a wicker basket. It's time to stop and have a snack on the shore of a picturesque lake. To kill three birds with one stone: have lunch, enjoy the scenery, and test the off-road capability of the new Honda crossover.
