[MDXtrous]

Just got my copy of March Motor Trend today. In it, it has an article on the '03 Honda Pilot SUV. It reads:

"It's about two inches shorter than the Acura, but is taller and wider with a more upright greenhouse for more interior space. THe Pilot looks like a large, comfortable cruiser, with bit-shouldered fenders. Its 3.5L/240-hp V-6 runs on REGULAR gas. For '03, the MDX gets a 3.8L V-6 with more horsepower. The Pilot's third-row seat has room for three (MDX's carries two)..."

Price.. $28,000 - $36000 (est)

0-60, 9 seconds

A few interesting points:

- It's two inches SHORTER, not the rumored 6 inches LONGER
- MDX will get a 3.8L for '03
- Pilot's wider, I guess making room for 3 in the back
- Fully loaded Pilot approaches price of MDX

 

[vicpai]

Oh my god, I'm going to suffer......

Just got my copy of March Motor Trend today. In it, it has an article on the '03 Honda Pilot SUV. It reads:

"It's about two inches shorter than the Acura, but is taller and wider with a more upright greenhouse for more interior space. THe Pilot looks like a large, comfortable cruiser, with bit-shouldered fenders. Its 3.5L/240-hp V-6 runs on REGULAR gas. For '03, the MDX gets a 3.8L V-6 with more horsepower. The Pilot's third-row seat has room for three (MDX's carries two)..."

Price.. $28,000 - $36000 (est)

0-60, 9 seconds

A few interesting points:

- It's two inches SHORTER, not the rumored 6 inches LONGER
- MDX will get a 3.8L for '03
- Pilot's wider, I guess making room for 3 in the back
- Fully loaded Pilot approaches price of MDX

...........a MASSIVE HEART ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Help! Help!, I'm fainting

.......Did you really say the Pilot is WIDER??? ......No, tell me you're kidding.....You're kidding right???????????????.....What,... is it going to be 79 inches then???.....meaning wider than an Expediton?????........Tell me you've got to be kidding!!!!!!........Where are people going to drive this thing???? On Mars???????

What is this some kind of "width-mania" to claim the "widest-vehicle-in-the-world" title???????

Isn't the MDX "going-overboard" wide enough????????????????????????????????????.......Geez, what's the world coming to

I think Honda is smoking some kind of width potion????? ......That is the only explanation for this meaningless obsession with WIDTH!!!!!

 

[papawoolf]

Motor Trend Link to Honda Pilot

Here is the Motor Trend Link to the Pilot. It looks like an oversize CRV.

In my opionion, this will be another vehicle on the Honda/Acura wait list, since it shares the Odyssey/MDX platform.

http://www.motortrend.com/jan02/pilot/pilot_f.html

 

[papawoolf]

Motor Trend Link to Honda Pilot

Here is the Motor Trend Link to the Pilot. It looks like an oversize CRV.

In my opionion, this will be another vehicle on the Honda/Acura wait list, since it shares the Odyssey/MDX platform.

http://www.motortrend.com/jan02/pilot/pilot_f.html

 

[Bill Diggs]

.....another interesting point

If the Pilot's zero to sixty time is 9 seconds it is approximately
a full second slower in acceleration than the '01-'02 MDX, 240 h.p.
or not.

 

[Fireblade6]

wide is good...WIDE IS VERY GOOD. I like wide...

"GET OUT OF MY AWAY" wide is GOOD.

 

[Words]

Thanks for posting this info, MDXtrous. Hey, Vicpai-- the minute I read that post, I could just imagine you having a cow about the additional width, seeing as how you have made it known that the MDX is too wide for you now as is. ; )

 

[A2MDXer]

From page 2: "The all-aluminum engine will be backed by a five-speed automatic transmission, with power routed through a full-time four-wheel-drive system." Full-time four wheel drive?? Isn't it more accurately called on-demand four wheel drive?

 

[Words]

Thanks for posting this info, MDXtrous. Hey, Vicpai-- the minute I read that post, I could just imagine you having a cow about the additional width, seeing as how you have made it known that the MDX is too wide for you now as is. ; )

 

[GatorGreg]

Re: Oh my god, I'm going to suffer......

...........a MASSIVE HEART ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Help! Help!, I'm fainting

.......Did you really say the Pilot is WIDER??? ......No, tell me you're kidding.....You're kidding right???????????????.....What,... is it going to be 79 inches then???.....meaning wider than an Expediton?????........Tell me you've got to be kidding!!!!!!........Where are people going to drive this thing???? On Mars???????

What is this some kind of "width-mania" to claim the "widest-vehicle-in-the-world" title???????

Isn't the MDX "going-overboard" wide enough????????????????????????????????????.......Geez, what's the world coming to

I think Honda is smoking some kind of width potion????? ......That is the only explanation for this meaningless obsession with WIDTH!!!!!

Vicpai, please take some aspirin and try to calm down before you have your massive heart attack The width of the MDX is really not that big of a problem. I find it to be more of a benefit than a detriment.

First, it's only 76.3 inches, not that much more than the GX470 you've been pining over. There are several other vehicles much wider, and most of those are also much longer, which compounds the problem. Because the MDX is not that long, it retains pretty good maneuverability for a vehicle of its width and has a very good turning radius.
Second, the width is what allows the MDX to have such good elbow room. The longer I drive it, the more I appreciate this.

Third, as Pontiac says "wider is better". The MDX tracks nicely down the highway, and presumably the width receives partial credit for that.

Fourth, as Fireblades pointed out above, it adds to the "get out of my way" factor. This has come in handy for me on several occassions when trying to get somewhere in a hurry. Nobody got out of my way when I was driving my old CR-V (unless I hit my 100 watt bugzappers ).

Fifth, the extra width will come in handy if you have the misfortune of getting T-Boned by an Excursion. I remember seeing a test of one of the MDX competitors with overall excellent safety where the CTD hit its head on the side of the interior, not good. An extra inch could be the difference between life and death.

Sixth, I wouldn't park my 'X in a narrow parking spot even if the 'X was under 70 inches like my old CR-V. I don't like dings and I don't mind walking an extra 30 seconds if it means I can get a good parking spot. Consider it free exercise. Plus, at work this means I get to admire the nice Porsches, Jaguars, etc. that also park away from the others

Seventh, my wife and I can still park both our vehicles in our standard 2 car garage. The people on my block with Expeditions and Tahoes all have to park on their driveway because they're a bit too big, especially in length. The MDX on the other hand is the optimum size IMO, big but not TOO big

The one thing I don't like about the width is that it eliminates many of the ATV trails I used to like to drive on in my old CR-V. This is where a sport-cute is superior to large SUVs IMO. However, on those particular trails, anything over 70 inches would probably get all scratched up, so this would rule out virtually all medium to large SUVs, not just the MDX.

 

[Markedoc]

Great post. The width of the MDX is what allows it to seat 3 comfortably in the 2nd row. I looked at quite a few vehicles that were a few inches narrower and didn't feel that 3 kids could survive back there for very long!

the MDX fits through our fairly narrow garage doors - anything much wider would be too close.

 

[RedMdxMemphis]

Great post. The width of the MDX is what allows it to seat 3 comfortably in the 2nd row...

Or good for our farmer friends to load a few more pieces of lumber in the trunk...

 

[ifeldman]

I really think one has to drive the new cars to get a feel for the width, instead of looking at specs only. To me, turning radius makes a bigger difference in parking then the width of the car. My MDX is so much easier to make turns and to park compared to my old Windstar. Also, the width measurements include the side mirrors. So wider widths could easily be due to longer side mirrors.

 

[tigmd99]

Hey all,

GG, I am not so sure you want to advertise Pontiac's slogan, "Wider is better." I don't think many people are buying into this slogan!

I don't believe width measurement includes the side mirrors. (i could be wrong.)

Side curtain airbags would eliminate the possibility of hitting window with head in a side collision. I sure hope Acura will start to put these airbags on the '03 models! Or maybe something that attempts to cover the head, such as the ones in Infiniti/Nissan.

I do think the MDX's width is not that bad. After seeing GG's MDX, it looks like the right size...maybe, the upper limit of normal width. It does afford the MDX much lateral space in the interior.

Thanks.

 

[1SICKLEX]

I heard the 03 MDX will have a 3.8 liter engine, is this old news....
Honda did it's traditional bland as a box of soap look...but it will of course sell like hotcakes BECAUSUE it is a Honda.

 

[Iceman]

One man's bland is another man's classy, 1SickLex. I personally like Honda styling. With the possible exception of Mercedes (who is putting some beautiful cars on the road these days and in the next few years, but loses big points for the ML), I think Honda/Acura has the most consistently nice-looking lineup of cars on the market.