Honda Pilot test drive since 2009 SUV

From the other world

The European premiere of the car in Karelia is not a fairy tale about New Vasyuki. Just a new, traditionally American pilot on our continent will be sold only in Ukraine and in Russia. Alabama engineers brought with them a lot of America and very few honda. It is good or bad - the autopilot found out for the singing of mosquitoes in one of the most beautiful corners of Russia.
In the base camp of Honda near Petrozavodsk, pilots lined up in anticipation. For them, this is a completely indispensable territory, and cars look impressive, but alien to the American traditions of design with an indispensable Bold epithet. In general, the impression is favorable and new for us, despite the fact that this is the second generation of the car. The first penetrated into Russia with extremely small batches and not quite an official way.
Under the hood of Pilot is a 3.5-liter engine, the main feature of which is the system of alternating cylinders. Three operating modes. At medium cruising speed and low load, three of the six cylinders are disconnected. With a low load and high speed (movement along the gentle hills), the engine costs four cylinders. When accelerating, when maximum power is required, all pots are turned on. In practice, it looks like this: when the accelerator pedal is almost completely released, the indicator lights up the optimal fuel consumption of ECO is a sure sign of disconnecting part of the cylinders. With a strong press on the pedal, the icon immediately goes out, all the cylinders wake up (rather slowly) and the car accelerates. It is quite difficult to bring the fuel consumption to the perfect (11.8 liters per combined cycle), especially on Karelian roads-even in the official photo of the dashboard, the indicator for some reason froze at a mark of 20 liters per hundred. On the way back, dropping the testimony, we were able to bring the consumption to 15 liters, which, in fact, is the minimum average consumption achieved in real conditions. After all, the length of even high-speed autobahns in Russia is quite small. But the soft, swaying suspension leaves no doubt about the American origin of the car. And at the same time makes Pilot infinitely far from other Honda models.
Inside, the car turned out, perhaps, excessively steep. According to Kerry McClier, responsible for the comfort and interior design, such severe gadgets as, for example, the Panasonic Toughbook computer, served as the main motives of the design. All this splendor is made of rustling hard plastic, which is a little disappointed.
“We expected from a large car with a claim to the luxury SUV a little more,” we inform Mr. McLuru.
“Let's start with that,” he answers carefully, “that for our market it is a rather small and economical machine.” But we will take into account the wishes.
The American market Pilot is primarily a family car. In addition to the mandatory third row of seats, there are as many as four (!) ISOFIX mounts for children's seats. The central tunnel was spared the gear handle, and here the truly giant compartments for storing things were placed - small and not very.
As usual, the navigation screen installed in the American version did not reach Russia, but they promise to consider this issue in the future, because the certification of this equipment and buying cards for Russia is as always an expensive and long process. So far, you will have to limit yourself to a multifunctional LED display in the green gamut traditional for America and a magnet with MP3, which shakes sound after 7 or 9 speakers. And also about the sound: with noise in the top version, an active noise reduction system fights. Of the additional bells and whistles: the video camera display is built directly in the rear view mirror. Combining it with a mirror image at first is very unusual.
In the United States, the fuel crisis reduced the sales of new cars and turned back the dynamics of sales of the traditionally popular SUV segment. We have nothing similar to the segment, and the segment is quite it is growing with the whole market - now it is 21% of all sales, more than 400,000 units per year. And the D-Suv subsection, which is included in Pilot, grows even faster. In general, the export of the model to Russia is similar to a successful and timely anti -crisis measure, the purpose of which is to preserve the Honda plant in Alabama. In fact, as a team of developers admitted, the decision was made two years ago, and all this time was reduced by reconfiguration of production. And the moment of starting successfully coincided with the recession of the American automobile industry. The initiative was rather based on a well -known fact: the Russian market is still able to absorb everything that they will offer it. Apparently, someone will receive a prize for a gift of foresight, although this still needs to be secured by sales. Depending on the configuration, the Pilot will cost 1,400,000 rubles (Elegance) and 1,500,000 rubles (Executive), which quite comfortably has it in a competitive niche.
And competitors are as follows: Parquet Volvo XC90, Nissan Murano, Mazda CX-9 and off-road Land Rover, Toyota LC Prado, Nissan Pathfinder and Mitsubishi Pajero. The Pilot goal is to unite all this in some averaged universal vehicle.
The final victory over competitors, according to the Americans, will provide two more trump cards. The first - Pilot overtakes everyone in the segment in terms of the ratio of fuel efficiency and internal volume. The second is the safest SUV on the planet. The data was obtained as a result of American tests and slightly resemble the phrase of George Bush: our citizens are the most educated Americans in the world.
As always, the points over I will arrange real numbers of sales. This year, the company plans to sell 500 - 600 cars a month and promises to do without queues: so far the American plant is able to produce much more cars than required.
Abstracts after
1. The machine has a clearance of 200 mm and the smallest radius of the turn in its class - 5.63 m.
2. The disconnection of part of the cylinders saves fuel, a special indicator accustoms to economical driving.
3. It is quite difficult to get used to the video camera mounted in the rear view mirror.
4. In the cabin, as many as four ISOFIX mounts for children's seats.
Honda Pilot
Gasoline engine V6
Raboche volume (cubic cub) 3471
Power (L.S. at rpm) 257 at 5700
Moment (nm at rpm) 347 at 4800
The drive is complete
Automatic gearbox 5-st.
Length/width/height (mm) 4870/1995/1845
Equipped mass (kg) 2092
Maximum speed (km/h) 9.9
Acceleration to 100 km/h (c) 4.5
Fuel consumption, city
Cycle (l/100 km) 16.3 prices in Moscow (rub.) 1,400,000 - 1,500,000

Author: Vasily Reznichenko
Photo: Honda Motor Rus LLC
 

A source: "Autopilot"