Do you have a GMC Acadia or a Honda Pilot

[Anonymous]

Can you tell me what you like or dislike about either one? Thanks, thinking about getting a larger car in the next year or so.

[Anonymous]

Yes, have a Pilot. My old car was a Passat wagon.

I love the fact that we've owned the Pilot for 15 months and it's been in the shop once, for oil change and tire rotation. We get 19 mpg. Can fit anyone and anything in it, and it's not a minivan! Seats 8 comfortably.

[Anonymous]

Love our Pilot! That said, I love the design of the Acadia more, but the Acadia wasn't an option in 2006 when we bought our Pilot. Acadia also has the option for captain's seats in the second row, which would be great for accessing the third row (not as much of an issue if you don't have car seats). Honda has better reliability overall and is a bit less expensive.

[Anonymous]

Love our pilot, friend has acadia. I agree the third row is more accessible in her car than mine. Still not sure I'd trade her, but we don't use third row.

[Anonymous]

First, the two are two different classes of vehicles...

Understanding that, it would seem that you are more concerned on the looks of the two, rather than the utility, engines, or performance. As a "Car Buff" I can tell you that the Acadia is a better performing vehicle than the Pilot. The Pilot is more minivan trying to be an SUV (With NONE of the Utility, ie offroad, a proper SUV will have), whereas the Acadia makes no notion that it is a SUV, by naming itself a CUV. The Acadia is going to be priced much higher thant the Pilot, so if i may suggest looking at the Chevy Traverse (which is the same vehicle, but lower priced and trimmed a little differently). Post you actual requirements/concerns of the vehicles and I will check back and give you an honest mans opinion on them.

[Anonymous]

I have had the Pilot for 6 years. It has been great, no real issues. We do use the third row frequently (not every day, but when I need to carpool other kids for activities, etc.) and it isn't convenient getting in/out of the third row. We also do a fair amount of road trips and I don't find the front row seats very comfortable on long trips. It's a dependable car, seats 8 when you need it, nothing flashy, but it works!

[Anonymous]

Got rid of our Pilot after trying to get a carpool of 8-9 year old boys into the back. That 3rd row is just not accessible enough when the bodies get bigger! We bought a Town and Country van.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First, the two are two different classes of vehicles...

Understanding that, it would seem that you are more concerned on the looks of the two, rather than the utility, engines, or performance. As a "Car Buff" I can tell you that the Acadia is a better performing vehicle than the Pilot. The Pilot is more minivan trying to be an SUV (With NONE of the Utility, ie offroad, a proper SUV will have), whereas the Acadia makes no notion that it is a SUV, by naming itself a CUV. The Acadia is going to be priced much higher thant the Pilot, so if i may suggest looking at the Chevy Traverse (which is the same vehicle, but lower priced and trimmed a little differently). Post you actual requirements/concerns of the vehicles and I will check back and give you an honest mans opinion on them.

Op here, thanks for everyone's thoughts. To PP, I have been thinking of getting a bigger car to fit more kids easily, we have #2 on the way and plan on having 3 and have a large dog. I love my CR-V because it is a small SUV, I hate driving larger SUV type cars like the Sequoia or Expedition. I only listed the Pilot and Acadia because they seemed similar in size, I have test drove the Pilot and my friend just got an Acadia so they were really the only 2 I had looked into. I will not need to be towing anything or going real off-roading. Looking more for space but not a huge SUV, probably take a road trip once a year with everyone + dog, fit camping stuff, and eventually carpooling of children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here, thanks for everyone's thoughts. To PP, I have been thinking of getting a bigger car to fit more kids easily, we have #2 on the way and plan on having 3 and have a large dog. I love my CR-V because it is a small SUV, I hate driving larger SUV type cars like the Sequoia or Expedition. I only listed the Pilot and Acadia because they seemed similar in size, I have test drove the Pilot and my friend just got an Acadia so they were really the only 2 I had looked into. I will not need to be towing anything or going real off-roading. Looking more for space but not a huge SUV, probably take a road trip once a year with everyone + dog, fit camping stuff, and eventually carpooling of children.

PP Here... The Acadia is as large as the Sequoia and the Expedition, it may not 'look' like it is but it is as big, if not bigger. If the 3rd row is important and you plan on having people/kids comfortably sit in it, then the Acadia/Traverse is the way to go, otherwise go with the smaller SRX/Equinox. You will be surprised and the luxury those all offer, whereas the Pilot is going to be 'plainjane' (not that there is anything wrong with that either). But I would recommend you look a CUVs vs SUVs, the Pilot (SUV) is on a more ridgid frame and will have a trucklike feel, from the sounds of it CUV is what you want... SRX, Equinox, Edge, etc... Hope that helps.

[Anonymous]

We have a Pilot and I love it, but we're trading it in for a minivan when #3 arrives. As a PP said, the 3rd row is just not accessible (esp when you have to put carseats in it!) on a regular basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, the two are two different classes of vehicles...

Understanding that, it would seem that you are more concerned on the looks of the two, rather than the utility, engines, or performance. As a "Car Buff" I can tell you that the Acadia is a better performing vehicle than the Pilot. The Pilot is more minivan trying to be an SUV (With NONE of the Utility, ie offroad, a proper SUV will have), whereas the Acadia makes no notion that it is a SUV, by naming itself a CUV. The Acadia is going to be priced much higher thant the Pilot, so if i may suggest looking at the Chevy Traverse (which is the same vehicle, but lower priced and trimmed a little differently). Post you actual requirements/concerns of the vehicles and I will check back and give you an honest mans opinion on them.

Op here, thanks for everyone's thoughts. To PP, I have been thinking of getting a bigger car to fit more kids easily, we have #2 on the way and plan on having 3 and have a large dog. I love my CR-V because it is a small SUV, I hate driving larger SUV type cars like the Sequoia or Expedition. I only listed the Pilot and Acadia because they seemed similar in size, I have test drove the Pilot and my friend just got an Acadia so they were really the only 2 I had looked into. I will not need to be towing anything or going real off-roading. Looking more for space but not a huge SUV, probably take a road trip once a year with everyone + dog, fit camping stuff, and eventually carpooling of children.

The PP is right. We just got a Chevy Traverse and we're very happy with it. After much research and test driving and price shopping, here is the breakdown:

Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia, and the Buick Enclave are all essentially the same vehicle but are incrementally "nicer" and more expensive in that order. These are the ONLY cars of this class. This class being cars that function exactly like minivans with the same interior layout as minivans (three full rows of seats--not the fake third row that SUVs have--and the option for true captains chairs in the middle row), but they have four doors like an SUV as opposed to the tell-tale sliding door of the minivan. Basically, they are cars for people who need but refuse to drive minivans.

Honda Pilot is a great car, but it does not have a true third row that is actually functional for, say adults. We only have one kid so far, but we often need to drive both of DH's elderly parents and need a car that can comfortably seat 4 adults and a carseat (and hopefully 2 carseats in another year or so).

Another option for you to consider is the newer Highlander. The Highlander has a captains chair configuration option that allows real access to the third row.


I LOVE my Traverse. If I could have aforded it, I would have gone with the Buick Enclave without a doubt. The Acadia was only a little more than the Traverse and probably not worth the extra money, however, I really liked the body style of the Acadia more--we just couldn't swing it as we were already stretched to the limit with our budget.

I must warn you. As pp noted, it may not be obvious from looking at it, but these cars are HUGE! You don't realize how much bigger they are from your average SUV. I've already been stuck in a parking garage once and have had many close calls. If you live in a more urban area, this could be a concern. If you only have to deal with really suburban areas with parking lots where you drive than it shouldn't be a problem. I don't think the size is a big deal for driving, just parking.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone! Very helpful advice

[Anonymous]

I am actually surprised by all of the positive comments about the Pilot. I don't particulary like ours. We have had it since Dec 2005, and I have not been overly impressed with our gas mileage (which is more like 13-14 on local roads and 17-18 on highways), nor with its usability (though I do like the 8th seat), nor with its capability in bad weather. Our Subaru outback is a much better handling car overall. I will be happy when our lease is up, and we're looking at the Traverse now.