Highlander or Pilot?

[DesiPower]

So looking for a new SUV, zeroed in on two, Highlander or Pilot, personally wanna stay away from everything else in the price range because of their long term reliability, decision partly supported by consumerreport. I am pretty much fixed on the size too, cr-v rav4 too small, and minivan too big. I plan to keep it till it dies. Budget is 35k.

I am comparing Highlander Limited and Pilot EX-L, both 2 wheel drive. I went and looked at both, no test drive yet. I have two kids and dont need the 3rd seat, its only for if/when family visiting or something like that.

I am leaning towards Highlander because of its -
smaller size (fits well in my garage)
looks
slightly better fuel economy reliability and softer ride
0% APR
less road noise.

Advantages of Pilot would be -
more room (specially cargo, after the 3rd seat highlander and ZERO cargo space)
cheaper price (about 1.5k)

So what say you?

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Looks at name, not surprised that will only buy a Toyota/Honda.

Lol.

That being said CX-9/Flex/Equinox

 

[DesiPower]

:biggrin: you got it brah... but I did drive Olds LSS, taurus, Mazda 323, Maxima (still own). I guess as I got older I have come back to Toyota Honda...

CX-9 - ugly, could never drive it, fuel economy is terrible.
Flex- FUGLU, oversized Mini
Equinox - small, maybe Traverse, but yeah... Desi, GM don't go well together

 

[Caminetto]

Had a similar situation and decided on the Pilot. But what swayed me was the towing, 4WD and cargo area.
Even though I voted for the Pilot, I think for your more normal needs, you may like the Highlander better.

 

[exar333]

No option for neither?

 

[DesiPower]

No option for neither?

Amongst the two which would you choose, suppose you won a lottery, a SUV, they have two, and you can take home only one of them.

 

[jlee1]

Highlander only because I feel Honda messed up on the design of the new Pilot. It may not be a legitimate reason, but the Toyota looks SO much better; just take the 3rd row seat out and call it a life.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Amongst the two which would you choose, suppose you won a lottery, a SUV, they have two, and you can take home only one of them.

Highlander, simply because it looks better.

 

[NutBucket]

Wife and I thought the Highlander looked cheap interior wise and didn't particularly care for the exterior either. As such, didn't even bother driving it. The rude/useless sales staff didn't help either.

Pilot was ok-ish. Major gripes were it was fairly loud on the freeway, seat comfort (especially 3rd row) and no AC vents for the 3rd row. Rude/useless sales staff was also not doing it any favors.

Would have bought an MDX except its 3rd row is tiny (and lacks AC vents) and it too has zero space behind the 3rd row.

If 3rd row isn't a real concern I'd buy the MDX or an Explorer.

 

[SandEagle]

the Flex is a POS. why does it always get mentioned in SUV threads?

OP, I am torn on this. normally id say Honda, but i like the new Highlanders too. either way, you cant lose.

 

[Dari]

Off topic but how the fuck has the Highlander gotten so big? When I rented it in 2005 it was the size of today's Rav4. Now it's the size of a 4Runner.

 

[alpineranger]

I looked at both recently when shopping for a new car, overall I prefer the Pilot, but they both have their issues. Ultimately, I chose a different car entirely. As others have said, the honda is loud (this is a common honda trait), AC is underwhelming, some of the seats are not the most comfortable to sit in. However, the Highlander wallowed over the highway and leaned uncomfortably during turns. It also had much less usable cargo space as OP noted and a much larger turning radius. Personally I find they both look ridiculous, and neither has a very nice interior.

I found the Honda and Toyota minivans to be very nice, especially if you don't need 4wd or towing capability. I believe they are smaller than the Pilot/Highlander in almost every dimension (especially height), so size is not a strange reason to discount them. Both the minivans have rear zone AC if not tri zone AC, and individual seats in the middle row, which is a big plus with kids. I'd take another look at them because they seem to meet the requirements much better than the crossovers.

 

[NutBucket]

I don't expect my CR-Z to be vault silent on the road nor would I expect that from a Civic but a mid-size crossover should be quiet dammit!

And yes, the AC is very underwhelming which also stinks.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Amongst the two which would you choose, suppose you won a lottery, a SUV, they have two, and you can take home only one of them.

I'd pick the one that has the best resale value so I can turn around and sell it immediately and buy something else. Yeah, I'm one of those guys

Since both of those "SUVs" are unibody I'd go with neither just for that reason. An SUV should have a frame darnit

 

[Doppel]

Really they are the same car. I was looking a while back and it was a toss up between the two. Honda is a bit bigger and the current gen looks awesome but so does the highlander.

If your budget is 35k I don't know why you don't raise it a couple grand at get the highlander hybrid. It's mpg is 28 and you will make that up vs one without hybrid a couple thousand cheaper.

I SUSPECT that the highlander has higher resale based on my looking around last two years, they really go for way too damn much used.

 

[DesiPower]

I'd pick the one that has the best resale value so I can turn around and sell it immediately and buy something else. Yeah, I'm one of those guys

Since both of those "SUVs" are unibody I'd go with neither just for that reason. An SUV should have a frame darnit

Technically these are cross overs, SUV on Car's platform, integrated frame and body. That's they reason people buy them, real estate of a SUV, smooth and comfy ride of car. Real SUVs like 4runner or pathfinders, too rough ride for my taste.
As for you turning around and selling it is a good point, resale value, not bad criteria to buy an automobile, go for it, based on resale value which one would you buy?

 

[DesiPower]

Really they are the same car. I was looking a while back and it was a toss up between the two. Honda is a bit bigger and the current gen looks awesome but so does the highlander.

If your budget is 35k I don't know why you don't raise it a couple grand at get the highlander hybrid. It's mpg is 28 and you will make that up vs one without hybrid a couple thousand cheaper.

I SUSPECT that the highlander has higher resale based on my looking around last two years, they really go for way too damn much used.

Not sure if I will be getting all the bells and whistles of the Limited with the Hybrid base... good point though, will do research on that.
I did think about it initially but, my other car is a Camry Hybrid and my wife thinks we went overboard and spent the extra bucks for nothing, I don't I absolutely love it. So I dont think we will reach a consensus on this, after all she's the one who'll be driving it during the week.

 

[Doppel]

Well I can tell you the 2wd won't have great resale, nobody wants these things in 2wd (almost nobody!).

Anyway, the 4wd is 19 mpg, 2wd 20, the hybrid 4wd is 28.

@ 1000 miles/month the hybrid will save you $~14 gallons/month over the others. You won't get the bells/whistles but I bet its resale will be tremendous.

 

[NutBucket]

Unless you're in socal where you have a heck of a time even finding a 4wd Pilot or Highlander.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jlee]

No love for the 4Runner?

 

[7window]

I like the honda pilot because it has more room. I rode on one.

 

[skyking]

we have an '05 Pilot with 120,000 on it, no huge complaints so far. Have not looked at the new ones.
I am impressed by the sharp turns/maneuvering, decent approach angles, better ride and lack of excessive roll in the corners.
The seats are comfortable for us. It is wider inside than most any other similar sized rig, making 3 across the back seat possible.
Not impressed by:
Honda's transmission. No changeable filter.
Too much hard plastic in the interior.
AWD morphs to FWD at 30 MPH. This can be a PITA in the deeper snow in the mountains, when you can do 40 or so in control but you can't, because the rear axle has turned itself off.
The economy is not. Don't buy one and expect to get more than about 18~20 average.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Highlander b/c the Pilot is fugly.

 

[Doppel]

No love for the 4Runner?

Gets like 2 mpg, same as the path finder. Right now btw the 2012 Pathfinder is going for a song, it's much cheaper than I've ever seen on a new pilot or highlander. I'd personally look at one at the moment, even though it does require premium and does get damned horrendous mileage.

 

[DesiPower]

A truck platform, separate body frame is out of question, also out of question is Nissan, had two Nissans, still own one, long term reliability is horrible...