personally i dont even look in the direction of a honda and when i see a pilot i just think of a 4runner vs a pilot in a pull off and in my opinion honda has lost there quality just my opinion
I'm sorry, but this is the funniest post I've ever read here. Talking about a 4Runner and a Pilot in a pull-off reminds me of somebody saying they'd not even look at a Camry for a family car because a Corvette destroys it in the quarter mile, has a nicer interior, and those awesome composite body panels.
You're talking about two different vehicles for different purposes. I've owned 2 FJ's (2008 and 2010 Trail Teams), a 2007 4Runner Sport with a V8, and now a 2012 Tacoma that to me is essentially identical to a 2009 4Runner with a short bed on it. Same engine, same pretty much everything else.
However...in the 30,000 miles my wife has driven the pilot we've had to do zero repairs. We regularly use the third row (which we didn't have in our 4Runner, and even if we did they were entirely useless). We shopped for a 2011 4Runner and they wanted 40 grand. We got the Pilot for $31,000 new.
For her purposes, the Pilot was a superior vehicle. She doesn't need it for a pull-off. But if you're looking at maybe a minivan and don't want a vehicle that is like that and still looks semi-cool and has a great engine and AWD system, then the Pilot is a fantastic choice. I enjoy driving it on the freeway more than any of the Toyotas I've owned and driven, but of course any of my Toyotas would have been great in a "pull-off" and have been exemplary in my exploration of the mountains. Nothing beats a Toyota when in its element. I think that nothing beats the Honda in its either.... reliability and freeway and around town use for families who want something that isn't a piece of crap.
Unfortunately my luck has seemed to change on Toyotas (been driving them for 20+ years). The quality is dropping it seems. My 2008 FJ was a great vehicle, but suffered from some design issues. I sold it and bought the 2007 4Runner that had almost no miles on it, but immediately had problems and I got rid of it ASAP, which depressed me, because the 4.7 V8 was an amazing engine. There were other issues with minor electronics, rusting at the tailgate, etc. that were unacceptable with a vehicle that had been garaged and only in service for approximately 12 months and had 18,000 miles on it. Returning to an FJ was a natural with the newer and more powerful V6. Unfortunately Toyota blew it and put bad front brakes, awful factory wheels that could NEVER be balanced, chipping paint, and fenders that would crack within 2,000 miles of purchase. It was a constant worry. I might as well have been driving a Land Rover.
I decided to stick with Toyota on my most recent purchase and now have a $34,000 Tacoma that has 800 miles on it and a massive driveline vibration, again, the unbalanceable wheels that showed up at 300 miles on the ODO, and a misaligned bed from the factory that I'll be spending a weekend taking off and trying to re-align so the truck doesn't look awkward.
As far as resale and fit and finish... the Tacoma is the best of the best, but this 2012 has me wondering, especially when it already has more rattles and strange issues at 800 miles than the Pilot (which has been driven HARD) for 30,000 miles has on it.
Will I buy another Toyota? Yeah... I'll probably get a 4Runner Trail in 2 years if Toyota gets its act together on quality, because I love a "real" 4x4, but for family hauling and needing seating space, reliability, and having a very good AWD system that doesn't require any thought to operate, then the Honda is a spectacular vehicle and if I were shopping for a new family vehicle, I'd look at the Pilot or Acura MDX first all over again and would recommend those looking for good transportation for a good value that the Honda is a really nice vehicle and I don't regret owning one for a minute, regardless of the fact that my Toyotas were bruisers and it is just a lightweight, but I assume the Dodge and Ford and Chevy guys with the huge diesel engines think similarly about our 4Runners, Tacomas, FJ's and other vehicles built on the same Toyota platform.
