For those who considered a Pilot, what made you choose a 4Runner instead?

[shearerman320]

When we were out shopping I took the GF through The honda parking lot which happened to be right across the street from the Toyota dealership and she was like keep right on going it looks like a little UPS truck. Functunality may be there but the styling if BLAH.

 

[hrothgar02]

We have a 2011 Honda Pilot and a 2011 4Runner. I posted this on the Honda website:

So took my Mercedes CLK55 AMG Cabriolet into the shop because the horn was acting funny and the driver side bun warmer went out. $2200 to fix the steering wheel (had to purchase the entire assembly) and $1400 to fix the seat heater (one side); mind you I spent close to $4K in previous maintenance/repair cost before this last trip to the dealership.

With that in mind, I drove to the nearest Toyota dealer and traded in the car for a 4Runner. There was only a $1K drive out price difference between the 2wd SR5 and the 2wd EX (4Runner was $1K more). Since we just purchased a new Honda Pilot EX for my wife couple of months ago, I wanted something different.

Couple of immediate observations about the 4Runner:
(+)
Much stronger off the line + mid and top end (C/D clocked a 7.2 sec 0-60)
5000lb towing capability (even with 2wd)
MPG (averaging 19.5 MPG or so without really trying; engine has 700 miles on it)
Rear parking sensors
Heated mirrors
Power driver side / passenger side front seats
Skid plates (weird that they would include this in a 2wd vehicle)
Simple controls for A/C and radio

(-)
Body motion has more bounce than the unibody Pilot
Pilot's steering feels more accurate
No 6 disc in dash radio
Cramped 3rd row (didn't get it for that reason)
Pilot has more space (immediately noticeable esp in the width)
Sight lines not as good as the Pilot's

The driving experience in the 4Runner (personally for me) is more engaging (RWD). Glad I made the decision. The great thing is that we have a Pilot if we need the 3rd row.

PS for those thinking of purchasing a 1996 - 2008 Mercedes Benz - DON'T DO IT. The quality was terrible due to the fact that MB was severely distracted with the purchase ("merger") of Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge. Sanity and quality was recently restored in 2009/2010 models (esp C and E models).

 

[Augdog1964]

Pilot

My sister just got a new Pilot. Nice quality vehicle and rides good... lots of nooks and crannies for holding stuff...

But that grille is HIDEOUS... same with the new Acuras in my humble opinion.

Dave Bane
Augdog1964

 

[Snowfox]

I didn't buy the pilot simply because i don't know how to fly, I maybe buy it some day after i learn how to fly. :biggrin2:

I bought the T4R because I can do off road driving and it is more fun to drive than to fly IMHO. :biggrin2:

 

[FloridaFeMan]

I'd like to reply, as I very nearly bought a Pilot.

But I'd like to know who's car this is going to be; hers or yours.

It'll be driven by the both of us. I'll drive my FJ to work and she'll buzz around town in the 4Runner. We'll use it for short in-state vacations and trips and for any long distance travel we'll take our "paid for in full" 2006 Nissan Armada. I'll use the 4Runner when I go out of town to train for triathlon. Looks like I'll be able to stand my tri bike up in the 2nd row with the seat bottoms folded forward. When your bike costs 1/6 of the price of your car, it only makes sense to secure it on the inside of the vehicle. That brings to mind another poster suggesting a Highlander as it rides nicer and is more fuel efficient. The Highlander won't give me the same amount of space as the 4Runner plus I do prefer the "rugged" look of the 4Runner over the Highlander as well as the Pilot. Some will also question why not a car since we already have 2 SUVs. The easy answer is because I am an Emergency Medicine Specialist and years of experience prove to me that accident victims tend to fare a little bit better with some beefy protection surrounding them.

 

[FloridaFeMan]

I actually liked the Highlander styling until this year when they changed the headlights and taillights. Now it looks like a Venza with a lift.

I agree with you. I don't care for the new styling of the Highlander.

 

[FloridaFeMan]

@hrothgar02, very nice and helpful comparisons on the 2 vehicles. I established similar impressions from my brief test drives with both.

Today we went and took an SR5 4Runner for a 2nd test drive. My wife fell in love with the Blizzard Pearl. She likes the Pilot but didn't show the same emotion as when we revisited with the 4Runner. The other thing I noticed about the Pilot was that I found the driver's seat to be uncomfortable. I don't know what it is about it but it seems to be too deep or maybe too firm under my thighs. I am average height so it's not because of being too short. As of now, pricing on a 2WD Honda Pilot EX is about $2000 cheaper than a 2WD SR5 4Runner which is comparably equipped.

 

[philsey]

Having been in this old world a long time, I have come to know that woman's intuition is not only real, but most often right.

I was ready to buy a Pilot. Took my wife to see a BP SR5, and she said "buy this one, the Pilot is a chick car".

I see by your last 3 posts that you have switched over to past-tense-speak, so further encouragement seems unnecessary. Good Luck, let us know which 5G you buy.

 

[hrothgar02]

Florida,

Go for the 4Runner. You won't regret it! I've been very happy with my SUV. I forgot to mention that the fit and finish on the 4Runner is better than the Honda. There was one body panel misalignment (front door was catching the front fender when the door was fully opened) and interior panels were misanliged on the Honda. The 4runner more or less came out perfect. The Pilot is a Odessey on stilts. The 4Runner is a rugged vehicle that I would not hesitate taking on light trails (with aftermarket tires of course) or towing a boat. The intake noise when you start your 4Runner let's you know you are driving a real vehicle!

 

[Okki]

Florida,

when I shopped around for my new vehicle, i first looked at Honda.. I've had those all my life and love them.. both cars, trucks and motorcycles. however, the 4runner had
- more ground clearance
- user selectable 4x4 (I have a limited)
- More power
- better mileage

I like the looks of both, but as said before, the Honda has more storage cubbies etc.

The Honda also drives more like a car while the 4runner drives more like a truck.

One thing to toss out there, but if you dont really need the SUV "big box" styling, have you considered a Ridgeline with a Leer bed cover? That way you have plenty of room to store your bike "inside" and you can take the bed cover off and haul really big stuff. the under-bed storage also allows for the storage of your wet gear after the triathlon without messing up the inside carpet etc.

In all cases they are good vehicles; you just need to pick the one that best fits your reason for buying it.

Okki

 

[M1911]

Man the Fridgeline is ugly.

 

[tlflow]

decisions

I like Hondas, had an '93 Accord that gave me 250K before I sold it to my Bro-N-Law. It's got like 350K on it now. I wanted a truck and Honda don't make trucks.

 

[4everunner]

I had 08 pilot and trade in for 10 t4r. Much smoother, much quite!

 

[gwcpa]

Bought the 4R over the Pilot based on styling and utility. I wanted a more traditional SUV and off road ability. It does not have superior benefit that outweighs the odd styling for me. More of a CUV than SUV. Same reason I did not consider the Highlander or Venza.

My wife has a '06 Ridgeline (my previous daily driver) I bought instead of the Tacoma. Prefered the RL because of better utility, wider bed, better handling, comfort even though it is uglier. One of the best vehicles I've ever owned from a functional standpoint.

 

[FloridaFeMan]

Update: Purchase Made

New to the forum. Joined mainly to do some research but would likely stay active if I purchase a 4Runner. I owned a 3rd Gen 4Runner in the past as well as a 2nd Gen Tacoma and currently own an FJ. I test drove both a Honda Pilot and a 4Runner. I actually thought the Pilot drove nicer. In all honesty though, I don't care for the looks of the Pilot. I'll be buying a 2WD as I already have 4WD with my FJ. How realistic is it for me to get 17/23 mpg with the 2WD 4Runner? What were some of the reasons you picked the 4Runner over the Pilot? Thanks in advance to those who respond.

Last night I drove home a new 2011 Blizzard Pearl SR5 from the dealership. Thanks to all who contributed their valuable opinions and advice to this thread. I will post details and pictures in separate threads when I get some free time.

 

[T4R_Finally]

We "looked" at a Pilot, however my wife was totally against it. She didn't like the look at all and fell in love with the 4R the minute she saw it on the lot.

Ditto!

We've had several Hondas, including a civic, an accord, and an oddysey van and they were all great. I'm sure the Pilot is a great vehicle as well but when I think of Honda, I just don't think SUV. We like the new design better but still looks like a slightly masked crossover in our opinion.

Too early to tell on mileage but, when we were driving our 4runner home from the dealership, it was showing an average of 24 mpg on the highway running about 60, with no stopping and starting. From the time we picked it up, while running some errands before coming home, it was showing an average of 19. I'd say the 17 and 22/23 is certainly accurate if not, hopefully, an understatement. It's still much bigger than our old Jeep Liberty, with a larger displacement engine, and still showing better mpg average than we were getting before. So, we are happy!

 

[Emjay95]

I have a job in which curb hopping and 4x4' capabilities are essential. I narrowed down my search to replace my '02 Tahoe to these two vehicles. While the Pilot had much more storage capabilities for my gear and slightly better integration of the 3rd row, the 4Runner won out due to true off-road performance and long-term shelf life.

And, I LOVE the USB port and bluetooth capabilities on the 4Runner that allow me to use my IPhone, all in the "base" SR5 package. The Pilot would have required me to upgrade to an EXL-Nav to get bluetooth, ugh.

 

[metzms]

For me it was the body on frame design.

 

[R.A.]

Thought the Pilot was a good looking vehicle with a great ride. But went with the T4R because I considered it a better vehicle overall and with better fuel mileage.

And I didn't want a "gurly" vehicle. (read suburban wife or soccer mom).

 

[DaveS]

When I originally looked at Pilot vs 4Runner in 2004 one thing that put me off the Pilot was all the horror stories about transmission problems - it had the same tranny as the Odyssey which had a lot of issues back then.