Honda Pilot or GMC Acadia....?

[Disney Hot Mama]

Anyone own either of these two cars? We have narrowed our search down to these two I think. This is after months and months of searching... Our needs are to seat at least 7, not a van (I have one now and need something different), don't need 4WD, decent gas mileage, smooth ride, has some storage room for when we go longer road trips and pack with Girl Scout/Boy Scout stuff, looks nice etc.... I have not test driven either yet. Both have decent ratings, the Acadia is only one year old while the Pilot is several years old, The Acadia is a rounder looking car vs. the Pilot is more boxy. Other than that I am on the fence on which to purchase ...both are in our price range.

Your thoughts......

 

[merrily]

I have a Honda Pilot. We bought it new two years ago and I love it! The ride is smooth and comfortable. It is fairly roomy and mine seats 8. Honda has an excellent reliability record. I would definitely buy another.

 

[Minnie824]

I also have a Honda Pilot as does a friend of mine. We both LOVE them and definitely would recommend them and buy another. Good luck!

 

[Angrypenguin]

A vote for the Acadia here. My dad bought one, and it's fantastic to drive , comfortable, and (my own opinion here) is much much prettier than the Pilot. The interior of the Acadia I find is much better than the Honda's as well.

Good luck!

 

[pr surfer]

With the GMC you'll get more for your money (as is the case with domestic cars in general) and it'll be cheaper to fix when things go wrong.

With the Honda you'll pay more up front, but things won't go wrong as often (if at all as is the case with my folks MDX)

 

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

I love my Honda Pilot!!!!! It seats 8 and drives wonderfully. I can't say enough about it. My sister leases one and loves it too. Honda also has one of the best reliability ratings around. And it keeps it's value for resale or trade-in.

 

[Jeafl]

I love the Acadia!

 

[CowboyCO]

The big point on the Pilot is that nothing really goes wrong very often. If you like a rounder styling, look at the Acura MDX. We have had 2 over the year's and they are luxurious , powerful, get good mpg for an SUV , is ULEV and loaded! Acura's are Honda's luxury division. Look for a 2003 or newer.

 

[minnie56]

I have a Buick-Enclave which is 'sister' to the Acadia. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it...BUT it is not great on fuel! Cannot speak about the Pilot..hubby refuses to allow an Import Car in the driveway....

 

[shelly3girls]

We chose the Pilot for reliability. I prefer a car that doesn't need repairs over one cheaper to repair. I also love that it seats 8. I have owned mine for 3 years now, the longest I have ever owned a car. To be honest I have no desire to trade it in and will only replace it with another Pilot once it dies.

I think the gas mileage is pretty decent and it rides much nicer than most SUVs. The interior has everything I could possibly need and is quite comfortable and durable.

 

[Humphrey Bear]

Just wanted to say that the Pilot will be all new for 2009. If you can wait a little, you might be able to get a 2008 at a greater discount. Of course depending on what the 2009 looks like, it might make the decision harder!

 

[FloraFauna]

We just purchased an Enclave, Buick's version of the Acadia. I love the way it drives. You can either seat 7 or 8 people depending on whether you want bucket seats for the middle row.

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

I just test drove the Acadia tonight.. It drove fine for me. I am usually not picky on that part of the car buying but I do tend to overthink the purchasing part. The Acadia is actually about 2000.00 more than the Pilot at this time. I am torn about which to purchase. I love the look of the Acadia over the Pilot. The rounder parts but I do know Honda is a great tried and true car. Both can seat 7 or 8. The Acadia has more room in the back and the seats slide forward a bit easier than the Pilot. I am torn still on which one to get.... Reading the posts above help.

 

[Green Tea]

With the GMC you'll get more for your money (as is the case with domestic cars in general) and it'll be cheaper to fix when things go wrong.

With the Honda you'll pay more up front, but things won't go wrong as often (if at all as is the case with my folks MDX)

But with a Honda a few years down the road it will hold a lot of value. A domestic car is a dime a dozen on the resale market. GMC's do not maintain value.

I had one American made van. It was a joke. In the shop more than out. People laughed at me. Pieces fell off as I was driving. Got a Pilot. 100K miles and drives like new.

 

[Lauralee131]

Had to throw my 2 cents in - I have a 2004 Pilot that I've been leasing and will be turning in shortly...I hear the 09's, which come out soon, are much bigger and you'd get more leg room in the 3rd row seat...the 3rd row seat in the 04 is useless unless the occupant is under 44" tall...

So I'd wait for the 09 instead of buying an 08. I looked at the Acadia, but couldn't swallow the sticker price so I kept looking and ended up with a Mazda CX-9 which I LOOOOVE...much more room than the Pilot...

AND I think that you'll get a much better price on an Acadia, with rebates and what-not, than Honda - they're usually not willing to haggle very much.

One other big point to consider...road noise. All of my previous Honda's, including the Pilot, are very noisy. So much so that if my son wants to talk to me from the back seat, I have to turn off the radio, etc. to hear him. Road noise has always been an issue with Honda, but I don't recall reading about it with the Acadia in Consumer Reports.

And I agree with a previous poster that Honda will have higher resale in the end...

Good luck with your decision!!!

 

[Swimnoid]

Another Pilot owner here (actually we lease). We love it. Great ride, not too bad on gas for a bigger car. But when it is time to turn it over this year we will probably go back to a CRV. We just dont need that big a car anymore.

 

[Disney4Drew]

We have a 2006 Pilot EX 4WD right now. I have owned a Civic and traded in my Accord for the Pilot. I'm Honda biased but I LOVE the Pilot. I heard about the redesign for 2009 and am already planning on upgrading to one with leather.

I also have been looking at the Acadia because I think it's so sharp looking, but a Honda will hold it's value and cost you way less to maintain. Good luck!

 

[Angrypenguin]

I know a lot of people stay away from American cars nowadays because of the stigma (unreliability, quality, etc.), and a lot of it's deserved due to the poor quality of cars and trucks that were made in the 80s and 90s. But what I don't think a lot of people realize nowadays is that they're not the same companies anymore, especially when it comes to GM.

GM and other American car companies have closed the gap, and even surpassed their Japanese counterparts in some categories within the past 5 years in terms of plant efficiency, initial quality, reliability, etc.

If you like the styling and roominess of the Acadia over the Pilot, then go with the Acadia. If you feel that the way the Pilot drives is to more your liking, then pick up the Pilot . It sounds like you do like the Acadia, with your comments about the styling, the roominess of it over the Acadia, and the ease of the sliding seats. I guess what I'm saying is to not be put off by the past reputation of domestic cars, as currently the quality and reliability of them are great.

P.S., don't limit yourself to one dealership! Write a bunch of emails to several dealerships (ask to deal with the 'fleet sales' or 'internet sales' rep), and play let's make a deal! You'd be surprised how much dealers are willing to undercut each other to get your business.

 

[shelly3girls]

Consumer Reports released their car issue this month. There is quite a bit of information on the Pilot, it was rated the most reliable mid-size SUV. They also have an article about the new design for '09. There is quite a bit of information.

 

[Angrypenguin]

Just a few 'real' reviews of the GMC Acadia (no consumer reports!)

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/autos/0704/gallery.gmc_acadia_review/index.html

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/reviews/healey/2006-12-21-acadia_x.htm

and a great Car and Driver review (guys who really know what they're doing), which directly compares it to the Honda Pilot

http://www.caranddriver.com/buying_..._gmc_acadia/2007_gmc_acadia_slt_awd_road_test