The 2016 Honda Pilot.
When Honda revealed the new 2016 Pilot at the Chicago Auto Show it promised a “dramatic shift,” and backed that up with a new, more modern design. But what was under the skin? Well, the automaker is finally ready to reveal more of the details as the three-row SUV finally gets ready to roll into showrooms.
The Honda Pilot, the maker boasts, packs in “beauty, brains and brawn.” We’ve already gotten a look at the new design, so, as for the rest, the 2016 remake is powered by a 280-horsepower V-6 and delivers power to the pavement through a new Intelligent Traction Management system that allows a motorist to instantly optimize a variety of vehicle settings for the road conditions they’re facing, whether dry pavement or snow and ice.
The new crossover also gets some major updates to its digital infotainment and safety systems which offer features such as Forward Collision Warning and Collision Brake Mitigation.
The first eight-passenger SUV in a mainstream segment has also been one of the market’s hottest utility vehicles, with sales of 1.4 million since it launched in 2002. But where the first two generations stuck with a traditionally boxy design, the Gen-3 Honda Pilot features a more progressive – and more upscale appearance.
There’s more curve to its silhouette, with a creased hood designed to emphasize its power, and more sculpting to its fenders and doors. The nose picks up more of a three-dimensional approach to the Pilot’s triple-bar grille and more aggressive fascia.
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The Intelligent Traction Management system instantly adjusts a variety of vehicle settings.
Overall, the new model stays close to the dimensions of the gen-2 Pilot, picking up just 3.5 inches in length. Most of that goes into the cabin, and the added inches make it easier to gain access to the third row, especially with a new one-touch second-row seating design that’s easier to fold out of the way.
Powering the 2016 Honda Pilot is a 3.5-liter Earth Dreams V-6 making 280 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque – 30-hp and 7 lb-ft more than the outgoing model. Honda is still holding back a few details, including fuel economy, but has hinted the new line of engines will not only be more powerful but also more efficient than its old powertrains.
The engine will be paired with either a 6- or a 9-speed automatic, depending on trim level. And buyers can opt for either front- or all-wheel-drive.
One of the more notable moves by Honda is to offer that Intelligent Traction Management system with either FWD or AWD models, unlike Land Rover, Ford and Jeep, which have introduced similar all-terrain systems.
The basic, front-drive system optimizes vehicle settings for normal road conditions, or for snow. In all-wheel-drive, however, you add the capability to set the car up for Mud and Sand, as well.
“Based on the setting selected,” Honda explains, “the system adjusts the drive-by wire map, transmission shift map, Vehicle Stability Assist™ and i-VTM4 torque distribution for AWD equipped models for optimal performance in varying road or surface conditions.”
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Along with the traction management system, the new 2016 Pilot also borrows a key technology from Honda’s upscale sibling brand Acura. Essentially identical to the Super-Handling All-Wheel-Drive system on models like the Acura MDX, four-wheeling versions of the Pilot get the new Intelligent Variable Torque Management, or i-VTM4 system. It not only shifts torque front or back, as needed, but also between left and right rear wheels to enhance grip and improve cornering.
Meanwhile, a new Elite trim level is added to the mix, and comes with virtually every possible feature found on other 2016 Honda Pilot models, including the new Honda Sensing safety suite of technologies.
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