2014 honda pilot

[CMeMeC]

I am looking at a new honda pilot and want opinions...how useable are all 8 seats, specifically those 3 in the third row? Is this a kid friendly vehicle? I have 3 kids, and regularly have my neice or other children with me. I also plan to keep it for a while, so how is it for big kids who no longer need a car seat? We have also considered the odyssey, but havent committed to be a van family yet. Is it worth it just to give in and get an odyssey?

 

[tl01]

We have two boys... 8 and 3.5 and we have an odyssey. We love it. It is so great for when we have another person in the car with us and it is great for road trips. Unless you need 4wd... I would personally go with the odyssey. I swore my whole life I would never get a minivan.... But I did.

 

[Carolinadaisy]

I would get the van. My Mom drives a Pilot and with the third row up, there is very little cargo space which would make road trips hard. She nearly always leaves the third row down.

Also, third row in a Pilot has very little legroom even for kids.

 

[TechnoGranola]

One of our posters here owns a Pilot and has three children and has carried an additional 3 in the third row. I'll PM her to pop in.

If you can make the Pilot work I'd get it. But I dislike driving a van, dislike how they handle, and dislike the way they look. So I'd buy the Pilot. LOL

 

[Meg]

I have a 2013 Pilot and I love it! I have 3 kids and have all their seats installed in the second row, but we carpool a lot and it's been great having the extra row. I've had all 6 backseats filled with kids and everyone fit great. I've had teens and adults in the third row too and there's never been any complaints. I plan on keeping my Pilot for a while and I think it's going to be a great kid hauler especially as the kids get older.

 

[CMeMeC]

4 wheel drive would be a big plus unless the vans really perform well under poor road conditions in winter. Thanks for the insight.

 

[TechnoGranola]

4 wheel drive would be a big plus unless the vans really perform well under poor road conditions in winter. Thanks for the insight.

I do not like how vans handle in the winter. My 4 wheel drive MDX with winter tires is far superior than any van with winter tires. And I'll be honest, I find most sedans with winter tires handle better than vans. Must be the extra weight or height of the van. A van with all seasons in the winter handles terrible and is worse than a sedan with all seasons IMO.

 

[canadiangie]

You would be fine with a Pilot.

I haul three kids + extras + a stroller + groceries all the time and not once have I thought gee, I really need a van. There's plenty of room behind the 3rd row, you just need to load stuff through the glass window, instead of the liftgate.

Put the TrueFit behind the driver, and the narrower of the boosters in the middle (we don't have the Vivo in Canada so I don't know its dimensions), and the wider booster on the 40 portion. You will easily be able to tilt/slide the 40 portion forward to access the 3rd row. If you need more legroom in the 3rd you can slide the entire 2nd forward. I think of the 3rd row as more of a 2-seater, but I have put three seats back there when needed.

You have 4 sets of lower anchors (latch), and 6 tether anchors. Which is amazing.

It's very kid/family/stuff friendly. I'm going to drive mine into the ground, and then maybe get a new one for hauling the grand babies.

 

[CMeMeC]

Thank you! We have been going back and forth over a van for a year or so, so we will see.

 

[NVMBR02]

I also have a Pilot (a 2012) and 3 kids.

I have found the third row to be tight when you need to have 3 car seats/boosters but not really any tighter than any other third row I have come across. With the right combination of seats it can be done. And it just gets easier as the kids grow up. I have had 6 kids with all combinations of rear facing and forward facing seats plus boosters and I have always been able to get it to work.

Our usual set up is My 10 year old in the third row (just the seatbelt for her), my 8 year old passenger side center row in a no nack booster (right now a Clek Olli) and my 4.5 year old in the center row drivers side in a Frontier90. When we bought the Pilot 2 years ago I had my then 6 year old in the third row drivers side in a Diono Monterey, My 8 year old in a Clek Olli passenger side center row and a rear facing Diono RadianXT for my then 2 year old drivers side center row.

 

[Jackie010307]

Depends on what winters are like for you. I have an odyssey, but if I had it to do over I'd get a pilot with 4wd. As it is I will take hubby's fusion if there's snow on the road. Even with winter tires on the van and all seasons on the car it just handles better on snow. If winter driving isn't a concern for you I'd go with the odyssey for the cargo space.