Honda Pilot VS VW Atlas

I picked my car for seat hight. I wanted to be able to just sit into the thing, and stand right up out of it. My previous car was a Boxster, and while I loved it, falling into that seat (6-8 inches off the ground), and prying my late 50s butt out of it several times a day got old. I traded it in while it still had good value (4 years) I anticipate keeping this one until repairs get too often.
 
Mike

My wife's had her Hyundai Tucson since July of 2010 and in all that time other than oil changes all that's been done is I have changed wiper blades, one gas cap and a battery at seven years. It has been completely trouble free.
 
Jack said:
Mike

My wife's had her Hyundai Tucson since July of 2010 and in all that time other than oil changes all that's been done is I have changed wiper blades, one gas cap and a battery at seven years. It has been completely trouble free.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jack. The one we drove today was a winner.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Mike said:
We test drove the Honda Pilot, Kia Teluride and Hyundai Pallisade.

For us, the Hyundai was the clear winner in overall features, smooooooth ride and quiet. The Honda’s breaks were bad. The Kia was a close second to the Hyundai, but I didn’t like the weird dash.

We may wait and try the new Toyota Highlander - redesigned for 2020. But so far, the Hyundai was the winner.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

It Looks sweet...

 
Mike

When she buys again next year it will either be whatever the current equivalent is or the Mazda CX-5 as that's as big as we need. Nobody to haul except an infant grandson sometimes and groceries.
 
Just for completeness Mike should try the Mazda. Personally, I have a 2005 Mazda3 that I bought in November 2004. So far I haven’t had any issues with it, so I will keep driving it. One time when I took it in for periodic service they gave me a CX-5 to use, and it was pretty nice. Unfortunately, it only has an automatic transmission, so I can’t get one. I am 70 and every car I have had has a manual transmission, so my last car also has to be manual.
 
BlueFox said:
Just for completeness Mike should try the Mazda. Personally, I have a 2005 Mazda3 that I bought in November 2004. So far I haven’t had any issues with it, so I will keep driving it. One time when I took it in for periodic service they gave me a CX-5 to use, and it was pretty nice. Unfortunately, it only has an automatic transmission, so I can’t get one. I am 70 and every car I have had has a manual transmission, so my last car also has to be manual.
Click to expand...

We need second row bucket seats. Long story. I don’t see that with the Mazda.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
just saw this thread. full disclosure; i manage a large Honda dealership, been here for 39 years and been GM for 28 years.

the last 8-9 years i always drive Pilot demos, 3 different ones a year, the last year i switched to the Passport (a 2 row seat version of the Pilot). i put 18,000 miles a year on these 3 demos. so i know these cars. awesome vehicles.

been appraising cars my whole life, and our dealership sells 150 used cars a month, 2/3rd's sports utility models of all brands. the proof of any model is in how it survives as a used car.

as far as resale value; nothing is as good as a Honda Pilot in that price category. People always pay a premium to buy the Honda. we are able to acquire SUV's of premium brands of the same year as Pilots for less than the Pilot which was maybe $10k-$20k lower MSRP, and then the Pilot will sell used for more. why? because the average repair order cost on a Pilot is $200, the average for other brands is $800. they don't want to own those others out of warranty. then if they purchase a service contract; the cost for the Pilot is half as much. we see 200,000 mile Pilots. take them as trade-ins.

and while all vehicles these days do have issues from time to time, the Pilot has fewer than most. and when i appraise used cars as far as fit and finish and everything working there are Honda's and there is everything else.

specifically regarding VW and Audi; we have saying; they don't make extension cords long enough to sell those. i try and prevent my used car manager selling used VW or Audi's not under warranty since they don't stay fixed. and the repair cost is outrageous. we can't keep customers happy and end up with long term continual customer issues. VW/Audi's are sexy cars and drive nice. i see why people like them. but over the years they suck.

a new VW model in it's first year? how much pain do you want?

i know you live in Florida, so the 4wd aspect is not significant; but Honda and Acura have the best torque vectoring 4WD system you can buy. i live in a snow area with steep hills and it's like a mountain goat. it's adjustable on the fly for mud or sand. and it's very reliable. there is a short steep hill near my house that many SUV's cannot navigate in the snow or ice. i drive right up or down it regardless.

if you are just leasing it and won't own it out of warranty then some of these issues might not apply; but if you don't like the vehicle you lease and it's a Pilot; likely the value holds enough to get out early; most others in this category would be very painful to get extracted from. i deal with this issue with other makes all the time where a large check must be stroked to get out of lease where you are fed up with the vehicle.

i know the GM of a Tampa Honda dealership well; if you have an interest i can connect you.
 
Thanks Mike. My wife hated the brakes on the Pilot. Felt like mush. Ditto for the Odyssey we drove. I could live with it, but she was absolutely convinced something was wrong. The bad salesman (he was completely disinterested) said they were both behaving normal.
 
Mike said:
Thanks Mike. My wife hated the brakes on the Pilot. Felt like mush. Ditto for the Odyssey we drove. I could live with it, but she was absolutely convinced something was wrong. The bad salesman (he was completely disinterested) said they were both behaving normal.
Click to expand...

interesting. don't hear that objection myself and have not experienced that. i suppose it's a context thing as far as what you are use to.

what brake system was your wife use to using?

i'd be surprised if the brakes were not operating as normal. OTOH bad salespeople do exist for every brand. some don't care and no fix for that (one obvious one of course). likely he was not experienced at dealing with an objection such as that. how it should have been handled was to (1) drive another vehicle, and (2) to introduce you to their service team to make sure all was well and explain how things work.

brake pedal pressure is very consistent over all the vehicles i drive with Honda. but that does not make it right for every customer. they must feel safe and in control.

if the customer liked the car other than the brake issue then i would offer an over-night test drive to see if a comfort level with that difference could be found. in a short test drive changes from what a person is used to become bigger than maybe they really are. good-bad is sometimes just different.

or a brake pedal pressure issue might be a seat adjustment issue. leg leverage might have to be altered slightly.
 
Mike said:
We may wait and try the new Toyota Highlander - redesigned for 2020. But so far, the Hyundai was the winner.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Mike, be sure to check the rear cargo floor on the re-designed Highlander. The current model is not level and slopes to the rear, poor design.

As for the Hyundai, great all around IMO except for those wheels, OMG what a PIA to clean !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top