At the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, the future look of the Honda Pilot was revealed. 2009 Honda Pilot Prototype conveys design features of a more boldly-styled 2009 Pilot that should debut in Spring 2008. The styling emphasizes authentic SUV styling , clever and more accommodating interior packaging and advanced technologies for safety, fuel efficiency and convenience.
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The Pilot will feature the Honda-exclusive Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure that enhances frontal collision compatibility with vehicles of different sizes/bumper heights and the most extensive use of high-strength steel in any Honda product to date. A pedestrian injury mitigation design in the front of the vehicle is designed to help absorb energy in the event of a collision.
A crossover SUV platform underpins the Pilot to provide the best of the car and truck worlds by integrating the refined traits and packaging advantages of a unit body car design with the utility and capability of an SUV design.
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The V6 in the 2009 Pilot Prototype introduces the latest generation for Honda fuel-saving Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) technology that operates in 6-cylinder mode for power and 4- and 3- cylinder modes for efficiency, an improvement compared to the existing Pilot’s available VCM system that works exclusively in 6- and 3- cylinder modes.
For the passengers, the 60/40 split second row is now more spacious and slides forward a bit further for increased ease of access to the third row. With the 60/40 split third row, it now supplies enough knee room for an above-average sized adult male to fit comfortably, making the Pilot’s third row one of the most practical in the industry.