Friday Favorites: 2016 Honda Pilot

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This is a Honda family! I grew up watching my dad drive a 1981 Accord until the wheels were nearly falling off and then sell it to a family friend who was a mechanic and had a teenage daughter and she drove it for several more years!

So, when it was time for me to buy my first “real” car after college, I turned to a local Honda dealer and bought a pre-certified used Honda Accord that I loved well. And when it was time to upgrade, I did the same thing again!

Enter my husband. He had driven other cars, but by the time we started dating, he was driving a 2006 Honda Pilot and was totally in love it. We are definitely Honda people.

We have loved our Hondas well and tried to treat them well too. I use my Accord for work and primarily keep it around town, so for a 12-year-old car, it is relatively low in mileage (under 150,000) but the Pilot has had a real workout. About a month ago, as my husband was driving home from work, it just cut off in the middle of driving. Fortunately, he was able to steer it on to a side road using the momentum left in the car, but that was it. After a tow, we found out the timing belt had broken. So, after 230,000 miles, we decided that it wasn’t worth the money we would have to put into it and immediately started car shopping.

Our wish list included leather interior, bluetooth stereo, and rear entertainment system (because Penelope is getting to that age) and we found two candidates–each about an hour and a half from our house and each in different directions. One cost several thousand less, but had considerably higher mileage than the other, so we called to check on the car in Raleigh and arrived at the dealership the next day not long after they opened.

We pretty much knew before we test drove it that we wanted the car, but driving it only firmed that up for us. It handled well, accelerated quickly, and felt great as both a driver and a passenger. Because we like to drive cars until the wheels fall off, neither of us have much car buying experience, but Leith Honda provided a pleasant experience all around.

Now that we have had the car a month, there are just a few little things about it that I wouldn’t trade for the world!

1. Built in window shades for the back seat! WHAT??? They pull up from the bottom of the window and hook at the top. Now we can shade Penelope’s eyes from the sun without putting more stuff in the car!
2. Bluetooth for music – I mean, I don’t talk on the phone all that much, so the hands-free calling is fine, but the music part is the most exciting. Back when our 2006 Hondas were manufactured most phones didn’t even have Bluetooth and few cars included AUX ports, so if we want to use our phones to listen to music we were using FM transmitters. So horrible. Having the freedom to listen to any music without having to search for a free station or endure intermittent static has been a joy!
3. Rear Camera – Reversing has never been so easy. I have never minded backing up, even in a larger car, but having the camera takes away the fear that you might be missing something. My procedure for reversing still starts the same, look over both shoulders, check my side mirrors, and my rear view mirror, but now I check the screen too and I can see anything that I might have missed. It really gives me an extra sense of security.
4. Heating and Air System – Number one, it actually works in the back seat and the controls work too! This was a major issue in our older Pilot. Number two, I can control the temperature on my side of the car too! No more frantically closing vents when I realize I’m freezing to death. Woohoo!

I could go on and on listing other things about this car that make me happy, but if you are in the market for a new or new-to-you car, the newer Pilots should be at the top of your list!

Be sure to check out more Friday Favorites at Momfessionals!