The 2016 Honda Pilot has made its debut at the 2015 Chicago Auto Show (CAS2015). The all-new design of the 2016 Honda Pilot incorporates new premium features, including optional brighter and more efficient LED projector headlights with auto high beam technology, available LED daytime running lights and taillights, plus available 20-inch wheels and a panoramic roof option.
Watch the TFLcar 2016 Honda Pilot FIRST LOOK from the 2015 Chicago Auto Show (CAS2015) below!
Additional high-end amenities include available heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel and heated second-row seats. For the first time, upper-trim Pilot models will have available two second-row captain’s chairs, in addition to the standard second-row three-person 60/40 split seat for 8-passenger seating capacity.
The 2016 Honda Pilot is powered by a new 3.5-liter, direct-injected i-VTEC® V-6 engine with Variable Cylinder Management™ (VCM™) cylinder deactivation technology. For improved fuel efficiency, the Pilot will include available Idle Stop technology that shuts off the engine when the vehicle is stopped, restarting the engine when the driver lifts their foot off the brake pedal.
The new engine has two transmission choices – a 6-speed automatic transmission or, on upper trims, a Honda-first 9-speed automatic transmission. The new Pilot will be available in front-wheel and all-wheel-drive configurations and will feature a completely new Honda all-wheel-drive system that is said to heighten performance and efficiency.
“Honda continues to fortify its light-truck lineup in 2015, this time turning our eye to the fast-growing family SUV segment,” said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division. “The new Pilot will raise the bar in a segment it helped to create, with more innovation, style, premium features and family utility than ever before.”
The Honda brand’s U.S. light-truck sales were up 10.6% in the fourth quarter of 2014 to 154,480 SUVs, pickups and minivans, including an 8.6% gain for Pilot, to 28,610 units, in the fourth quarter.