2009 Honda Pilot Prototype

There were few surprises at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this year ... in fact it was a real snoozer. If I hadn't seen the “new”

The new Pilot looks a lot like the old Pilot, except for a few distinguishing details. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

introductions at the Frankfurt or LA shows first hand, or read about more unveilings as I was editing news stories and reviews about the Tokyo and Seoul shows, I edited stories on others leading up to Detroit as automakers tried to outdo each other by breaking big news before the big event. Even the carmakers that kept their secrets under wraps gave us in the media embargoed information pre-show, helping us to prepare ourselves for the week's major news stories (thanks), but kind of ruining the wow factor at the same time. A few cars, mind you, were kept secret, making it past bloggers and spy sites unnoticed, with Detroit debuts that were refreshingly unexpected.

OK, I should have figured out that Honda was about to unveil its upcoming Pilot, being that I'd been on the launch program of Acura's MDX last year and could easily have put two and two together to figure out the Pilot was next. But, for reasons I'm not entirely certain of, I forgot about Honda's largest vehicle. And that's not because I don't like it. While I find its exterior styling amongst the more yawn-inducing currently on the SUV cum crossover market, I absolutely love living with it day in and day out. Every time Honda offers me one for a week I book it immediately and am always grateful, finding umpteen things to pick up and shuttle around thanks to its wonderfully accommodating interior. Its ride and handling compromise is more than acceptable too, and high-riding driving position, body friendly ergonomics and full-featured surroundings ideal for my family's needs.

I suppose that's why I liked what I saw in Detroit so much. I mean, what makes

From this angle it not only looks like the old Pilot, but a bit like the classic Isuzu Trooper II. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

the current Pilot so good is its rather boxy, utilitarian shape. While some don't like these designs, preferring the sleeker, rounder lines of Buick Enclaves, Hyundai Veracruz's and Mazda CX-9s, not to mention Acura MDX's, I'd rather live with rectangular profiles that offer greater functionality and more masculine character. Normally such SUVs are real SUVs, meaning that they're conventional off-road vehicles like Land Rover's LR3 and Jeep's Wrangler. Going back this class was filled with Toyota Land Cruisers, Isuzu Troopers and Mitsubishi Monteros too, the forerunners (ahem) of the sport utility segment. Now, with the advent of the crossover, the auto industry's answer to peoples' collective disfavor with minivans, such 4x4s are rare. The fact that the Pilot mimics them in shape, at least, gives it more SUV credentials than its car-like competitors, although it's still a car-based CUV.

Not unlike its architecture-sharing cousin, the Acura MDX, the new 2009 Pilot Prototype

Now that's an expressive headlight design. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

shows an edgier face than its forbearer. Where the current crossover is all soft-shoulders and ubiquitous curves, looking like a bloated previous-generation CR-V, the Detroit show vehicle is creases and folds most of its corners, a welcome departure for sure. And I suppose it's really the revised grille that sets the tone here, being more like the new Accord in shape and attitude. Its six-sided design is chunkier than before, and now glittering in more chrome than any OEM Honda in history. There's nothing at all new going on down below the bumper, with a rather average looking front fascia sporting integrated circular fog lights, although the headlight clusters, which are extremely large and butt up flush with the hood's lower line, wrapping up, over and around the foremost edges of the SUV's hood and front fenders, are probably its most controversial design element. Their complex makeup create a highly technical look all on their own, although their size and unorthodox

I could get used to spending time in here. (Photo: Honda)

design almost completely dominate eyeballs, so I can see how they might cause some dissention amidst Honda loyalists.

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