Have you ever seen a series of pictures where people take a stuffed animal or other object and photograph it in various spots all over the world? That’s what I felt like when I took the 2019 Honda Pilot to West Virginia for a long weekend. There were so many perfect shots and it made it easy to just place that 2019 Honda Pilot right in the shot to document our amazing family trip.
My son had an early dismissal from school on Thursday and was off on a Friday. Perfect excuse for a family road trip. We made arrangements for a couple of nights in West Virginia and headed out on a comfortable two hour drive to Capon Springs, the home of an all-inclusive mountain resort built around its namesake. We arrived at the main building and was given our room assignment in The Hampshire Cottage. We were told to pull up, unload our bags, and park our vehicle as everything at the resort is within walking distance.
Imagine my surprise when I asked for our room key and we were told there was none! This was an old fashioned resort that feels more like you’re staying with friends. We ate, we played ping pong, we listened to bluegrass, we soaked in the hot springs, and walked the beautiful property.
The next day, we checked out and hit the road for our next destination, an invited stay in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. I feel like a total idiot for admitting this but I had no idea that West Virginia was so big and we were all surprised when we found out our next spot was over 3 hours away. But it was a perfect day for a drive and the scenery was amazing.
We came around a bend and found a visitor center for an area called Seneca Rocks. Apparently, this is one of the better known landmarks located in Pendleton County, West Virginia. It’s a popular rock face with rock climbers. We were happy to simply stop and take a picture.
Then we got lost. There’s a large part of West Virginia that know as a radio-free zone, or DEAD ZONE. We had no cell or data service and had to navigate by stars and the built-in GPS. But we did make it to Pocahontas County and had a pretty amazing day touring some family attractions. And then… we realized our return drive home was ALMOST 5 HOURS. There was some mild complaining in the car but we were all super comfortable and well-connected (once we got out of the dead zone) and found some truly breathtaking scenery on the way home.
2019 Honda Pilot Review
Clearly I spend a lot of time in cars. But I spent a lot of FAMILY time in the 2019 Honda Pilot which was a fantastic way to experience exactly what this vehicle is designed for. As I mentioned above, we were all comfortable, well-connected, and had plenty of space for all of us to spread out.
This model had heated second row Captain’s Chairs which my son loved. In between the seats was a flat area for games, devices, or even snacks. It gave it an open, minivan feel without being a minivan! But if you’re a larger family, second row bench seating is available.
We also had plenty of room for our three suitcases, winter coats (it was freezing in the mountains), and the gallons of Capon Springs water we brought home.
On top of that, I discovered (while shooting my video) that we had so many more options for cargo with a raised and lowered cargo platform behind the third seat!
The vehicle was comfortable and convenient. But how was the driving experience? After spending more miles and hours that I even intended, I fell in love with the little luxuries offered in the vehicle. In the front area, some of them included Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, heated and ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel (I needed that on this trip!), and the ability to control everything in the back from right up front.
Sometimes, it’s the little things that get me excited. In this case, it was two little things. The first is the Qi charging pad available above the push button shifter. My new iPhone XS took full advantage of charging while resting every time I got into the car!
And I a sucker for good materials. I loved the black lacquer accents throughout the cabin but I really like the material used to cover the huge center console.
My only concern when I got behind the wheel was the fuel economy. It’s rated at 19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway with an average of 22 mpg. And 22 mpg was what I saw while I was driving up and down the mountains of West Virginia. Just for fun, I placed the vehicle in Eco mode (which I never do) and was pleasantly surprised at not only how responsive it still was but also by how quickly the fuel economy increased (up to 24 mpg).
There were so many clever features designed for family transportation and travel that it’s hard to cover it in one simple article. If you want to learn more about the 2019 Honda Pilot, I encourage to go on a little tour with me!