2009 Honda Pilot vs. Ford Flex and Four Other Crossovers - Comparison Tests - Car and Driver
When we last visited Michigan’s Drummond Island [“ Mud Puppies ,” February 2008 ], we compared nine Lilliput SUVs and quickly found ourselves in over our heads. See, the island—a short ferry ride from the eastern tip of the state’s Upper Peninsula—is a 25-mile-long series of limestone bowls (which hold water) and cedar swamps (ditto) surrounded by Lake Huron (ditto times a million). Drummond Island, thou art thine own soggy enemy. This time, we asked Drummond Island Resort’s driving expert, Craig Hoffman, to sketch out a somewhat drier 16-mile loop, two-thirds of which comprised twisty, smooth pavement and one-third of which bumped through the resort’s private off-road... On any off-roader’s scale of difficulty, these private trails (notice we said “private” twice. Along this route, we then ran the vehicles back-to-back until the local bowling alley’s neon “BEER” sign lit up. Our goal was to compare six mid-size unibody crossovers with all-wheel drive, third-row seats, and the sort of interior volumes that... The Traverse is the first we’ve tested with the direct-injection V-6, but the other three also get it for ’09. Hyundai’s Veracruz isn’t brand-new but has never competed in a C/D comparo. And although a Ford Taurus X might have looked a better fit in this group, we opted for the brand-new Flex. Source: www.caranddriver.com
