On opening the door, the interior was spacious and contained many of the features which we have come to expect from a vehicle in this price range. (The Honda Pilot base price starts at $36,820, with the EX-L Navi model starting at $46,690).

The EX-L version comes loaded with leather seats, all-wheel drive and navigation system.

Yes, the top of the line Pilot has comfortable leather seating, which includes power heated seats, and some well designed third row seating that folds down flat into the rear floor.

It boasts of a nice looking and informative instrument cluster which is contained behind the multi-control steering wheel, and all other knobs and switches are well situated and within easy reach of the driver. There is also a satellite navigation system, which includes a rear backup camera. (Honda also offers a Backup Sensor at $773.54, and a Backup Sensor Attachment?? at $358.93).

To be honest, there were a few things which I truly liked about the interior, such as the many useful storage compartments, and the clever mirrored sun glasses holder which can be positioned to view the occupants in the rear seats. I particularly liked that idea, as it is not only a smart and relatively cheap safety feature, it would no doubt be reassuring to parents with young children traveling in the rear.

However, my tester was trimmed out in a two-tone grey color which I have to say, appeared a tad on the drab side to me, and the lack of chrome/aluminum accents to the dashboard seemed to highlight, or rather, not highlight this even further.

Of course, Honda does make several wood trim kits available at an extra cost to dress up the interior if you so desire (Base wood kit $501.25, an Interior Centre Trim Kit at $367.03, an Interior Door Panel Trim Kit at $348.03, and something called a Long Centre Trim Kit at $128.10).

Then of course, if you really want that luxury wood look, you can opt for the wood steering wheel at $1002.34, and the wood grain shift knob at $239.84.

The sound system in the Pilot, whilst producing quite pleasant sounds to my ears, was also a bit of a letdown. You see, I have always perceived Honda to be a company which attracts younger buyers in droves, and so it came as some surprise to me that the stereo system in their top of the line SUV wouldn't play my MP3 disc.

Of course, like many other areas on the Pilot...it is upgradeable! Honda has, as a chargeable option, their i-linc system, which enables you to plug your Apple i-pod directly into the vehicle's stereo system (Honda i-linc base $256.17, Pilot i-linc attachment $105.07).

The Pilot's sounds system lacks MP3 playback.