I have both.My wife drives the pilot and I drive the 330.
1 pilot better for longer road trips
2 pilot noisier than 330(road noise)
3 pilot more room + 3rd row seat for extra kids+more hauling room with all seats folded
4 19 city 25 hwy(flat roads)
5 pilot 17 city 22 hwy
6 pilot roomier for driver
7 330 sporty feel, responsive handling

 

Do you think the RX has enough room for 2 kids? We have 1 infant now. I am just thinking about the future; if we decide to have another. I dont like to buy cars, so I would like to be happy with my decision between the two (Pilot vs. RX) and drive it for many many miles.

 

It's designed for five adults, so I would think two large and two small should fit very well.

I have had 4 adults in the car and they are very comfortable. Since there is no third seat, there is PLENTY of leg room in the back seat, and if you fold up the center armrest, a third adult could fit in there nicely. Although there are only 3 seatbelts, 4 kids could fit across the back bench seat for a ride home from the soccer game, if you had to.

If you only have one infant now, there is only so much planning you can do. The three of you will fit fine in there for now, and even if you have twins next, you'll still have room enough.

PS: I raised two kids mostly with Honda Accords (back when they were about as small as a Civic is now) and never had anything larger than an Audi 5000. Why people think they need some Ford Valdez for one or two children is beyond me, but I think that the "Expedition" era is about over anyway. Why haul around more steel than you need? It's just an inconvenience most of the time. Frankly, if the RX330 were a little smaller that would be fine with me.

 

Let me say first -- I know where you are coming from. When I was growing up -- parents would jam 6 kids into the cargo space of a wood-paneled sation wagon as we headed to the pizza parlor. No seat belts for anybody. But now that its 2006 -- I would be furious if I heard that my child was crammed with 4 kids into the back seat of a car designed for 3. End of story. I'd be extra furious if I learned that it was MY child without the seat belt if something ever happened.....

It's a paradox -- but babies take more room than an adult. Try this -- fit 3 adults across in the 2nd row of an RX330 -- not too hard (assuming they are average sized). Now try to fit 3 modern ISO-FIX LATCH enabled child safety seats in the back of an RX330....its nearly impossible. We have a firehouse nearby with certified installers who have been trained to do it -- and they cringed when I needed help installing 3 baby seats across for a birthday party.

This past year - I had 1 baby-seat and 2 boosters in the 2nd row all the time. This combination isn't possible without seat belt extenders. Without the extenders...a child cannot latch their own booster seat without help from an adult. And even with an adults help, they have to tilt and lift up the child to reach blindly under the booster in order to latch the belt.

So 2 kids -- no problem! 3 kids -- if it involves child seats and/or boosters...you may need to do a little creative thinking...

 

Right now I only have one 2.5 year old in a foward facing child seat. The maximum child seats you can put in the rear is 2 since as mentioned above there is no way you are getting 3 child seats back there. That said, if you have two child seats latched in there is absolutely no room in the middle for anything but maybe your dog or cat So basically that with two kids that turns the RX330 into a 4 passanger vehicle. Now, I know the Pilot is a little smaller than the MDX, but when we went to Disneyland in my cousins 05 MDX, we were able to fit two 2 year old children in latched seats, in the second row, the MDX is also a little wider so we were able to slide my sister in law who weighs about 100 lbs in the middle of them somehow, and my wife in part of the 3rd row. In the cargo area we still had enough room to put the two folded up strollers. There is no way that would have been possible in the RX330. So, while that may have been an MDX, the third row in the Pilot will allow you to carry at least one more person than what the RX330 could carry under equal situations.

I'm really not sure why people are against 3rd roll SUVs. Yes, it takes up rear cargo room, but since the 3rd roll can be folded away you open up the space if you need the cargo room. If you need pasanger room pull out the 3rd row and you have it.

 

I could not agree w/ you more, tfischer. I have a 95 accord, and my wife has a 00 accord. Both work ok now, although I wish they had A/C vents in the back to help cool the little guy down during this Texas heat.

I definitely do not want too get something too big, like a Tahoe, Expedition, etc. I want enough room to haul as many as 2 kids, wife, myself, and grandparents around comfortably. Would the RX work? It seems like it may not. It is probably enough for 1 kid, wife, myself and grandparents. I think the Pilot would work, but the exterior is just so bland. And since I plan on keeping this vehicle for >5 years, I want to make the right choice.

I am partial to Hondas, but have always liked the RX style. If anyone has any other ideas on vehicles that can take regular fuel, let me know!!

 

Staying in the Toyota family, the 3rd row seat is standard on the Sequoia.
As I mentioned earlier, the 4Runner is about the same length and width as the RX, but a few inches taller. In contrast, the Sequoia is a foot longer than the 4Runner or RX. That makes the 3rd row seat a little more realistic to use. While the 3rd row is an option on the 4Runner, it's really, really tiny.
Same 4.7L V8 as the V8 4Runner or the Lexus GX, so 87 octane is fine. EPA MPG is 15/17 for 4WD, or 15/18 for 2WD.

 

If you are a Honda guy why not try the MDX? Honestly, even though I have an RX330 my cousins MDX was really nice. I would have no problem living with the MDX interior as I thought it was as good if not better in some areas than my RX330. It is also being redesigned, so you can get good deals on them now, or wait for the new model.

I noticed you want regular fuel though. MDX is premium I think. Even so, the recomended grade of fuel for the RX330 is also premium, but it can run on regular. Same for the MDX and pretty much any modern car now since they all have knock sensors. For what it's worth, I found our RX330 performs better and gets better MPG with Premium anyway so that is what I use.