During my third and last week of visit to the US last month, American Honda with assistance from Honda Cars Philippines, made available for my test drive a 2006 Honda Pilot EXL. American Honda whose Los Angeles headquarters in Torrance was just a 15-minute drive away from Carson City where I stayed offered to deliver the Pilot.

Climb into a Pilot and it welcomes you with its luxurious leather-trimmed seats with door panel inserts, cozy and roomy ambience and several comfort and convenience amenities such as excellent audio system with seven speakers and subwoofer and steering wheel-mounted audio controls, lots of cup holders, four 12-volt and one 115-volt power outlets, power moon roof with tilt feature, cruise control, air-conditioning with air-filtration system, multi-functional center console with cell phone cradle and an efficient Honda Satellite-Linked Honda navigation system with voice recognition and off-road tracking.

There are three rows of seats that can comfortably seat eight persons. The third row folds flat on the floor to accommodate huge baggage. The makers have thoughtfully included a storage space for the three head rests also underneath the cargo area so they don’t scatter around when you remove them from the third row backrests.

It has a three-point seat belt for the occupant of middle seat on second row. Normally, only a two-point lap belt is used in this seat but the Pilot designers attached a third restraint anchored in the ceiling without causing discomfort to the passenger on the left side.

The Pilot’s navigation system is fantastic. It saves you a lot of time, trouble and fuel because you will never get lost if you follow the instructions on the touch button monitor and reinforced by a female voice which gives you the exact distance and even the name of the street or freeway to take.

I made a few trips in Downtown LA with just me on board and I never got lost.

Taking on the Pilot’s driver’s seat is like sitting on a plane’s cockpit with all the vehicle’s controls including the navigation system within an arm’s reach. This encouraged me to go solo flight on a 758- kilometer journey from Carson to Calexico, the southernmost city in California and back to attend the birthday of Pin Pahilanga, a former Auto Review staff, and to join a golf tournament which she organized in Brawley, the city before Calexico.

I went 70 to 85 mph on the freeways and the Pilot’s 3.5-Liter, 24Valve, SOHC iVTEC engine responded with all the enthusiasm and athleticism of its 244 horses under its hood. On mountain roads which the 230-mile (368 kms) route has plenty of, the Pilot felt very stable, thanks to its Electronic Brake Distribution, Vehicle Stability Assist with Traction Control and Brake Assist, assets to its secure handling.

The Pilot’s other safety features include Dual-stage, Dual Threshold Front Airbags, Side and Curtain airbags with Rollover Sensor, ABS, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, Front and Rear Crush Zones and a Rearview Camera.

The Pilot has been given a 5-star rating, the highest in its class, by the US National Highway and Traffic Safety Association and won the large SUV class among Car and Driver’s "5 Best Trucks in ‘05."

The drive became even more exciting when I negotiated the mountain roads of Inkopha which had an elevation of more than 4,000 feet above sea level. The view was fantastic but some curves were really steep and sharp one really has to concentrate on the road. Despite the strong winds "in the air," the Pilot’s ride was smooth and the gusty winds never rocked our drive.

On long downhills, I often eased up or completely lifted my foot off the gas for economy drive and the Pilot gave a thumb of approval with a flash of green "eco drive" light on the instrument panel. Honda calls this the mileage-boosting Variable Cylinder Management.

Calexico is a 97-year-old city of 30,000 people, located 230 miles southeast of Los Angeles, 125 miles east of San Diego, and is just two miles to the City of Mexicali in Mexico. If I had an extra day, I could have driven to Mexico, too.

After the memorable three days in Calexico, attending the party, meeting some of the nicest people in California and surprisingly winning the friendly tournament, I drove back to Carson.

Overall, the "flight," I mean, the drive was exhilarating, smooth and very comfortable.