Getting to our ride for the day we found the
2014 Honda Pioneer to be possibly the best-engineered
unit of its model year with the twin rear seats
folding out of the cargo box. Getting the most
out of what they have is something Honda succeeded
at very well.
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The
rear seats can be accessed by an automotive
style door |
The
seats fold right out of the bed converting
it from two to four seats |
The rear seats are something out of a transformer
movie as you simply open the rear door and with
a few motions the seats are ready to transport
the average sized occupants. The three-step
process also reveals a three-point seat belt
harness to keep the passengers safe during the
ride. The box can be used as a total cargo hauler
and in the blink of an eye it is ready for extra
ranch hands.
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The
Honda Pioneer 700 automotive style doors
feature an easy to use latching system
with a built in cup holder |
The
parking brake lever is located to the
left of the steering wheel rather than
on the floor like some other SxS models |
The seats are also mechanized so that the cargo
box cannot be dumped with the seats exposed
for use, so you can’t accidentally tilt
your rear passengers, and we like the combination
of the doors and nets for keeping the occupants
secure in the Honda Pioneer.
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The
2014 Honda Pioneer works well in the woods
& it isn't too wide for tight trails
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Our ride area consisted of Honda’s own
test facility in Timmonsville SC. We had somewhat
limited use of the woods. The soil in the South
Carolina’s flat lands is a mixture of
sand, clay, and topsoil. The trails were burnt
in pretty good with a little overgrowth that
seemed to hide the view from corner to corner.
Honda had rock gardens laid out as well to give
the media a chance to test out the suspension
and steering of the Pioneer.
If we were told once we had been told twice
that the Pioneer had no need for Power steering
and during our testing it seemed to be easy
to control in most all functions including 4WD
and 4WD differential lock, and we were really
impressed in handling of the Honda Pioneer 700.
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Although
there isn't power steering on the Honda
Pioneer 700, it handles extremely well
& the steering is very light &
predictable |
