Having had to make a choice between those, I got the Pilot over teh MDX
and the Volvo XC90.

The MDX has more HP, nicer appoointments (wood dash, moonroof, memory
seats etc..), a few more accesories (you can get the DVD system and the
Navigation system together)

The Pilot (2004) has slightly more room, and a savings of 10k. For my
uses (hauling people and astronomical equipment to dark skiy sites) I
could not see the need for what is essentially a Pilot in a nice suit.

HTH

Craig

For your best source of research, go check out hondapilot.org and
acuramdx.org.  There've been numerous discussions about pros and cons
of buying one vehicle over the other.