Recently developed chiral effective field theory models provide excellent descriptions of the bulk characteristics of finite nuclei, but have not been tested with other observables. In this work, densities from both relativistic point-coupling models and mean-field meson models are used in the analysis of meson-nucleus scattering at medium energies. Elastic scattering observables for 790 MeV/$c$ $pi^{pm}$ on $^{208}$Pb are calculated in a relativistic impulse approximation, using the Kemmer-Duffin-Petiau formalism to calculate the $pi^{pm}$ nucleus optical potential.