Honda’s Pilot 3-row midsize SUV has come in for a welcome refresh for the 2026 model year, with updated styling including a more squared-off nose with a larger grille, standard roof rails on all trims, new 20-inch wheel styles on the top trims, and new paint colors. Standard equipment has also been shored up, and all trims now come with a power liftgate, a 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster, a big new 12.3-inch touchscreen, and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto with 5G Wi-Fi.
There are fresh upholstery options on the top trims, comprising diamond-stitched Ultra-Suede seat inserts on the Elite and optionally available orange-stitched leather upholstery in the TrailSport. When we drove it, we found it to be an excellent family SUV. It may not have the most inspiring or efficient powertrain, but Honda reliability should ensure ownership peace of mind, and it does a lot of things right. It seems like a great time to revisit the trim structure to see which is the best buy.
Chase Bierenkoven
Honda
Powertrains and Specs
All trims share the same 10-speed automatic transmission and a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 engine. Sport and EX-L trims are FWD, but the 2nd-generation i-VTM4 AWD system that is standard on the rest of the lineup can be optioned on the base trims for an extra $2,100.
| Engine | 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V6 |
| Transmission | 10-speed automatic |
| Drivetrain | FWD, w/ i-VTM4 AWD option (Sport/EX-L); AWD standard on the rest |
| Horsepower | 285 hp |
| Torque | 262 lb-ft |
| 0-60 mph | ~7.0 seconds |
| Ground Clearance | 7.3 inches (TrailSport 8.3) |
| Approach / Departure Angles | 18.3 / 20.3 – 21.1 degrees (19.9 / 19.0 TrailSport) |
| Length x Width x Height | 200.1 – 200.4 / 78.5 / 70.9 – 72.0 in |
| Headroom Row 1 / 2 / 3 | 39.1 – 40.5 / 39.2 – 40.2 / 39.3 in |
| Legroom Row 1 / 2 / 3 | 41.0 / 40.8 / 32.5 in |
| Standard Cargo Capacity Behind Row 1 / 2 / 3 | 86.5 – 87.0 / 48.5 / 18.6 cu-ft |
| EPA City / Highway / Combined FWD | 19 / 27 / 22 mpg |
| EPA City / Highway / Combined AWD | 19 / 25 / 21 mpg |
| EPA City / Highway / Combined AWD TrailSport | 18 / 23 / 20 mpg |
With FWD, the Pilot comes with Normal, Econ, Sport, Snow, and Tow drive modes, while AWD variants add Trail and Sand modes too. The TrailSport additionally gains a feature called Trail Torque Logic as part of its Trail mode. It increases the torque sent to the rear wheels on steep trails and is meant to optimize grip when wheels lift off the ground in heavy off-road going. The TrailSport has the best ground clearance and approach angle, but not the best departure angle, due to its standard tow hitch.
Chase Bierenkoven
Trim Levels and Pricing
There are six basic 2026 Honda Pilot trim levels. The Touring Blackout is the same as the Touring, but with a blacked-out appearance package. The Black Edition (image below) is based on the Elite and is also blacked out, but it adds extra features, so it can be seen as a separate trim.
| Trim | MSRP Excluding Destination |
| Sport | $42,395 |
| EX-L | $44,695 |
| TrailSport | $50,595 |
| Touring | $51,295 |
| Touring Blackout | $52,495 |
| Elite | $53,695 |
| Black Edition | $55,195 |
Features
Here’s a rundown of the main features:
| Sport | EX-L | TrailSport | Touring | Elite | Black Edition | |
| Auto LED Headlights, LED Fog Lights | S | S | S | S | S | S |
| Rain-sensing Wipers | – | – | – | – | S | S |
| Panoramic Moonroof | – | – | S | S | S | S |
| Liftgate | Power | Power | Power | Hands-free Power | Hands-free Power | Hands-free Power |
| Collision and Road-departure Mitigation | S | S | S | S | S | S |
| Lane-departure Warning w/ Lane-keep Assist | S | S | S | S | S | S |
| Adaptive Cruise Control w/ Traffic-sign Recognition | S | S | S | S | S | S |
| Interior Rearview Mirror | Standard | Auto-dim | Auto-dim | Auto-dim | Auto-dim | Auto-dim |
| Side Mirrors | Power adjust | Heated, power adjust | Heated, power adjust & fold | Heated, power adjust & fold | Heated, power adjust & fold w/ auto-dim | Heated, power adjust & fold w/ auto-dim |
| Front & Rear Parking Sensors | – | S | S | S | S | S |
| Multi-view Camera System w/ TrailWatch | – | – | S | S | S | S |
| Tow Hitch | O | O | S | O | O | O |
| Head-up Display | – | – | – | – | S | S |
| 3-zone Climate Control | S | S | S | S | S | S |
| HomeLink | – | – | S | S | S | S |
| Steering Wheel | Leather tilt / telescope | Leather tilt / telescope | Leather tilt / telescope and heated | Leather tilt / telescope | Leather tilt / telescope and heated | Leather tilt / telescope and heated |
| 10.2-inch Digital Gauge Cluster | S | S | S | S | S | S |
| 12.3-inch Touchscreen w/ Google Built-in | S | S | S | S | S | S |
| Audio | 9-speaker | 9-speaker | 9-speaker | Bose 12-speaker | Bose 12-speaker | Bose 12-speaker |
| Wireless Apple CarPlay / Android Auto | S | S | S | S | S | S |
| Wireless Charging Pad | – | S | S | S | S | S |
| USB Ports | Row 1 & 2 | All rows | All rows | All rows | All rows | All rows |
| Upholstery | Cloth | Leather / cloth | Leatherette | Leather | Leather / Ultrasuede | Leather / Ultrasuede |
| Driver Seat | Heated, 10-way power | Heated, 10-way power w/ memory | Heated, 10-way power w/ memory | Heated, 10-way power w/ memory | Heated and ventilated, 10-way power w/ memory | Heated and ventilated, 10-way power w/ memory |
| Passenger Seat | Heated, 4-way power | Heated, 4-way power | Heated, 4-way power | Heated, 4-way power | Heated and ventilated, 4-way power | Heated and ventilated, 4-way power |
| 2nd-row Seats | 3-seat bench | Multi-function 3-seat | 2 captain’s chairs, heated | Multi-function 3-seat, outboard heated | Multi-function 3-seat, outboard heated | Multi-function 3-seat, outboard heated |
| Conversation Mirror | – | S | S | S | S | S |
S – Standard
O – Optional
Our Best-Pick Trim
The EX-L stands out as the best Honda Pilot trim in the lineup. Its $2,300 premium over the base Sport trim makes it a steal, considering which extra features you get for that:
- Low-speed braking control
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Auto-dimming rearview mirror
- 12V power outlet in the cargo area
- 2x 3rd-row USB-C charging ports
- Leather upholstery with cloth accents
- Driver’s seat and mirror memory
- Multi-function 2nd-row seats w/ removable middle seat
- Integrated rear-door sunshades
- Driver and passenger illuminated vanity mirrors
- LED reading lights for all three rows
- Conversation mirror
- Heated side mirrors with integrated LED turn signals
There’s a big $6K jump to the next-up TrailSport, and while it comes with nice extra features like a multi-view camera system with TrailWatch, HomeLink, a heated steering wheel, heated outboard 2nd-row captain’s chairs, a panoramic moonroof, and power-folding side mirrors, it comes with the 2nd-row captain’s chairs, reducing its seating capacity to seven, as well as all the off-road hardware, including the all-terrain tires and the worse fuel consumption that goes with that.
The upper trims all breach $50K, and although you get niceties like ventilated front seats, heated 2nd-row seats, a head-up display, power-folding auto-dimming side mirrors, and walk-away auto-lock, you’re locked into AWD and can’t pick the more efficient FWD drivetrain, even if you wanted to, which you can still do on the EX-L. This makes the top trims too expensive and the Elite a bit extravagant, considering you can get an EX-L for $9K less and still enjoy leather upholstery and all the most important features.
Final Thoughts
The Pilot lineup has a clear stand-out when it comes to the optimal high-value trim. The EX-L adds all the most important features that the Sport does, but adds only $2,300 to its price. Yes, we’d miss the surround-view camera, but it compensates with front-and-rear parking sensors, and we love that we’re able to spec it in FWD if we’d rather have the fuel savings than the AWD ability. The upgraded 2nd-row bench with the removable middle seat makes the cabin layout configurable without having to sacrifice a seating position permanently, as you would have to in the TrailSport with the captain’s chairs. It’s clearly where the sensible money goes.
About the author
Cobus F. Potgieter
Reviews and Features Editor