The Honda Pilot Is Playing A Different Game While Rivals Chase Luxury Badges
What’s the real point of an SUV today? Is it to act as a status symbol? Carry the family around? Get muddy in the boonies? Or, is it to make the most of its size to feel safer on the road?
For whatever reason you buy an SUV in 2026, you want the model you choose to get the job done properly and as simply as possible. That doesn’t always happen today; some SUVs make things way too complicated for the real payoff. Models like the new Honda Pilot don’t complicate things.
Many Three-Row SUVs Overlook Actual Everyday Use
You’d think the point of a three-row SUV would be to get the maximum number of people in with enough space for long journeys. In theory, yes, that is the point, and you do get the option to fit either seven or eight people. However, thanks to the typically longer length, higher prices, and heavier weight, some three-row models don’t justify the small amount of room available in the third row.
Take the new Mazda CX-90: it is all sorts of luxurious and tidy, but with third-row legroom of just 30.4 inches, it is only really suited for smaller passengers. The same goes for the $51,800 2026 Acura MDX; you only get 29.1 inches in the third row.
Style And Luxury Can Come At A Cost
Models like the CX-90 take on BMW for luxury, and the MDX combines sportiness with high-end appointments like a 12.3-inch touchscreen and leatherette sport seats. While both are exceptional examples of how to make a luxury three-row SUV, the monetary cost, alongside losing out on some of the practicality of an SUV, is quite obvious.
Despite measuring in at up to 201.6 inches in length and 77.6 inches wide, the CX-90 only has a maximum cargo capacity of up to 74.2 cubic feet. The new MDX measures in at 198.4 inches long and 78.7 inches wide, but does slightly better for cargo capacity, with 95 cubic feet available.
The 2026 Honda Pilot Keeps Family Life Simple
It may be less flashy than some of its counterparts, but the 2026 Honda Pilot, if you are just looking for something that works well every day, is usable, and skips the complicated features that make trend-chasing SUVs a pain to use, is an SUV you won’t regret buying.
The seven 2026 Honda Pilot trims available are the Sport ($42,395), the EX-L ($44,695), the TrailSport ($50,595), the Touring ($51,295), the Touring Blackout ($52,495), the Elite ($53,695), and the Black Edition ($55,195).
A Usable Third Row And Flexible Cabin
At the center of the Pilot are three rows of usable space and flexible seating configuration options. Up front, you get 41 inches of legroom and up to 40.5 inches of headroom; in the second row, 40.8 inches of legroom and up to 40.2 inches of headroom; and in the third row, 32.5 inches of legroom and up to 39.3 inches of headroom.
In the Sport trim, eight seats are equipped with a fixed second-row bench seat. In the Pilot TrailSport, you get second-row captain’s chairs, which takes seating capacity down to seven, while the EX-L, Touring, Elite, and Black Edition get eight seats as standard, but you can remove the middle seat yourself if you want captain’s chairs.
Practical Cargo Space Matters More Than Flashy Features
The new Pilot gets an underfloor storage cubby, 60/40 split-folding seats, a reversible cargo floor that is carpeted on one side and all-weather durable on the other, a power tailgate on the Touring and TrailSport, and a height-adjustable tailgate.
Behind the third row, there is up to 22.4 cubic feet of cargo space; behind the second row, up to 60.1 cubic feet; and with all the seats folded flat, up to 113.7 cubic feet. Bear in mind, the Pilot is roughly the same size as a lot of its three-row rivals, with a length of 200.1 inches and a width of 78.5 inches.
The Pilot’s NA V6 Stands Out In A Turbocharged Market
Honda has one of the best reliability reputations of any brand; one of the chief reasons for this is that they keep things simple. Both in terms of choice and design. This seems to be paying off again this year, as the 2026 Pilot has an overall J.D. Power rating of 83 out of 100 and a reliability rating of 81 out of 100. There are no turbo engine options for this year’s Pilot; you get a single engine option, and it so happens to be one of Honda’s most well-tested and proven mills.
V6 Delivers Power Without The Complication
Every 2026 Pilot is equipped with a 3.5-liter NA DOHC J35 60-degree V6 rated at 285 horsepower at 6,100 rpm and 262 pound-feet at 5,000 rpm. This delivers linear power with less to go wrong than in commonly used turbocharged engines. Power is sent through a ten-speed automatic (not a CVT) to either the front wheels, or to all four wheels if you opt for i-VTM4 AWD, and you can tow up to 5,000 pounds (AWD) with it. A simple drivetrain for a simple SUV job.
The Traditional SUV Formula Avoids Chasing Every New Trend
Today’s SUV market is like the performance market: most brands want the newest, biggest, fanciest, and flashiest tech in the cabins and all the trinkets that make life easier. We are not saying that what the Pilot has doesn’t help, and features like a 12.3-inch touchscreen, a 10.2-inch digital driver gauge, Google built-in, wireless phone connectivity, and tri-zone climate control all do a good job of providing everything you need on the road, and more.
However, the only truly notable tech upgrades that higher trims are available with are a color HUD in the Elite, a Bose 12-speaker system in the Touring and Touring Blackout trims, and a TrailWatch Camera in the TrailSport trim. But that is okay; it is almost like Honda knows you don’t really need 56 inches of touchscreens, as you get in the Mercedes EQS, or biometric fingerprint scanners like you get in the Genesis GV70 and GV80.
The Honda Pilot Focuses On The Fundamentals Of A Family SUV
FuelEconomy.gov says the Pilot can achieve between 20 and 22 combined mpg, and will cost $2,950 to $3,250 a year for gas. iSeeCars estimates that a Honda Pilot has an average lifespan of 187,996 miles, or 13.6 years. They also say that it has a 42.3 percent chance of reaching 200,000 miles. What else do you need from a family SUV? It is built with tasteful simplicity and a clear task in mind, and it delivers.
Based on owner reviews on Kelley Blue Book, the 2026 Pilot is rated 3.9 out of 5 overall, or 4.2 out of 5 for value, 4.3 out of 5 for quality, 4.4 out of 5 for reliability, 4.5 out of 5 for performance, 4.6 out of 5 for styling, and 4.8 out of 5 for comfort, with 83 percent of owners recommending it.
Sources: Honda, J.D. Power, Kelley Blue Book, iSeeCars, and FuelEconomy.gov.
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