2018 Honda Pilot

With a price bump of under $200 the 2018 Honda Pilot comes with no change for this year. There are five trims on offer for the Pilot with a V6 engine doing duty on all the trims. The base and midlevel trims are the best value for money while those looking for a luxurious and feature-rich ride should look at the Touring and Elite trims. Depending on the trim level the Pilot can also tow between 3,500 to 5,000 lbs. which is decent for the segment.

Irrespective of the trim you choose the Pilot offers punchy performance, stellar gas numbers, a comfortable ride quality, and a spacious cabin. The cargo capacity with all the seats up is also decent but for putting luggage for a family on a long vacation you would need the roof rack. That said, slotting in the midsize SUV segment the Pilot rivals Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander, and Nissan Pathfinder.

The 2018 Honda Pilot a three-row crossover comes in five trims namely LX, EX, EX-L, Touring, and Elite. All the trims are powered by the same V6 engine while the LX, EX, EX-L get a six-speed automatic gearbox, the Touring and above trims get a nine-speed automatic gearbox. The base trim starts at $30,900 and comes with a decent list of standard features. 

But for more features, you will need to move up to the EX trim starting at $33,330. The EX-L trim priced at $36,760 comes with all the features from the EX trim and adds a few more creature comfort features. The next in line is the Touring trim that starts at $41,970 available with all the optional and standard features of the EX-L. While the Elite trim with a price of $47,470 is the topmost trim. 

That said, there is also a couple of optional packages available on the EX and EX-L trim. The ones worth noting are the Honda Sensing package that adds forward collision warning and mitigation with automatic braking, lane departure warning and intervention, adaptive cruise control, and road departure intervention. Another one is a rear entertainment package for the EX-L trim that adds an overhead screen with a Blu-ray player, navigation, etc.

We Recommend:

We suggest spending six grand more over the base trim and picking the EX-L trim. It is the last trim that gets the sweet six-speed automatic while most of the advanced driver-assist and rear entertainment features are available on the EX-L trim. Thus giving you even more flexibility to equip your Pilot with features as per your requirement. 

"Pilot’s standard 3.5-liter V-6 is a strong performer, providing unexpectedly spry acceleration for such a large vehicle. Its fuel-economy numbers are at the top of its class, too" - Caranddriver.com

2018 Honda Pilot Engine and Transmission

The 2018 Honda Pilot is powered by a 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 engine which puts out 280 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque. 

The V6 engine is mated to either a six-speed automatic gearbox or a nine-speed automatic gearbox depending upon the trim you chose.

Although the 2018 Honda Pilot doesn't get the most powerful V6 under its hood, it sure has the lowest price for a V6-powered crossover SUV among the competition here. 

2018 Honda Pilot Acceleration

The 2018 Honda Pilot can do 0-60 mph in 6.2 seconds and covers the quarter-mile in 14.8 seconds. These are some real quick numbers for a three-row crossover weighing over 4,000 lbs.

In this comparison, none can beat the Honda Pilot's 0-60 mph or quarter-mile timing. Even the most powerful Toyota Highlander was behind the Pilot by 0.8 seconds in both the runs.

2018 Honda Pilot Ride and Handling

The ride quality of the 2018 Honda Pilot remains its main selling point. It is, without doubt, the most comfortable in the segment with not much filtering inside the cabin even while going over rough patches. Only major bumps and unpaved roads can really unsettle the Pilot.

As for the handling, the lighter curb weight makes it very nimble, and changing directions for the Pilot isn't an issue. That said, the steering wheel feels precise but lacks any feel and feedback thus robbing the fun-to-drive factor. Otherwise, the Pilot handles well for its size with a well-controlled body roll.

2018 Honda Pilot Braking

The 2018 Honda Pilot under panic braking comes to a stop from 60 mph in just 119 feet. The 12.6-inches brakes at the front and 13.0-inches brakes at the rear offer solid braking power. And for a vehicle with under seven seconds 0-60 mph time, a powerful braking system like in the Pilot is a must.

In this comparison, the Ford Explorer with a slightly bigger brake setup but 400 lbs more weight took just 1 foot more than the Honda Pilot to stop from 60-0 mph.

2018 Honda Pilot Towing Capacity

The 2018 Honda Pilot in its base form can tow up to 3,500 lbs while a well-equipped Pilot with AWD can tow as much as 5,000 lbs.

In this comparison, the Nissan Pathfinder has the highest towing capacity of 6,000 lbs which is 2,500 lbs more than the Pilot's towing capacity. 

As per EPA estimates the 2018 Honda Pilot can return 19 mpg in the city, 27 mpg on the highway, and 22 mpg combined. While the same engine and gearbox combo with AWD returns one mpg less across the three parameters. The higher trim with the 9-speed automatic gearbox is more fuel-efficient and returns 20 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway while the AWD variant returns one mpg less across both the parameters.

In this comparison, you will find the Nissan Pathfinder with the CVT gearbox returns the best city gas mileage of 20 mpg which is one mpg more than the Pilot. While on the highway both the Pathfinder and the Pilot return similar gas mileage.

"Though it's spacious and comfortable, the Pilot's cabin doesn't quite have the same modern, upscale feel as some class rivals. Overall though, this is a nice cabin." -cars.usnews.com

2018 Honda Pilot Seating and Comfort

Step inside the cabin of the 2018 Honda Pilot and you will witness a typical Honda layout seen in its sedans and smaller SUVs. The material quality used inside feels premium with a two-tone color scheme for the dash and a piano-black finish trim sitting in between. Overall the cabin feels big and airy with excellent all-round visibility.

As standard, the Honda Pilot offers seating for eight but higher trims with second-row captain's chair can seat only seven passengers. The ergonomics and seat comfort are spot-on with the third row being spacious enough to accommodate medium-sized adults comfortably. Although the access to the third-row seat is a bit of a task. 

In this comparison without doubt the Ford Explorer being bigger in dimension and wheelbase offers the best cabin space in all three rows. While the Honda Pilot remains a close second in terms of overall cabin space. That being said, if you have to consider only the first two rows then Toyota Highlander followed by Ford Explorer and Nissan Pathfinder offers the best space in that order.

Interior Features:

• 60/40-split folding second-row seats
• Tilt and telescoping steering wheel
• Available power-adjustable front seats
• Available heated and ventilated front seats
• Available heated second-row seats
• Available three-zone automatic climate control

2018 Honda Pilot Infotainment System

As standard, the 2018 Honda Pilot gets a 5-inch display screen with a seven-speaker sound system, Bluetooth, USB ports, AM/FM, etc. Higher trims like EX and above offer an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity. 

The EX trim also gets an upgraded seven-speaker sound system while the Touring trim comes with a ten-speaker sound system. Optional on the EX-L trim is the rear entertainment package that adds an overhead screen with a Blu-ray player, navigation, additional USB ports, HDMI and RCA ports, etc.

2018 Honda Pilot Cargo Capacity

The 2018 Honda Pilot offers 16.5 cubic feet of cargo space with all the seats up. The second-row bench and third-row seats offer 60/40-split folding for hauling in more luggage.

Flip down the third-row seats and the cargo capacity goes up to 46.8 cubic feet while with the second and third-row folded the maximum cargo space expands to 83.8 cubic feet. 

The Ford Explorer due to its longer length offers higher cargo capacity than the Pilot with all the seats up but the maixmum cargo capacity offered on both the crossover SUVs is almost similar.

"The Pilot is no extrovert; it doesn’t offer any eye-popping colors or snazzy trim. The 20-inch wheels on the Touring and Elite models spice things up compared with the standard 18-inchers, and those upper-end models also come with extra chrome trim"- Caranddriver.com

2018 Honda Pilot Dimensions and Weight

Until 2015 the Honda Pilot had a boxy exterior design but with the redesign in 2016 the exterior looks of the Honda Pilot are now more in line with its smaller siblings like the CR-V and HR-V. The front sports the characteristic Honda grill with the upper chrome line running all the way over the headlights.

While from the sides you get to see a smooth profile and a 111.0-inches of wheelbase between the wheels. The 194.5-inches of length ensures the Pilot has a sufficient overhang towards the end of the side profile. At the rear, the lower part of the bumper has been blacked out to reduce the visual bulk while the tilted L-shaped brake lights go well with the overall rear profile. 

Dimension wise both the Ford Explorer and the Nissan Pathfinder dominate this comparison with the Explorer having the best length and width. While the Pathfinder having the longest wheelbase and best height among all. The Toyota Highlander has the highest ground clearance which is 0.7-inches more than the Pilot's.

Exterior Features:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Available foglights
• Available power liftgate
• Available automatic wipers and headlights
• Available 20-inch alloy wheels
• Available sunroof
• Available front and rear parking sensors

The 2018 Honda Pilot bagged the top honors of 'Top Safety Pick' from IIHS and scored the highest rating of 'Good' in five out of size parameters of IIHS. In the NHTSA crash test, the Pilot again scored a perfect score for overall safety ratings with a perfect score in the side crash test. The front crash and rollover mitigation test of the Pilot was rated four out of five stars.  

Safety Features:

• Rearview camera
• Available Forward collision warning w/ automatic emergency braking
• Available Road departure mitigation system
• Available Lane departure warning w/ lane keep assist
• Available Adaptive cruise control
• Available Front and rear parking sensors
• Available Blind-spot monitoring w/ rear cross-traffic alert
• Available Automatic high beams

2018 Honda Pilot vs 2018 Toyota Highlander

The biggest flex of the Honda Pilot is its aggressive pricing and the V6 engine. The Highlander for thirty grands come with an inline-4 engine which is mediocre in terms of performance and gas mileage. While the V6-powered Highlander commands an almost three grand premium over the Honda Pilot base trim. Although the Highlander's V6 engine puts out more power and torque, it is neither as fuel-efficient nor as quick as the Pilot's V6 engine.

On the inside, the Pilot offers better cabin and cargo space compared to the Highlander. While the cabin quality of the Pilot is also better compared to what you get in the latter. The safety ratings of both the SUVs are almost similar but the Highlander offers more standard safety features compared to the Pilot. Both the SUVs have above-average reliability but choosing one over the other remains a tough call.

2018 Honda Pilot vs 2018 Nissan Pathfinder

The Nissan Pathfinder was the reply to Honda's three-row crossover SUV Pilot. Nissan has given the Pathfinder a V6 engine similar to the Pilot but with a CVT gearbox which does rob its chance of putting quicker 0-60 mph and quarter-mile timings. Although the CVT gearbox does deliver slightly better gas mileage than the Pilot. 

The major highlight for the Pathfinder remains its 6,000 lbs towing capacity and spacious first and second-row seats. On both fronts, the Pilot does seem lacking. So if you keep these two factors aside then the Pilot is a clear-cut winner while if these two things matter to you then you need to look at the Pathfinder before putting your money on the Pilot.

The 2018 Honda Pilot in the three-row crossover SUV segment is a solid product with all the basics covered. It has an ample amount of space, is highly practical with usable cargo space with all the seats up, punchy performance, good gas mileage, and a high safety score. For a big family, these things comprise the major part of their checklist while buying a car, and Pilot seems to tick all the right boxes. So if you are in the market for a spacious three-row SUV then you won't go wrong with the Pilot.