Eric's Autos: 2025 Honda Pilot

A few years from now -- maybe as soon as a year from now -- we may look back upon the 2025 Honda Pilot very much as we look back on the V12-powered (and even V8-powered) ultra-luxury vehicles of 20 years ago.

Because the Pilot comes standard with a V6 -- and that's getting to be a luxury. Even in luxury-brand (and luxury-priced) crossovers from BMW, Lexus and Mercedes -- many of which come standard with fours.

And the Pilot comes standard with Honda's excellent 3.5-liter V6 -- one of the best engines of its type ever made.

What It Is

The Pilot is a large crossover with three rows of seats that competes chiefly with the Kia Telluride (and its Hyundai Palisade fraternal twin) as well as the Mazda CX-90, Toyota Highlander and Volkswagen Atlas (which used to offer a V6 as an option but is now four-cylinder only).

Prices start at $40,200 for the base Sport trim with front-wheel drive; all-wheel drive is a standalone option that bumps the MSRP up to $42,300.

There are also EX-L ($43,500 to start), Touring ($47,500 to start), TrailSport ($49,400), Elite ($53,080) and the top-of-the-line Black Edition ($54,580). The latter three all come standard with AWD. All trims except the TrailSport come standard with 20-inch wheels; the TrailSport has a unique-to-this-trim 18-inch wheel/tire package with 265/60R18 all-terrain tires for additional grip on gravel/dirt roads. This variant of the Pilot also gets a full-size spare, skid plates and an offroad tuned suspension with an additional one inch of ground clearance (8.3 inches versus 7.3 inches) and a standard Class III trailer hitch.

The TrailSport is also rated to pull up to 5,000 pounds.

What's New for 2025

The Black Edition is a new addition to the Pilot lineup. This variant includes all the features that come standard in the Elite -- including a 10.2-inch digital main instrument cluster, a heads-up display, a 12-speaker Bose stereo system, heated and ventilated seats, heated steering wheel and surround-view camera system plus special 20-inch gloss black wheels and black accent trim inside and out.

What's Good

-- Standard V6.

-- TrailSport variant turns this crossover into an almost SUV.

-- Likely lower depreciation than some of the others in the class.

What's Not So Good

-- Kia Telluride, which also comes standard with a V6, costs thousands less to start and has a roomier third row.

-- Standard trim is only rated to pull 3,500 pounds.

Under the Hood

Every Pilot comes standard with Honda's excellent 3.5-liter V6 -- paired with a 10-speed automatic, which has multiple overdrive gears designed to increase fuel economy by lowering engine speed to a fast idle once you've reached highway speeds. Front-drive models tout 19 mpg city, 27 mpg highway. With AWD, that goes down -- just slightly -- to 19 mpg city, 25 mpg highway.

Front-drive models are rated to tow 3,500 pounds -- less than the 5,000-pound standard towing capacity of the Kia Telluride/Hyundai Palisade twins and the VW Atlas, even though the latter comes standard with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine.

AWD-equipped Pilots come standard with a 5,000-pound tow rating, but this capability adds considerably to the price because you have to buy the AWD system to get it.

On the Road

It is not exciting to drive the Pilot -- but it's not meant to be. Honda sells a lot of Pilots because they are easygoing, reliable family haulers, and the 3.5-liter V6 is at the heart of all of that. In the Accord, this same engine was known to be a 250,000-mile engine. It's a safe-bet engine, in other words. It also has the right sound and feels right. Small fours in big crossovers like the Atlas (and Highlander) don't. Some of these fours have to be "augmented" -- by piping fake sounds of larger engines through the audio system into the cabin, to make you think you've got more than you're packing.

And that's kind of depressing.

The 10-speed automatic is a good companion too. Though it does have a lot of gears, it does not feel or sound as though it is constantly shifting through them. The push-button gear selector's similar to what you'll find in other Honda models (including the Accord), and while some may prefer a traditional-style lever that moves from front to back to engage Reverse, Drive and back to Park, you're not really (physically) engaging anything.

At the Curb

The Pilot is full-size but not huge -- as many SUVs with three rows and seating capacity for seven to eight people generally are. The Chevy Tahoe, for instance, is 211.3 inches long -- or about a foot longer than the Pilot (199.9 inches long). The extra foot does give a full-size SUV like the Tahoe more cargo-carrying room, but both it and the Pilot have comparable room for people -- and a full-size crossover like the Pilot will leave more room in your garage for things besides itself.

There's still a lot of room for cargo too.

The Pilot has 18.6 cubic feet of open space behind the third row, and with the second and third rows down, the space opens up to 87 cubic feet. This is a bit more space for cargo than the Mazda CX-90 has (14.9 cubic feet behind its third row, 74.2 feet with its second and third rows down, and just slightly less than you'll find in the Kia Telluride/Hyundai Palisade, which have 21 cubic feet behind their third rows and max out at 87 cubic feet).

The Trailsport version of the Pilot offers most of the real-world driving capabilities of an SUV without the SUV -- which is a plus if you're wanting a large family hauler that doesn't feel as ponderous as a family-hauler SUV. Being a crossover, the Trailsport does not have a two-speed transfer case and four-wheel-drive low-range gearing, but it does have additional ground clearance and skid plates and all-terrain tires, and that -- plus AWD -- will generally get you up any dirt road that isn't just a rutted path through the woods -- and that's enough for many.

The Rest

Honda refers to the Pilot as an "SUV" -- and the current model looks more like one than a crossover, which the last generation did. But it's still a crossover -- not an SUV. What's the difference? Crossovers are based on lighter-duty, car-type underthings and usually have front-drive-based powertrains, with AWD available and sometimes standard. SUVs are usually based on heavier-duty, truck-type underthings and usually have rear-wheel-drive-based powertrains, with 4WD (and low-range gearing) available.

Does it matter? Only if you need heavier duty -- including the capacity to pull more than 5,000 pounds -- and the ability to go seriously offroad, where you might need 4WD low-range gearing. If not, a crossover like the Pilot will give you on-road traction comparable to what you'd get with an SUV, enough towing capability to pull a small camper and just enough offroad capability to allow you to drive up dirt/gravel roads without getting stuck or damaging something on the underside of the vehicle.

The Bottom Line

The Pilot has no major vices -- and that is its main virtue.

Just not for much longer.

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Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.