2025 Honda Pilot

Price Range: $40,200 - $54,580 ^{Price range reflects Base MSRP for various trim levels, not including options or fees.}

Good

7.9

out of 10

edmunds TESTED

The 2025 Honda Pilot is comfortable and plenty spacious for its front and middle-row passengers. But it lags behind class leaders in third-row room and cargo space, and its tech is a half-step behind the curve. In terms of overall appeal, some competitors deliver more bang for your buck.

#7 out of 11

Midsize 3-row SUVs

35 Owner Reviews

Pros

Pro:Roomy first- and second-row seating
Pro:Lots of cargo space and interior storage spots
Pro:Easy-to-use controls

Cons

Con:Standard touchscreen interface is too small
Con:Third-row seating is cramped for adults
Con:Lackluster acceleration and braking performance

What’s new

Addition of range-topping Black Edition trim
Base LX model has been discontinued
Part of the fourth Pilot generation introduced for 2023

6 Colors
6 Trims
3 Packages

Build & Price ShopHonda.com

2025 Honda Pilot Review

by Josh Jacquot^{Correspondent
Josh Jacquot is a seasoned automotive journalist with a career spanning more than two decades. His passion for cars has been the driving force behind his career, fueling his love for storytelling and technical work. Josh has held staff positions at Edmunds and Car and Driver, where he performed instrumented testing and wrote everything from technical breakdowns to long-form adventure stories. This hands-on enthusiast's early fascination with cars evolved into a professional journey that blends his technical knowledge and deep appreciation for engaging driver's cars.}

rating written by Will Kaufman^{Senior Editor and Content Strategist, CarMax
Will Kaufman has worked in the automotive industry since 2017. He has written hundreds of car-related articles and reviews over the course of his career. Will is a senior editor and content strategist for CarMax at Edmunds. Will has been featured in the Associated Press and a number of major outlets on the topics of infotainment and vehicle data, vehicle subscription services and autonomous vehicles. Will started his career in online publishing by writing and editing standardized test guides, but he has a lot more fun writing about cars.}

Overview

With three rows, reasonable power and six trims — some offering both front- and all-wheel drive — the Pilot is a versatile contender in a space where people love choices. Many buyers favor the low-level and midlevel trims because the upper echelon of the lineup gets pricey from added luxury features. We like the looks and marginally improved usability of the TrailSport, but the Black Edition — the only change for 2025 — is a $1,500 appearance package that brings no extra features.

Edmunds spotlight: A good SUV that faces off with the greats

As family SUVs go, the Pilot is an excellent people mover with a driving character that's as functional-yet-forgettable as most of its competition. Unlike the Ridgeline, with which it shares a platform, it's not up against truck-based body-on-frame competitors, so it doesn't automatically get a win in ride comfort and driving dynamics. Rather, its competition makes up the heart of America's auto market: three-row SUVs. There are a lot of those and many are very, very good, which makes the Pilot average in dynamics and comfort. Still, we love its incredibly practical cabin, abundance of trims and drive configurations, and overall utility.

Competitors to consider

One of our favorite three-row SUVs is the Kia Telluride, which offers a comfortable cabin, including an adult-swallowing third row, tons of tech, and a warranty that exceeds the Pilot's. The related Hyundai Palisade is an excellent choice as well. If you want something even bigger there's the Toyota Grand Highlander or Volkswagen Atlas. If driving pleasure matters take a look at the Mazda CX-90.

Which Pilot does Edmunds recommend?

The EX-L is the value leader in the Pilot lineup and therefore our recommended trim. For several thousand extra, it adds wireless smartphone integration, a 9-inch touchscreen, leather-trimmed seating and a power liftgate. If your life involves shallow mud holes or the occasional dirt road, the TrailSport is worth considering.

Compare 2025 Honda Pilot trim levels

Helpful trims summary and side-by-side comparison chart

Honda Pilot models

The 2025 Honda Pilot is a three-row SUV that seats up to eight passengers. It's available in six trim levels: Sport, EX-L, Touring, TrailSport, Elite and Black Edition. All are powered by a 3.5-liter V6 engine (285 horsepower, 262 lb-ft) mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard and all-wheel drive is optional — except on the TrailSport, Elite and Black Edition trims, which get all-wheel drive standard. Highlighted features include:

Sport
This trim level starts the Pilot lineup with:

20-inch alloy wheels
LED headlights
Keyless entry (front doors only) and ignition
Second-row bench seat (eight-passenger seating)
7-inch touchscreen
Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration
Seven-speaker audio system
Tri-zone climate control
Power-adjustable, heated front seats
Leather-wrapped steering wheel
LED foglights
Remote engine ignition
Ambient interior lighting

All Pilots come with a suite of advanced safety features known as Honda Sensing. It includes:

Forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking (warns if a front impact is imminent and applies the brakes if you don't respond in time)
Lane departure mitigation (warns you of a lane departure when a turn signal isn't used and can automatically steer to maintain lane position)
Driver attention warning (issues an alert if sensors determine you are becoming fatigued)
Adaptive cruise control (maintains a driver-set distance between the Honda and the car in front)
Lane centering system (makes minor steering corrections to help keep the vehicle centered in its lane)
Blind-spot warning with rear cross-traffic warning (alerts you if a vehicle is in your blind spot during a lane change or while in reverse)

EX-L
Adds to the LX with:

9-inch infotainment touchscreen
12-volt power outlet in cargo area
Leather upholstery
Wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto
Nine-speaker audio system
Wireless device charger
Satellite radio
USB outlet in third row
In-cabin intercom system (known as CabinTalk)
Two-position memory settings for driver's seat and mirrors
Rear-door sunshades
Acoustic-glass windshield
Power liftgate
Heated power side mirrors

TrailSport
Equips the Pilot for added adventure with:

Standard all-wheel drive
18-inch wheels with all-terrain tires
Full-size spare tire
Off-road-tuned suspension with increased ground clearance
Gloss black front grille
Synthetic leather upholstery with orange stitching
Surround-view camera system (gives you a top-down view of the Pilot and its surroundings for tight parking and off-road situations)
Off-road stability management system
Underbody skid plates
Class III trailer hitch
Panoramic sunroof
Off-road recovery hooks
Heated windshield
Household-style power outlet in second row
Heated steering wheel
Second-row captain's chairs (seven-passenger seating)

Touring
Builds on the EX-L and TrailSport, adding luxury features such as:

20-inch wheels
Hands-free power tailgate
Keyless entry for all doors
Sound-reducing front windows
Second-row bench seat with removable/stowable middle seat
Navigation system
12-speaker Bose audio system
Wi-Fi hotspot
Hands-free tailgate with auto close

Elite
Adds to the Touring with the following (shares some features with TrailSport):

10.2-inch digital instrument cluster
Surround-view camera system (gives you a top-down view of the Pilot and its surroundings for tight parking and off-road situations)
Head-up display (displays important information in your sight line on the windshield)
Heated windshield
Heated steering wheel
Heated outboard second-row seats
Household-style power outlet
Ventilated front seats
Rain-sensing windshield wipers

Black Edition
The top-level trim adds:

20-inch gloss-black wheels
Exclusive interior and exterior trim

Build Your 2025 Pilot

At a Glance:

6 Colors
6 Trims
3 Packages
$40,200starting MSRP

Build & Price ShopHonda.com

Honda Pilot Owner Reviews

3.9

5(54%)

4(17%)

3(5%)

2(7%)

1(17%)

Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Does not live up to the Honda name.

bombdoc1522, 08/07/2024

2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 10A)

I've had the car for about a month and it's already been back to the dealer several times. Good: beautiful paint, rims and interior. Good fit and finish. Decent acceleration. Bad: numerous issues with the infotainment system. The system rarely connects with my phone wirelessly, forcing the use of a cable. Sometimes the ports won't charge the phone. The infotainment system …

Great SUV but!

Mike G, 02/09/2025

2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 10A)

The 2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition really caught my eye. I picked it up in Oct 24, and up until the first big rainstorm it was operating as expected. After the first rain test, I opened the driver's side door to find a puddle of water pooling in my floorboard. The dealership did their part and provided a loaner while they investigated the source of the water leak. The loaner provided was …

We miss the quality of the older Hondas

Lou, 02/07/2025

2025 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV (3.5L 6cyl 10A)

We got our Pilot 5 months ago and have put 6,000 miles on it since then. We’ve already had repair done for a recall and we are now having trouble with the clock being off by several hours. Each time we do a manual reset it eventually loses several hours. We were told it’s a computer issue that they won’t have a fix for until August, which is still another 6 mths away. We’ve always owned …

130 miles and it’s in the dealership with a loaner

Be careful of the Honda Pilot, 01/20/2025

2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 10A)

I bought the 2025 Honda Pilot black edition after carefully shopping for a dependable 3rd row SUV because my 2022 Subaru Ascent is a Lemon. The Subaru had multiple major issues and repairs attempted before 23k miles. I was torn between the grand Highlander which was hard to find and the Pilot. I liked the look and options of the Pilot. I purchased the Pilot due to the availability. The …

2025 Honda Pilot