The 2019 Honda Pilot has a few years under its belt, but it wears its age well. This three-row crossover SUV’s exceptional blend of utility, comfort, and safety makes it as essential to family life as Wet Wipes, Costco, and maybe Total Wine.
The 2019 Pilot enters the new year with minor changes to its styling, an updated optional infotainment system with a volume knob, revisions that make the transmission on uplevel trims more docile, and active safety tech standard across the lineup.
We rate the Pilot at 7.0 out of 10, a well-deserved score that should merit it a spot on any shopping list. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
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Whether it’s trimmed out as an LX, EX, EX-L, Touring, or Elite, and with seven or eight seats, the Pilot uses a luxury-grade 280-horsepower V-6. LX, EX, and EX-L trims use a 6-speed automatic transmission that pairs well to the V-6. Tourings and Elites swap in a recalibrated 9-speed automatic that occasionally seems confused by the number of gears it has. Front-wheel drive is standard and all-wheel drive is a $1,900 option for all but the Pilot Elite, where it’s standard.
There’s no hybrid powertrain on offer and that’s a shame since all versions of the Pilot are rated at a perfectly average 21 to 22 mpg combined.
The Pilot rides softly, even with the available 20-inch wheels on higher-trim versions, and it eats up highway miles in comfort. Its steering is crisp and precise, making it surprisingly fun to drive down a curvy road. Off-roading isn’t the Pilot’s forte, but its 7.3 inches of ground clearance and four drive modes help it handle dirt roads and sandy beaches just fine.
Inside, EX and higher trims feature an 8.0-inch touchscreen for infotainment with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and, finally, a volume knob. Smart tech touches abound such as a public address system that uses Bluetooth-paired headsets and a microphone to let the driver keep tabs on third-row passengers. A smartphone app works with the available wi-fi hotspot to let passengers control audio, infotainment, and climate—even from the third row.
All eight seats can handle adults in comfort. The Pilot comes standard with a three-piece middle row that can be swapped out for individual captain’s chairs. At the press of a button on some trims, the second row slides out of the way for better access to the third row.
The 2019 Pilot aced federal and independent crash testing. Standard automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and active lane control put the Pilot in line with rivals from Toyota and Subaru and ahead of domestic competitors.
The base Pilot LX does family duty without complaint, but we’d upgrade to the Pilot EX with its better infotainment, its heated seats, its three-zone automatic climate control, and its blind-spot monitors. For about $37,000, it’s hard to beat.
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