SAN DIEGO — Honda makes sensational hot hatches for gearheads with the ferocious, corner-carving Civic Type R at the front of the parade

The Honda Pilot is not that car.

The three-row SUV is Honda's band leader for a different hatchback parade: ergonomically brilliant hatchback for families. If the driver-centric Civic Type R is built for adrenaline-pumping short sprints, Pilot is made for the long haul — a rolling living room for 4-7 passengers.

Imagine a Griswold family road trip from Detroit to San Diego, where I tested the Pilot this January. Pilot is no Wagon Queen Family Truckster. The fourth-generation Pilot has been updated for the 2026 model year after its successful launch in 2023. Pilot 4.0 brought more rugged styling and a Trailsport model to slake Americans’ thirst for the outdoors.

The ‘26 model advances that vibe with a bigger front grille, tough-looking front and rear scuff plates, mod wheel designs and an expanded color palette. Still, Pilot won’t turn heads like some of its competitors — think the handsome Mazda CX-90, Ford Explorer, GMC Acadia, Hyundai Santa Fe, Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee L. Yum.

Parked on the beach north of San Diego in the town of Oceanside, my test Pilot went unnoticed. Open the door, however, and the big Honda comes to life.

If the Civic Type R hellion is an ergonomic marvel for the enthusiast driver with its notchy manual shifter, laser steering and supportive seats, then Pilot is a study in creature comforts. Cruising along Oceanside’s busy beach streets, I never looked down at the steering wheel to adjust features.

I thumbed a toggle switch on the right-wheel spoke to adjust speed in adaptive cruise control, while a roller underneath adjusted my right-side information in the digital instrument display (mpg, tire pressure, etc.). On the left spoke, a parallel set of switches controlled radio volume/left display info. Before pulling out of my parking space, I checked the mirror for vehicles in my blind spot.

Not only are these controls handy, they’re standard on the entry-level SPORT model along with a suite of Honda Sensing goodies, including lane-assist and automatic braking. Speaking of SPORT, the standard model is hardly a wallflower.

Like the Civic Sport model, Pilot Sport looks cool with black wheels and trim for $45,790 (all-wheel drive added). The strangest standard feature? Paddle shifters. Taking that SPORT vibe too far, they are as useful on a three-row SUV as a bicycle for a fish.

All this tech doesn’t come cheap, and Pilot Sport costs two grand north of the 2025 model. Let’s talk the cost of reliability and resale value while we’re at it. JD Power rates Pilot as average (80 of 100) in reliability and top tier in resale value (88).

After a long day at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in the San Pasqual Valley, the Griswold kids may need some, ahem, space in the second-row seat.

Honda has cleverly designed the second-row bench with a removable center section. Want to separate your rugrats into captain’s chairs? Uproot the center seat section with two easy pull-tabs, then stow it in the back. The back?

That’s right, Pilot has carved out space under the rear cargo floor (above the spare tire) that stores the seat like a puzzle piece. The cavity is also useful storage for dirty cleats, towels, your mother-in-law (kidding about that last part).

The Pilot's second row has long ago been a segment leader with its single-button third-row access. One push on the top of the seat and it collapses forward. I folded in my 6’5” frame (same size as Chevy Chase, aka Clark Griswold) back there with headroom and legroom to spare — and brought along my phone (USB-C charge port) and Dudley’s Famous Bakery and Café apple turnover (a favorite stop in the Cuyamaca Mountains north of San Diego) with me.

Opt for the $52K Touring package and a panoramic roof comes standard to flood the third row with more light.

Family SUVs inevitably become second homes with parents/kids storing everything from tissues to USB cable to books to games to Chips Ahoy cookie sleeves (OK, maybe that’s just me) around the cabin. The Honda Pilot gets it.

The cabin is littered with storage.

Dashboard cubby the size of a bear cave. Console cubby. Wireless phone charger console cubby. The aforementioned third-row seat twin cubbies. And a personal favorite: door cupholders positioned in front of the door handles so you can out any size drink, including tall Thermoses.

Those Thermoses might come in handy in the $52K Trailsport, which is armed to the teeth for where the asphalt ends: skid plates, one-inch lift, all-terrain tires. This beauty complements the two-row Honda Passport Trailsport (which has been selling like hotcakes), and is the second most popular Pilot after the EX-L. Allow me to recommend those fat all-terrains for Detroit potholes the size of Vermont when the snow melts this spring. You’re welcome.

The rugged vibe is reinforced by a throaty, 262 pound-feet-of torque V-6 engine. ROOOOAR! responded the 3.5-liter mill as I flogged it across the Cuyamacas. In the face of restrictive government emissions standards in recent years, some members of the three-row class (Chevy Traverse, for example) have opted for turbo-4 engines, which have put off some customers who expect six cylinders when writing checks for 50 grand. Pilot's 10-speed transmission is operated by a space-saving, so-called “tiger shifter,” which takes a little getting used to.

Happily, Honda’s V-6 delivers the same 21 mpg as the turbo-4 Traverse while sounding more authoritative. And Pilot’s 463-mile range is significantly more than its electric peer — the 283-mile Prologue, which starts $5K north of Pilot and is a road trip pain in the tailgate when it comes to family trips to, say, California.

Like the exterior, the Pilot’s interior has lagged competitors (check out the lovely dashboard-spanning screens in the Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride, Chevy Traverse), and Pilot’s dash screen has grown to 12.3 inches (a 37% increase) in response. But it still trails Detroiters Traverse and Explorer in hands-free driving assist for long trips.

The Honda does offer the Google Built-in operating system standard, which brings 5G WiFi for devices as well as standard Google Navigation.

“Hey, Google” I barked as I left Dudley’s Bakery. “Navigate to San Diego Padres ballpark.” Done.

The Pilot is the complete package for road trips, grocery shopping, basketball team transport. And if Clark Griswold needs something to get Christie Brinkley’s attention, a Civic Type R will fit next to it in the garage.

2026 Honda Pilot

Vehicle type: Front-engine, front- and all-wheel-drive seven-to-eight-passenger SUV

Price: $43,690, including $1,495 destination fee ($54,990 Elite model as tested)

Powerplant: 3.5-liter V-6

Power: 285 horsepower, 262 pound-feet torque

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.2 seconds (Car and Driver est.); towing, 5,000 pounds

Weight: 4,660 pounds (as tested)

Fuel economy: EPA est. mpg 19 city/27 highway/22 combined (FWD); 19 city/25 highway/21 combined (AWD); gas range, 463 miles

Report card

Highs: Livable ergonomics; capable Trailsport off-road model

Lows: No hands-free driving option; what’s with the paddle shifters?

Overall: 4 stars

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