LIKES
- Handsome looks
- Good seats all the way around
- Comfortable power
- Standard active safety tech
- Good infotainment on most versions
DISLIKES
- Base model skimp on features
- Too conservative?
- 9-speed isn’t much more fuel-efficient
- Top trims lack convincing luxury features
BUYING TIP
- We see two decisions when shopping a Honda Pilot: color and leather. We’d pick an EX or an EX-L depending on your preference for interior accommodations. The color is up to you.
The 2020 Honda Pilot is a three-row family crossover at the top of its class.
The 2020 Honda Pilot hits all the family “must-dos” like a completed weekend chores list.
The three-row crossover has been with us for a few years now, and it’s one of our top picks in the class—even among newer competitors.
We rate the range at 6.3 on our overall scale that skews heavily toward base versions that tease with a tempting price. For just a little more, the Pilot is significantly better and advanced. We’d drive a Pilot EX off the lot and never look back.
With the 2020 Pilot, Honda has a three-row crossover in the right place at the right time. Its offered in LX, EX, EX-L, Touring, Elite, and Black Edition versions, the latter is new this year. Base front-wheel-drive versions cost just over $32,000, while top trims barely crest $50,000.
Regardless of price, the Pilot offers three rows of comfortable seats for up to eight, with enough cargo space for all of life’s accumulated stuff.
Outside, the Pilot narrowly walks the line between crossover and minivan—we don’t mind either.
Every Pilot is powered by a 3.5-liter V-6 that makes 280 horsepower mated to a 6- or 9-speed automatic. Front-wheel drive is standard on most versions—all-wheel drive costs $2,000 extra on others—or is standard on Touring, Elite, and Black Edition versions.
The Pilot returns around 22 mpg combined in most versions, regardless of transmission.
Federal and independent testers have good things to report about the Pilots they’ve crashed: it’s among one of the safer crossovers on the road. Every Pilot gets automatic emergency braking as standard equipment, vital to family vehicles.
The Pilot LX skips some of the features we’d prefer in a crossover. It gets cloth upholstery, seats for eight, a 5.0-inch display for audio without smartphone compatibility and one USB charge port.
Spend more and get a lot more. The Pilot EX is our pick of the bunch and gets upgraded 18-inch wheels, blind-spot monitors, an 8.0-inch touchscreen for infotainment including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, three-zone automatic climate controls, power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, and two USB charge ports for $35,525 for front-drive versions.
Styling
Conservative and capacious, the 2020 Pilot doesn’t break any molds—and that’s not a bad thing.
The Pilot has aged well, although few people will confuse it for anything other than a big crossover. Its shapes are inoffensive and clean, and we appreciate its straightforward style inside and out. It’s a 6 for style.
Last year the Pilot was updated with more chrome and headlights, but the new cars aren’t a departure from the modern Pilots that have been on the road for a few years now. The shapes narrowly split the difference between minivan and crossover, and from the sides, the Pilot looks positively palatial. (Read: Big.)
The organic, two-box shape is complemented by big windows and a curt crease along the body sides that breaks up any slab-sidedness.
A new Black Edition for 2020 paints most of the interior and exterior in, yep, black. It’s mostly a Pilot Elite with an appearance package—and a little attitude.
Performance
The 2020 Pilot doesn’t sacrifice comfort or capability to haul big families.
Even family crossovers don’t skimp on power these days.
All 2020 Pilots are equipped with a 3.5-liter V-6 that makes 280 hp and an automatic transmission. Most Pilots will get a 6-speed automatic that deftly shuttles between gears, although Touring, Elite, and Black Edition versions get a 9-speed that has more cogs, but not significantly better fuel economy.
Our rating here applies to the meat of the lineup, the 3.5-liter V-6 hooked to a 6-speed automatic that drives the front or all four wheels when optionally equipped. It has good power and we give it a 6.
The 6-speed automatic keeps the 3.5-liter in its efficiency sweet spot and returns combined fuel economy in the low-20s. The upgraded 9-speed is just as proficient, although it hunts to find the right gear for quick passes. Some of the low-speed indecision was tamed a couple years ago, shoppers would do well to pick one of the newer Pilots if they’re considering top trim levels.
The suspension is tuned to filter out road imperfections, which it does well. Pilot LX, EX and EX-Ls ride atop 18-inch wheels with plenty of sidewall give, but 20-inchers don’t spoil the ride.
The Pilot steers well with confident responses, even if the Honda family crossover’s back is pressed against the wall.
Comfort & Quality
Families won’t argue about what seats to take in the 2020 Honda Pilot.
The 2020 Pilot comfortably carries families and cargo with room for up to eight passengers and 16.5 cubic feet of storage behind all three rows.
Adults can fit in all three rows of seats, which is relatively rare among competitors, and we give it points above average for spacious accommodations in all three rows and a generous cargo area, including small-item storage. It’s a 9 out of 10.
The front seats are all-day comfortable, and on all but the base model, widely adjustable. Pilot EXs include a power-adjustable driver’s seat, EX-L and higher trims get a power-adjustable passenger’s seat.
Second-row riders get more than 40 inches of leg room, with a one-touch button to tumble down for third-row access. The second row is nearly as comfortable as the first, with plenty of thigh support for long hauls.
In the third row, Honda offers nearly 32 inches of leg room that’s better in practice than it is on paper. We’d suggest parking adults in the first two rows, although teenagers and small adults can fit fine.
With all three rows in place, the Pilot has 16.5 cubic feet of cargo room, which is as big as many mid-size sedans’ trunks. Some of that room is vertical space, above the third-row headrests, for tall cargo or leaning towers of groceries.
On Pilots that cost $40,000 or less, Honda fits hearty materials that feel durable for everyday family use. On pricey Elite and Black Edition trims that cost nearly $50,000, the materials feel a step behind the luxury-car price.
Safety
The 2020 Honda Pilot is one of the safest picks among family crossovers.
Federal and independent testers agree that the 2020 Honda Pilot is safe in a crash.
The family crossover netted a five-star overall rating by federal regulators and the IIHS gave it top "Good" scores in its crash tests. That’s a 7 on our scale.
In addition to front and side curtain airbags, the Pilot is equipped with a suite of active safety features that are standard on every model. Forward-collision warnings with automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and active lane control come standard, even on base models. Pilot EX and higher models get standard blind-spot monitors.
Outward vision in the Pilot is generally good, although it’s a long look out the back windows.
Touring, Elite, and Black Edition models are equipped with uprated headlights that rate better by the IIHS. The standard headlights on most models rate “Acceptable.”
Features
Base Pilots don’t have many features, but the rest are well-equipped.
A lackluster base version keeps the 2020 Pilot from reaching higher on our features score. Our features score may stop at those versions, but we suggest shoppers keep walking.
Starting from an average score, the Pilot narrowly misses out on extra points because of its small base infotainment screen, but we give it a point for the Pilot EX’s stellar value. It’s a 6.
Honda offers LX, EX, EX-L, Touring, Elite, and Black editions of the Pilot. That last one is new and costs more than $50,000, which encroaches on luxury-car turf. More on that in a minute.
We’d opt instead for a Pilot EX, which costs $35,525 for front-drive models. All-wheel drive is $2,000 more. The Pilot EX adds upgraded 18-inch wheels, blind-spot monitors, an 8.0-inch touchscreen for infotainment including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, three-zone automatic climate controls, power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, and two USB charge ports. Pilot EX-Ls add leather upholstery, a moonroof, and rear sunshades for $3,400 more.
The top-of-the-line Pilot Touring and Black Edition models cost about $50,000 and throw everything at the Honda hauler. Leather, standard all-wheel drive, heated and cooled front seats, a panoramic moonroof, uprated audio system, wireless phone charger, and 9-speed automatic transmission are all included in the tony models. Touring and Black Edition models are virtually the same except, you guessed it, the Black Edition is mostly black.
Honda infotainment
Base models are the only Pilots with one USB charge port. Most Pilots have two or more, including two more in the rear for passengers in the back.
Fuel Economy
The 2020 Honda Pilot is mid-pack among full-sizers for fuel economy.
Six or nine, and two or four isn’t just a song by Chicago (Ed's note: Maybe.) it’s also the available powertrain configurations for a 2020 Honda Pilot.
Available with a 6- or 9-speed automatic to drive the front two, or all four wheels, the Pilot’s fuel-economy tune is roughly the same, about 22 mpg combined.
The EPA rates the 2020 Pilot at 19 mpg city, 27 highway, 22 combined with front-wheel drive and a 6-speed automatic. That’s a 4 on our scale.
Touring, Elite, and Black editions of the Pilot are equipped with a 9-speed automatic that bumps mileage up slightly. Front-drivers rate 20/27/23 mpg, and all-wheel-drive versions cut 1 mpg from each of those figures.
Among three-row crossovers, the Pilot keeps pace. The Subaru Ascent manages about 23 mpg combined with AWD, and the 2020 Ford Explorer rates up to 24 mpg combined in its most efficient form without hybrid batteries.
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