2026 Honda Pilot Elite Review

The Honda Pilot has managed to become the default option for moms and dads all over the U.S., and it's all for very good reason. You see, almost every other midsize, three-row family SUV has done two very controversial things. They've shrunk their engine down to a little four-cylinder with hybrid power or turbochargers, or they crammed all their buttons and knobs into the touchscreen. Well, Honda just refreshed the Pilot for 2026, and they did none of that. But let's talk about all the things they did do, because the new Pilot is still a fantastic family SUV, and the 2026 might finally be the one worth upgrading to. Today we're going to be diving into a full review of the 2026 Honda Pilot Elite. I've been driving this car for the past week, gathering the facts and feelings, so there's a lot to talk about in this new family car. The midsize, three-row family SUV category is hotly contested. You have popular competitors like the Toyota Grand Highlander, Chevy Traverse, or the Kia Telluride pushing the envelope every single year. And it seems like all of them have hopped on the same trends over the past couple years. Not this guy. For 2026, Honda decided to stick to their trusty six-cylinder. The Pilot is powered by a 3.5 liter naturally aspirated V6 engine paired with a 10-speed automatic. The engine makes up to 285 horsepower, which isn't exactly range topping, but it is naturally aspirated, so it is buttery smooth. This V6 advertises about 22 miles to the gallon, which is about what I've been getting over the past week. If you're wondering what the zero to 60 time is, number one, you're looking at the wrong car. But it's about 7.3 seconds, which is blistering fast. There are a good amount of welcome styling updates for the 2026 model year. The front end of this car is even boxier with a completely squared off grille and rectangular accents above and below. Around the side, Honda has done even more to shake that minivan look with more boxy accents. Now this is the elite all-wheel drive trim, which means it comes with all the goodies. Most notably are these nice 20-inch shark gray wheels, but there's also an optional black edition, which give this car black wheels with blacked out accents instead of chrome. The power liftgate and roof rails are also now standard across all trims, which is very nice. And overall, the styling of this car is nice, albeit very safe. Competitors like the Kia Telluride or even the new Volkswagen Atlas have gone above and beyond with their redesigns to stick out from the crowd. Honda seems to be playing it the Toyota way and not taking a huge swing here, which isn't a bad choice, just a safe one. The interior though is where Honda really stepped up for 2026. All of the options in battle list here are completely standard across all trims of the 2026 Honda Pilot. First is this 12.3-inch infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It's super bright and responsive and it's been a pleasure to use. Below, we still keep this cluster of buttons, so you're never going to be lost looking through a touchscreen to adjust your seats or the climate controls. Also standard is this nice 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster. Honda also promises this is a quieter cabin by up to three decibels. Steering is also said to be improved with better feel and precision. More on that later. With all these upgrades, the front seat of this car is a nice place to be. And I'm not sure if you noticed, but these are ultra suede seats with diamond stitching. That's an option exclusive to the Elite trims. The optional 360 camera is also very nice. The panoramic sunroof is also a nice option, along with the 12-speaker Bose system. Always a big factor for a family car is the back seat, and I'm happy to report Honda did okay. I'm behind my normal 5'10 driving position, and I have plenty of room for my knees. Also, I could just slide this thing back to get even more. Passengers also have their own controls for climate with some USB ports and in higher trims, The middle seat is also a nice place to be because of this nice flat floor in the back seat. But there's something really fun about this. So if you only need two seats back here, you can pop this down to make it into cupholders and a nice center console. But if you wanted to go even further and get captain's chairs back here, Honda will actually let you take this entire center console out. So I just pulled this lever down here, this whole thing releases and it will lift up. And then I can take it out and it even fits perfectly under the cargo floor in the trunk. Cover it right up like it never happened. Now we can access the back seat by clicking this one button or just walking through the center that we just created. Third row leg room is actually pretty good. You can slide this seat forward if you need, and it gets even better when you remove the center console. Cargo space is really nice. You drop the seats with a traditional pulley system to get a flat load floor, which you can easily fit a couple of sets of golf clubs, or you just pull the seats back up with the same mechanism, leaving you still a comfortable amount of space. How is the Honda Pilot to drive, you might ask? Well, no matter how comfortable it is in the back seat, someone has to be behind the wheel. So let's give it a try. First of all, this is a family SUV, not a sports car. So it has to be graded on a little bit of a curve, right? We're not going to be judging how it takes corners, but I will say this thing is comfortable. First thing I personally noticed when I got in this car is just how quiet this cabin is. Honda actually advertises this cabin is two to three decibels quieter than last year's Honda Pilot. And I've never driven the 2025, but I can say this is pretty nice. Honda also says they improve the steering to give it better feel and precision. Again, having not driven the 2025, I can still say this steering feels fairly good. It's very light and comfortable. Now, the powertrain of this thing is either the biggest downside or the biggest selling point amongst its competitors, depending on who you are. See, this thing has a completely naturally aspirated V6, which means it is not the most efficient in its class. Like I mentioned, around 20 miles to the gallon. It's also not the fastest or quickest in its class. It has around 285 horsepower. And as far as acceleration goes, it'll get you where you need to be as long as you're not in too much of a hurry. But the benefits of this engine, it's very smooth, right? It's just a regular specular V6. There's no hybrid lag. There's no turbo lag. There's no weird juddering as you turn on and off the battery. It is very vanilla. And no matter who gets into it, they'll feel right at home. These simple engines also have a lot fewer moving parts, which usually means greater reliability. The driving position and visibility from the front seat of this car is truly top-notch. I tend to favor SUVs like most people in America. I don't want to feel like an ant when I'm next to these giant F350s that it seems like everyone's driving. And this car has just the right amount of height to it. I can see over the little cars, but I can still see over my hood, which is a bit of a frustration for me in big trucks. That being said, the 360 camera, the front camera, and the rear camera are all amazing. And it makes parking this car super easy. And the visibility of this thing actually reminds me of a minivan, which isn't a bad thing. It's actually a big compliment, but the windows are really big and I feel super aware of my surroundings. The gauge cluster is super customizable. Right now, I have Google Maps on the right side. I can put my music or phone over on the left side, and then the center will display your driver assistance features like lane centering. One thing I don't love, this car has Honda's button shifter that has been in their models for a couple years now. I actually had it in my own Acura MDX way back in like 2018, and I didn't love it then, and I still don't love it now. So my take, I do wish we can get a little bit more out of this V6. It does feel a little bit sluggish, especially on the highway, but in a world of turbos, hybrids, and EVs, pick your poison. Most of all though, behind the wheel, the Honda Pilot feels confident and comfortable, and I certainly wouldn't shy away from fitting as many people as I could back there. But the most important thing to talk about for any family vehicle is the value for your money. And I gotta say, Honda did a lot of that here. The base sport trim for the Honda Pilot starts at just $43,890 after destination fees. And for that, you get plenty of standard equipment. This elite trim, specced basically to the max, is $55,000. That's a lot of value for the money, and it makes sense why the Honda Pilot has been the default option for decades. So that is the 2026 Honda Pilot. Enough upgrades to be modern, but enough familiarity to make Honda drivers feel right at home. If you're shopping for a new car for your family, make sure to put this one on your and let me know what you guys think.