WORTH THE EXTRA MONEY？？ -- 2026 Acura MDX vs. 2026 Honda Pilot： Comparison

What's going on youtube so buyers often wonder if it's worth stepping up to a luxury brand from a mainstream brand And that's exactly the scenario. We're going to be testing out today with the acura mdx Versus the refreshed honda pilot. That's right Both of these three-row suvs come standard with v6 engines as well as a lot of family-friendly features So is it worth the price premium for the mdx or is the pilot really all you need? That's what we're going to go ahead and find out today While the mdx and pilot cover many different price points and overlap in certain areas We're comparing their most luxury oriented trims today the mdx advance and the pilot elite More on that price discrepancy later But if you're looking to buy either of them Make sure to check out carconfections.com slash new car quotes to get the best price and access to invoice pricing information Starting with the exterior designs the family resemblance between them is very hard to tell The mdx utilizes a more angular look with a sophisticated grill sharp lines and lots of black and chrome accents The pilot on the other hand embraces a squared off tougher design with a boxier grill and silver scuff plate accent Looks are subjective. So we won't score the designs, but let us know which one you'd pick in the comments Moving to the lighting both have full led headlamps with led fog lamps However is the acura that will upgrade the units to full projector beams versus reflector leds on the honda? Checking out the wheels both ride on 20 inch alloys However, more importantly for size the pilot has a length advantage coming in nearly two inches longer than the mdx We'll see if the acura styling elements sacrifice practicality later on in this comparison Out back the mdx has a sleeker silhouette, but they both share exposed wipers and exhaust outlets The mbx once again pulls ahead with full led tail lamps Whereas the honda still has some incandescent elements Nonetheless for those looking to tow both can handle an identical 5 000 pounds By the way, feel free to keep your own score along the way based on what's most important to you The mirrors are fully loaded as well on both offering heating blind spot monitoring power folding and auto dimming on both sides Continuous safety both include their brand's latest active safety features standard to keep your family safe on the day-to-day Including adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist as well But this family fight continues to the interior where the pilot certainly isn't giving in let's get to that. But first If you're new here, we're brothers and we've been reviewing cars since we were 12 and 16 We started young and since then we've reviewed over 2 000 cars at every price point No matter what you're looking for from our long-term vehicle videos to our side-by-side comparisons We'd love for you to subscribe to be a part of our car confections family Let's learn a lot and have some fun with all the latest cars Approaching the cabins each has their brand's respective key fobs with standard smart entry and remote start built in for life Once open you'll be greeted by highly equipped interiors Starting with the seats the pilot uses standard leather with quilting but the ndx pulls ahead with high-end. Milano leather Additionally, the acura also has an advantage in seat function Offering more power adjustments at 16 total ways and massage functionality for a true luxury experience Nonetheless, they both share the functions of heating ventilation and memory Once inside we can evaluate both the overall materials and build quality Both are incredibly solid with fantastic fit and finish for materials These two are more similar than you might imagine after pilot got some enhancements for its 2026 refresh It's got new suede and faux wood accents throughout the interior But the mdx still has it beat with extra plush leather padding real open pore wood and metal accents After startup, you'll see 12.3 inch digital gauge clusters on both complete with customizable views These top trims also feature large head-up displays to keep your eyes on the road While they share heated leather wrapped steering wheels with rain sensing wipers only the mdx's wheel is power adjusting Now let's analyze interior storage which will divide into console volume and other cubbies throughout In the console the mdx flexes its family hauling practicality Fitting 20 of our signature donuts versus only 12 for the mdx Beyond the consoles the pilot continues to be more spacious with more cubbies that are deeper and even a passenger storage shelf Storage aside they share wireless phone chargers and electronic push button shifters in reverse. You'll find 360 degree cameras with multiple angles Moving up the dash both come with three zone climate control systems using full physical knobs and buttons They also have volume knobs. So let's give the audio systems a sample While the pilot has a solid 12 speaker bose system The mdx's 19 speaker bang and olufsen sound system is top notch offering superior sound quality and richness Now to the screens where both are sporting a very similar 12.3 inch display Both run the newest honda and acura software with wireless apple carplay android auto and google built-in natively However, the pilot continues to flex its family ties with the cabin talk feature to stay in touch with all the passengers Finally up top both models have auto dimming rearview mirrors and large panoramic sunroofs Families are sure to use these models for road trips. So let's discuss the space and packaging in the back seats and cargo areas Starting with the second row the pilot takes a lead in legroom with a greater than five percent advantage Measures are too close to call for headroom and real world knee room For features, they're both quite luxurious and versatile with reclining sliding and heated seats with sunshades and dedicated climate controls Interestingly, both these suvs share a pretty cool party trick The mdx and the pilot both feature a removable center seat in the second row That can act as a built-in console or be completely taken out to create captain's chairs This gives maximal flexibility for families now for the third row Here is where the pilot's boxier dimensions pay off with substantial advantages in both head and legroom figures Well above the five percent threshold required to score a point In addition to having more space you can also have a whole extra person in a pinch Since there are three seat belts in the honda's third row Third row features are in favor of the pilot as well with vents to blow air directly on you In summary, if you use the third row often the pilot will hold a clear advantage Outback both have hands-free power tailgates Looking at the numbers the pilot's space advantages continue here It has a clear space advantage in all three configurations 13 behind the third row 21 behind the second row and 20 more space as a maximum capacity For cargo features both are a bit lacking with manual folding for all the rows However, both models feature spare tires and ample storage under the floor But there are still some differences to sift through so let's take this fight to the streets Under the hood many customers will be happy to see that these models stick with classic naturally aspirated 3.5 liter v6 engines While the mdx is tuned to have slightly more power and torque. It's not enough to truly make a difference Though it does have a quicker 0 to 60 most likely because of the weight differences All right That's acceleration up to about 60 miles an hour with this mdx now like we mentioned this is the advanced trim and the advanced trim like Well all the rest of the trims except for the type s comes with the 3.5 liter naturally aspirated v6 engine Still makes 290 horsepower and 267 pound feet of torque All right, there we are taking off to about 60 miles per hour And of course You can hear that growl of a v6 so if you didn't tune in to part one of our review, that's where we Told you guys that the v6 sticks around in the 2026 pilot as you may know If you've been researching some of the rivals to the pilot that's becoming increasingly rare A lot of the rivals have gotten rid of their v6 options And I know a lot of you guys really appreciate having a v6 option as well and that does indeed stick around for 2026 Transmission wise both utilize smooth shifting 10-speed automatics and capable all-wheel drive systems as equipped Now the other element of the powertrain is the 10-speed automatic transmission This is a honda and acura's in-house developed transmission and we've always been a big fan of this transmission. It's nice and smooth Now let's talk about the other aspect of the powertrain and that's the transmission this comes with a 10-speed automatic transmission This is honda's in-house developed transmission They've used it in a lot of products and they have been using it in the pilot for a few years now I think it's a pretty good transmission It doesn't get too confused when you put your foot down you wait just a second there But it can downshift multiple gears at once to give you the power that you need Let's also talk about the two-fold category of handling and ride quality While both display surprisingly agile dynamics for the class The acura will be more tossable with its on-road focus and its super handling all-wheel drive system But ride quality is where they really shine as both ride incredibly smoothly down most any road surface With wheels the same size we'll call this area even Now as far as the ride quality like I just mentioned the advance is very luxury oriented So when it comes to ride this thing rides phenomenally the mdx has always done a good job with that It continues as you hit bumps in the road. It does a great job of just soaking them up This one on the outside only has 20 inch alloys So it's not the biggest wheel that you can get and because of that it does a really great job I think you're gonna be very pleasantly surprised But we're just kind of cruising down this beautiful road here and I want to talk about ride quality for the pilot Now this has always been an area that the pilot has excelled and on our time here on the first drive program I've been nothing but impressed we've driven around the pilot for quite some time and it does a fantastic job of just soaking up the bumps I mean, that's exactly what you want out of a family three-row suv and the pilot just absolutely nails that you don't feel hardly any intrusion Even if you hit a large road imperfection Next up. Let's talk about sound deadening with our signature sound level readings Unfortunately, we cannot score this category today as we have not had both of these top trim models back at home in kentucky yet But here are their initial readings for your reference 54.6 is what we settled in at 55.5 decibels is what we are sitting at as our sound level reading finally for fuel economy Their v6s will be rated the same and they'll be less impressive compared to non-honda hybrid competitors Keep in mind the pilot uses regular fuel while the mdx requests that you put premium fuel in its tank Reliability and resale value are also important things to consider when comparing models. So let's get into that Beginning with reliability our combined reliability index indicates that both brands are quite good Honda is one of the best brands in the industry rated 12 spots above average While acura is a bit further behind but still six slots above average Related to reliability is your warranty coverage The acura will give you a longer basic and powertrain warranty though. Both of them will be offering one year of complimentary maintenance Now as far as resale value the honda pulls ahead significantly After five years and sixty thousand miles honda has a sixty four point seven nine percent retained value Compared to forty nine point nine five percent for the acura But now time to address the all-important factor of price This is where the mainstream versus luxury debate really kicks in The pilot elite tops out at just over fifty five thousand dollars While the fully loaded mdx advance pushes past sixty eight thousand dollars To reiterate we are comparing the most luxurious versions of these two models today If you're looking to compare options within the same price point be prepared to sacrifice a lot of features on the mdx Nonetheless, let's account for the substantial thirteen thousand one hundred and sixty dollar price difference using our scale This will give the pilot quite a bump at plus six and a half points But as always we want to emphasize that if money reliability or resale value matter less to you personally feel free to disregard these points So there you have it the objective winner, do you agree? Well, let's go over some reasons why you might pick each one and it will tell you which one we would put in each of Our driveways I will start with the honda pilot three big reasons why you might pick that Is the fact that it has more cargo capacity and a better third row Also that it has a significantly lower price tag as we just discussed And you have better resale and reliability now the mdx on the flip side. You should pick if you want premium materials It is a nicer cabin as expected. It also has quicker acceleration as well as better better handling dynamics And of course has a few luxury features such as massaging front seat So if you really want that those luxury details, you'll find the mdx more appealing now Speaking of the areas where one is excelling over the other we'd encourage you to check out carconfections.com slash vehicle rankings We've looked at numerous vehicle segments the three row luxury midsize the three row regular midsize And we've ranked each model in each category in specific areas such as cargo capacity luxury features technology Power train choices and value so you can really make an informed buying decision about which options might be the best for you Depending on what is most important you can even sort the list based on that So be sure to check that out on our website, but which would we put in our driveways? I'll go ahead and start i'll choose the honda pilot I think this is one case where the practicality kind of wins out over the extra luxury I mean, of course that's going to depend on what's going on in your life but I think that if maybe the mdx was Exactly the same size as the pilot and had the extra luxury it might be a little bit more worth it But you kind of have to compromise I think I would agree with that Although I definitely would look at a lower end in the mdx as compared to a fully loaded pilot and see if they kind of You know cross shop a little bit better Now if you're looking to buy either one We'd encourage you to check out carconfections.com slash new car quotes because that will give you the best price at dealerships It's also going to give you access to invoice pricing information, which is a great tool if you plan on doing any dealership negotiation You can find that once more on our website carconfections.com as well as things like a monthly payment calculator And guys that's going to be where we leave off on this comparison Hopefully you enjoyed if you did We'd really appreciate you subscribing down below and becoming a part of our car confections family If you're already a part of our family, thank you so much for your continued support because you make this all possible We'll catch you next time as we sample more of the latest automotive delicacies