2025 Honda Pilot Road Test and Review

2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition ・ Photo by Brady Holt

In many ways, a great family-friendly three-row crossover SUV is a minivan without sliding doors. But following that formula too religiously can get an automaker into trouble.

Consider the Honda Pilot. It helped create the three-row crossover segment 20 years ago, putting an SUV body on more space-efficient, better-driving, and more economical minivan bones. But after a couple generations of blocky toughness, the 2016-2022 Pilot became softer and smoother. It had less character, both visually and from behind the wheel. We liked the old Pilot, but we heard from plenty of detractors that Honda needed to restore some of the old SUV flavor. That’s why today’s Pilot has a blockier body and an off-road-focused model, along with more agile handling, an upgraded interior, and more cargo space. We just spent a week testing the 2025 Honda Pilot to learn about its pros and cons. Keep reading to learn what we found and see whether it’s the right eight-passenger SUV for you. 

Lineup Moves Upscale

It seems everything is getting more expensive lately, and the 2025 Honda Pilot is no exception. It now starts at $39,900 versus last year’s $37,090. And the top trim level now costs $54,820 instead of $52,480. 

For most buyers, at least, the bump isn’t as big as it looks. Honda shuffled the Pilot lineup by discontinuing its old base model, called the LX, and introducing a new flagship: the Black Edition that we tested. (It has blacked-out styling details but most of the same features as the next-highest Elite model.) All the trim levels in the middle are up by just a few hundred dollars. Our pick of the lineup is the EX-L ($43,200), which has leather seats, a full complement of safety gear, rear sunshades, a power liftgate, a nine-speaker stereo, and an in-car intercom system. But you can also upgrade to the Touring ($47,200) for a sunroof and GPS navigation or the Elite ($52,780) for ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, and rain-sensing windshield wipers. Or you can opt for the base Sport with cloth seats, a smaller infotainment screen, and seven speakers. There’s also the off-road-focused TrailSport ($49,100) that’s equipped similarly to the Touring that we’ll discuss more soon. 

2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Styled Like an SUV

We mentioned that the previous-generation Pilot lacked the styling verve of many rivals. It was neither off-road aggressive nor on-road sporty nor sleekly avant-garde. It was just a big, minimally decorated rounded-off box. 

The 2025 Pilot is a more handsome vehicle, especially from the front. A squared-off front end and more chiseled body return it to the SUV-esque look of the 2010-2015 Pilot generation, though with a more conventionally attractive face. And the TrailSport model lends some additional SUV cred. It includes 18-inch alloy wheels (versus the 20-inchers that are included on other upper-trim Pilots) that are designed to minimize scrapes and which come wrapped in all-terrain tires. The TrailSport also includes a higher ground clearance, an off-road-tuned suspension, and protective skid plates. The Pilot joins a growing field of rugged-looking rivals, including the Nissan Pathfinder, Ford Explorer, and Kia Telluride (each of which has its own off-road-focused variant), so this design philosophy isn’t exactly novel. But the many folks who like it will be happy to consider the Pilot alongside those models. And as we’ll discuss, there are good reasons to do so. 

2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport ・ Photo by Brady Holt

User-Friendly Interior

The 2025 Honda Pilot’s interior keeps things simple and well built. Most trim levels have a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration. (The base Sport has a 7-inch screen that requires a wired connection to use your phone apps.) Most rivals have bigger screens, but Honda’s system is easy to use. Even more importantly, you don’t have to rely on the screen for basic controls like changing the radio station or adjusting your climate settings. The Pilot keeps things easy. 

Similarly, while the Pilot lacks the dazzling opulence of some rivals, its quality is excellent. You won’t find cruddy plastics or crudely finished trim, and Honda worked extra hard to ensure that moving parts like dials snick precisely into place. Our test vehicle did have a wobbly center console bin, but we hadn’t noticed such a defect on other Pilots.  

2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Flexible Seating for Eight

The Pilot has always been a usefully roomy family hauler, and it continues to offer eight-passenger seating on most trim levels (the TrailSport only seats seven). The front and second-row seats are spacious and comfortable, and adults can squeeze into the third row with less fuss than in some rivals. Heated and power-adjustable front seats are standard on all models, but as we mentioned, ventilation and second-row heating are limited to the top Elite. 

A useful feature is an optional stowable eighth seat. This means that on the Touring, Elite, and Black Edition, you can install a middle position in the second row between two captain’s chairs. That gives you space, comfort, and a passage to the third row when you aren’t loaded up with people, while letting you whip out an extra position in emergencies. (The extra seat fits under the cargo floor.) The LX and Sport come only with second-row bench seats, and the EX-L gives you a choice of a bench seat or captain’s chairs — without the ability to ever seat eight. 

2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Improved Cargo Capacity

Honda has also upgraded the Pilot’s cargo-carrying capabilities over the old model. It has 18.6 cubic feet behind the third-row seat, 48.5 cubic feet with the third row folded, and 87.0 cubic feet behind the front seats. 

This isn’t best-in-class volume, but it’s a bit more than previous Pilot generations and plenty of room for your stuff. You’re most likely to notice the extra 2.1 cubic feet behind the third row, which can represent the difference between fitting all your family’s stuff or needing to leave something behind or pack it in a roof box. When you need to bring something that wouldn’t fit inside any SUV, the Pilot can tow up to 5,000 pounds with all-wheel drive or 3,500 pounds with front-wheel drive. That’s in line with competing three-row crossovers. 

2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition ・ Photo by Brady Holt

V6 Power With Reduced Emissions

As most crossovers drift toward turbocharged four-cylinder engines, gas-electric hybrid powertrains, or even full electrification, the Pilot has an anachronism: a 3.5-liter non-turbocharged V6 making 285 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. More unusual still, this is a newly engineered engine at a time when many automakers are dialing back their development of gasoline powertrains. And its specifications are nearly identical to the old engine. 

The difference is improved emissions. This engine is designed to provide similar acceleration, performance, and smooth, rich-sounding acceleration to old Pilots while polluting less. Honda also switched to a smoother-shifting 10-speed automatic transmission. Overall, the Pilot is decently quick without being invigorating, and its gas mileage is class-competitive but not outstanding. In EPA testing, front-wheel-drive Pilots get 19 mpg in the city, 27 mpg on the highway, and 22 mpg combined, and most all-wheel-drive models get 19 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, and 21 mpg combined. The TrailSport dips to 18 mpg city, 23 mpg highway, and 20 mpg combined. We beat those estimates to average 23 mpg in an AWD Black Edition and 22 mpg in a TrailSport. 

2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Smooth Ride

While many Hondas opt for a firm ride that trades some cushiness for livelier handling, the Pilot remains focused on smoothness. The latest generation also added further sound-deadening material, particularly on upper trim levels, to isolate occupants from wind, road, and engine noise. 

If you’re counting on a Honda to drive with more sporting verve than the competition, keep your expectations in check. This is a big, softly sprung SUV, and comfort and refinement came first. The Mazda CX-90 – or even the Ford Explorer and Nissan Pathfinder – are feistier handlers. Still, today’s Pilot feels more connected to the road than the previous generation, and we also preferred the feel of its brakes. 

Also keep your expectations in check regarding the TrailSport’s off-road capabilities. With 8.3 inches of ground clearance and a selectable Trail mode, it’ll get through a bit more snow and mud than regular Pilots. But unlike a Toyota 4Runner or Jeep Grand Cherokee, it’s not built for hardcore folks who go off road for off-roading’s sake. 

2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Plenty of Competitors

The current Pilot is a clear upgrade for someone who owns an older model. But today’s competition is also compelling. 

The Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade have established themselves for blending luxury, comfort, functionality, style, and affordable pricing. They have more standard features than the Honda, bigger infotainment screens, and quieter rides, and have their own TrailSport-rivaling off-road trims. The Nissan Pathfinder, Mazda CX-90, and Ford Explorer deliver sharper ride, handling, and acceleration than the Pilot, with better gas mileage to boot – though less room inside. And the Toyota Grand Highlander has more room than the Pilot along with an extra-efficient hybrid powertrain, but the Honda costs less and rides more quietly. 

2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Max ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Final Thoughts

The 2025 Honda Pilot doesn’t set out to conquer the world. Its spec sheet doesn’t stomp the competition’s, whether you’re looking at horsepower, gas mileage, touchscreen size, or cargo capacity. If you were counting on the latest Pilot to revolutionize its segment, it could be a disappointment. 

But if you were looking for a Pilot that’s demonstrably better than its predecessor without taking any risky steps backward, this is a success. The Pilot remains comfortable and family-friendly, and it now has a more handsome body, upgraded interior materials, simpler controls, more cargo room, a cleaner-burning engine, and superior crash-test performance. We wouldn’t tell you to buy one without also checking out the competition. But we also wouldn’t tell you to buy the competition without checking out the Pilot. 

2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition ・ Photo by Brady Holt