Price
Winner: Honda Pilot
Starting at $31,550, the 2020 Honda Pilot undercuts the 2020 Toyota Highlander’s $34,600 base price by nearly $3,000.
The Pilot comes in six trims: LX, EX, EX-L, Touring, Elite, and the range-topping Black Edition. The EX and EX-L start at $34,430 and $37,860, respectively. The Touring trim begins at $42,620, while the Elite trim is $48,120. New for 2020, the Black Edition trim starts just below $50,000. Elite and Black Edition models come standard with all-wheel drive, but the feature adds another $2,000 to the price of lower trims.
The Highlander comes in five trims: L, LE, XLE, Limited, and Platinum. The mid-range LE and XLE tiers start at $36,800 and $39,600, respectively. The Limited trim starts at $43,650, while the top-of-the-line Platinum starts at $46,850.
Reliability
Winner: Toyota Highlander
The Toyota Highlander boasts an impressive predicted reliability rating of 4.5 out of five from J.D. Power. Meanwhile, the Honda Pilot scores only three out of five.
Both vehicles come with a three-year/36,000-mile vehicle warranty and a five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty.
Seat Comfort
Winner: Honda Pilot
Both the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander can accommodate up to eight people across three rows of plush seating. However, the Highlander's back row has very little room, and even kids will feel cramped. The Pilot has plenty of room throughout the cabin, including ample space for third-row passengers to sit comfortably.
The second-row seats in both models can recline and slide for easier access to the third-row seats. Buyers can also replace the second-row bench seat with captain’s chairs in both the Pilot and Highlander, reducing capacity to seven.
Cargo Space
Winner: Toyota Highlander
The Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander have very similar overall cargo capacities, but the Toyota comes out on top with 84.3 cubic feet of space compared to the Honda's 83.9 with all seats folded down.
Behind the second-row seats, the Highlander still offers more room than the Pilot, at 48.4 cubic feet to 46.8. When the third seat is in use, however, the Pilot offers 16.5 cubic feet of cargo space, which is more than the Highlander, with 16 cubic feet behind the third seat.
Interior Quality
Winner: Toyota Highlander
Although the Honda Pilot uses quality materials throughout its cabin, its lackluster design gives it an overall dated look when compared with rivals in its class. The SUV’s Elite and Black Edition trims come with leather-trimmed seats, ambient lighting, and a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel.
The Toyota Highlander’s redesign gives its cabin a more modern feel. Its range-topping Limited and Platinum trims feature faux wood for the door panels and dashboard, as well as ambient lighting and leather-trimmed seats for the first and second rows.
Interior Features
Winner: Toyota Highlander
When it comes to standard cabin features, the Highlander easily walks away with the win. Toyota packs in an 8-inch touch-screen infotainment system, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Amazon Alexa, a Wi-Fi hot spot, satellite radio, Bluetooth, and five USB ports. By contrast, the Honda Pilot comes with a basic 5-inch display, Bluetooth, and two USB ports.
You can opt for upgrades in both models, including larger infotainment system screens, navigation, wireless device charging, or premium audio systems.
Acceleration
Winner: Honda Pilot
Both the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander come equipped with potent V6 powertrains as standard equipment.
The Pilot’s engine delivers 280 horsepower, while the Highlander has a bit more power on paper, at 295 horsepower. Still, from behind the wheel, the Pilot's engine feels stronger, so we're giving the win to the Honda.
Fuel Economy
Winner: Toyota Highlander
The Toyota Highlander delivers an impressive 21 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway. The Honda Pilot averages slightly lower fuel efficiency at 19 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.
If gas mileage is an important consideration for you, you should be aware that the Highlander is also available as a hybrid model, which we review separately.
Ride and Handling
Winner: Honda Pilot
Both the Toyota Highlander and the Honda Pilot deliver smooth and controlled rides that easily absorb imperfections in the pavement. That being said, they're not what you'd call athletic crossovers. Still, the Pilot ekes out the win in this category because it feels more poised when driving around city or suburban streets.
Safety
Winner: Honda Pilot
The 2020 Honda Pilot and 2019 Toyota Highlander each received five-star overall ratings by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Both models were also given Top Safety Pick designations by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The Highlander earned a lower score than the Pilot in the IIHS' headlight tests, however, which gave it a lower safety score in our rankings. It should be noted that the redesigned 2020 Highlander hasn’t been tested by the NHTSA or IIHS yet.
Both vehicles boast a long list of standard driver assistance features. All trim levels of the Pilot come standard with the Honda Sensing suite of driver assistance technologies, which includes automatic high beams, forward collision warning, and adaptive cruise control.
The Highlander offers a similar suite of safety equipment through its standard Toyota Safety Sense package. It includes a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, road sign assist, and dynamic radar cruise control.
Towing
Winner: Tie
The Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander each provide a maximum towing capacity of 5,000 pounds when properly equipped.
The Winner Is …
Honda Pilot
Both the Honda Pilot and the Toyota Highlander are capable, three-row SUVs that deliver comfort, quality, and value. In the end, it's a very tight race between these two models. The Pilot has a lower starting price, a higher safety score, roomier seats, and better driving dynamics, but the Highlander strikes back with a top-tier predicted reliability rating, better gas mileage, more cargo space, and a longer list of standard tech features. We're naming the Pilot the winner because it has a higher overall score in our rankings, but really, you can't go wrong with either of these models.
More Shopping Tools From U.S. News & World Report
Check out how the Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot stack up to the competition by exploring our midsize SUV rankings.
If you’re interested in another kind of vehicle, visit our new car rankings and used car rankings pages.
Our car financing deals and lease deals pages can also help guide you through your vehicle shopping journey.
When it comes time to buy, use our Best Price Program to get the best deal on your new car purchase.
2020 Honda Pilot vs. 2020 Toyota Highlander: Head to Head
- Price: Honda Pilot
- Reliability: Toyota Highlander
- Seat Comfort: Honda Pilot
- Cargo Space: Toyota Highlander
- Interior Quality: Toyota Highlander
- Interior Features: Toyota Highlander
- Acceleration: Honda Pilot
- Fuel Economy: Toyota Highlander
- Ride and Handling: Honda Pilot
- Safety: Honda Pilot
- Towing: Tie
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Highlander vs. Pilot: Which Three-Row SUV Is Right for You?
If you are considering buying a three-row SUV, the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander are formidable contenders. Redesigned for 2020, the Highlander features an attractive cabin and a comfortable, quiet ride. Meanwhile, the Pilot also provides a smooth ride, along with a functional cabin and plenty of cargo space.
U.S. News & World Report determined which model performs best in several categories – all of which are important for shoppers to consider when looking for a family hauler.
Keep in mind that U.S. News scores are updated constantly as new expert reviews and data become available. Therefore, the scores mentioned in this comparison may not match the scores in our new car reviews.
Read on to learn which of these three-row midsize crossovers comes out on top.