2020 Honda Pilot

The Honda Pilot, despite its chunky proportions and hefty weight, is remarkably athletic on the road without sacrificing off-road capability. That's not to say it's genuinely sporty, but it's more so than rivals like the Ford Explorer or Hyundai Palisade.

While the Pilot can handle itself off-road, it is primarily designed to be a family-focused town driver, and its steering matches this application. It's light, allowing for quick low-speed maneuvers, but it doesn't offer loads of road feel or heft, even at higher speeds. Where the Honda SUV does surprise is in its handling. For a three-row SUV, it is not as ponderous as one would expect, handling corners with unusual grace. You won't want to take corners at break-neck speeds, but you can feel confident leaning into them a little without worrying that the plethora of safety features will start blaring their warnings. The Intelligent Variable Torque Management is particularly helpful when it comes to keeping the SUV composed on rugged terrain, although its tight approach and departure angles keep it from leading the segment off-road; it is a crossover after all.

Ride quality is quite good, but we recommend you stick with the 18-inch wheels where possible, as the larger wheels do a much worse job of absorbing road imperfections. Road and wind noise is also managed well thanks to the well-built and -damped cabin.

The three-row midsize SUV segment is becoming more competitive each year. The idea that bigger is better seems to be taking hold, but many buyers don't want to sacrifice the comforts and driving experiences offered by smaller vehicles. Thus, manufacturers are trying to design an SUV that delivers on every front, and the Honda Pilot is a strong contender in this regard.

With space for up to eight passengers, where most three-row SUVs only supply appointments for seven, the Pilot doesn't sacrifice too much on spaciousness for the extra seating. Third-row seats are always cramped in such crossovers, but the Honda's rear seats are surprisingly utilitarian, while the first and second rows are downright spacious. The trunk might not be as cavernous as some rivals but it's certainly not lacking either. The Pilot also manages to be quite nimble on the road, and despite its size and weight, it still delivers a more engaging driving experience than is usual for the segment. When you add in the slew of advanced driver-assistance features that come standard at every trim level with Honda Sensing, the SUV certainly recommends itself as the complete package. However, it does suffer a little on the infotainment front, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto locked behind a trim upgrade. With an attractive price tag, competitive fuel economy, and more than adequate daily usability, the Honda Pilot deserves a place on any prospective buyers' shortlist - preferably near the top.

Newly redesigned for 2020, the Toyota Highlander certainly looks set to give the Honda Pilot some stiff competition. Right off the bat, the Highlander presents buyers with a stronger V6 engine, developing 295 hp, while also offering a more economical hybrid powertrain option. Much like Honda's SUV, the Highlander includes advanced safety features as standard, such as forward collision avoidance and lane departure warning, but it doesn't skimp on infotainment as the Pilot does. Both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on the base Highlander, along with SiriusXM and Amazon Alexa. The large Toyota SUV also offers the choice between seven or eight seating appointments, although it provides slightly less standard cargo space at 16.1 cubic feet. Untested at the time of writing this review, we can't say how the new Highlander will match up to the Pilot in terms of handling, but if the rest of its strengths are anything to go by, it will certainly give the agile Honda crossover a run for its money.

As a close cousin to the Pilot by way of their shared parent company and underpinnings, the Acura MDX bears a close resemblance to the capable midsize SUV, although it dresses in more stylish attire. Bearing the price tag of a luxury midsize SUV, the MDX naturally aspires to offer a more premium experience to buyers. And it does just that, if you can afford it. The interior is more upscale and stylish than the uninspiring Pilot, though some design choices have cost the MDX some cargo space, offering only 15 cubic feet as standard. Head- and legroom all-round have also taken a minor hit, but the improved comforts and longer list of standard features help to distract from this. The Acura's standard V6 is also marginally stronger than the Pilot's, delivering 290 hp and 267 lb-ft to your choice of the front or all four wheels, but the MDX is also available with a hybrid powertrain. Overall, with better luxury features, comparable spaciousness and utility, and similar handling dynamics, the Acura MDX looks to be the better choice. But overlooking that price tag might be too much of a hurdle for most buyers.