2018 Toyota Highlander vs. 2018 Honda Pilot

Looking into a midsize SUV? Let’s take a look at two of your great options. The 2018 Toyota Highlander and the 2018 Honda Pilot are great SUV options, but which is better?

Take a look at the head-to-head comparison below and tell us. We will look at the performance and fuel economy, the interior features and technology and the pricing and trim options.

Performance and Fuel Economy

Performance is obviously truly important to consider when buying a vehicle. Let’s take a closer look at the performance of these two SUVs.

The 2018 Highlander gives you a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine standard. This engine gives you 185-horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. With this vehicle, you can also upgrade to a 3.5-liter V6 engine, which gives you 295-horsepower and 263 pound-feet of torque.

The first engine gives you 20 city miles per gallon and 24 highway miles per gallon. The V6 engine gives you 20 city miles per gallon and 27 highway miles per gallon.

The 2018 Pilot has a 280-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine. This engine also gives you 262 pound-feet of torque. This engine gives you the power you need, but it is occasionally jerky as you shift and the handling is a little looser than some other vehicles. This engine option does give you pretty good efficiency thought with around 20 city and 27 highway miles per gallon.

These vehicles have two very similar engines when it comes to horsepower and fuel efficiency. The Highlander has a little bit more horsepower and the Pilot has a bit more torque. However, the Pilot is said to not have the best steering or shifting.

Interior Features and Tech

Now, let’s take a closer look at the interior features including the standard technology in both of these vehicle options.

The 2018 Highlander seats either seven or eight people. It has standard cloth seats, but there are optional leather first and second row seats and leatherette third-row seats. This vehicle provides you with a comfortable riding experience. The Honda Pilot has seating for seven or eight depending on which trim level you choose. The seats are comfortable with available leather upholstery. The Pilot is known for its comfort and space for passengers specifically in the third row of seating.

For technology, the 2018 Highlander gives you Bluetooth, five USB ports, voice recognition, a rearview camera, a 6.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system. This vehicle also gives you standard safety technology features including forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, lane keep assist and more.

On the Pilot, you get a seven-speaker audio system, Bluetooth, a USB port and a multi-angle rearview camera standard. The safety technology features for the Pilot do not come standard though.

When looking at all the features together, it is clear that the Highlander offers more standard technology features, especially safety features. These safety features are available on the Pilot, but they will cost you more.

Pricing and Trim Options

Finally, let’s take a look at price and trim options. The 2018 Highlander gives you six trim options, and the 2018 Pilot gives you five trim options.

The base trim option for the Highlander is the LE. The LE starts off at a price of $31,030. This trim comes standard with many safety features as well as a 6.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Bluetooth and more. The LE Plus is the next trim option. This vehicle starts at $35,460 and it includes smartphone-linked navigation, an 8-inch touchscreen, tri-zone automatic climate control and satellite radio.

The Highlander XLE starts off at $38,920 and this includes leather first and second row seats as well as heated front seats, second row captain’s chairs, a moonroof, push-button start and more. The Highlander Limited will costs you $42,080 and it adds on rear parking sensors, a 12-speaker JBL audio system, ventilated front seats and a four-way power adjustable passenger seat.

The top level trim for the 2018 Highlander is the Limited Platinum. This vehicle starts at $45,200 and it includes a heated steering wheel, a panoramic moonroof, heated second row seats, front parking sensors and a surround view camera.

For the 2018 Honda Pilot, your base trim is LX. This comes with Bluetooth, a USB port, a multi-angle rearview camera and a push-button start. The prices aren’t out for the 2018 Pilot, but the 2017 Pilot LX cost you about $30,595, so you can expect the price to go up a bit from there. The EX is your next trim option and it comes with an 8-inch touchscreen display, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, automatic climate control and Honda’s Lane Watch. The price for the EX should be around $34,000.

The EX-L is the next trim level and it adds a moonroof, leather-trimmed upholstery, heated front seats and a power liftgate. This trim will start around $37,000. Next, you have the Touring that will be around $42,000, and this trim adds the Honda Sensing safety suite, as well as navigation, rear-seat DVD entertainment, a 10-speaker audio system and front and rear parking sensors.

The Elite will be your highest trim option for the 2018 Pilot. The Elite will cost you around $48,000 and it gives you heated second row captain’s chairs, a panoramic moonroof, heated and ventilated front seats, high-beam headlights and more.

When it comes to price, these vehicles start off at around the same price, so it is important to note what features come with these prices. For example, safety technology like forward collision alert, pedestrian detection and many more come standard in the base model of the Highlander. In the Pilot, you have to upgrade to the Touring (around $42,000) to get that similar safety technology with their Honda Sensing safety suite. The Highlander price also doesn’t climb as high as the Pilot price for the top-level trim. The highest trim on the Highlander will be around $3,000 cheaper than the highest trim option on the Pilot.  

Which is Right for You?

With this comparison, we have looked at performance and fuel economy, interior features and technology and pricing and trim options. The engine performance of these vehicles is pretty similar, as is the fuel economy of these vehicles.

When we step in the inside, that is when we see some differences. The Pilot is known for being a very comfortable vehicle for its passengers, and the Highlander gives you a lot of standard safety and technology features.

Finally, when you take a look at the pricing and trim options, it is pretty clear that the Highlander gives you more for your money than the Pilot does. The lower trim levels are around the same price, but the Highlander gives you more standard safety technology. Also, the top-of-the-line trim is cheaper for the Highlander than the Pilot.

Both of these are quality vehicles, and they both have worthy features and talking points, but the Highlander wins in this comparison because you get more for your money.