Should i buy a highlander or a pilot

The Highlander's side profile is traditional crossover utility: boxy with rounded edges. It straddles the line between tall-wagon and SUV looks. The rear end of the Highlander features an integrated roof spoiler and a traditional lift-up tailgate.

It's also one of the few remaining SUVs to have a separate lift-up window. It's great for loading small items. The interior, however, is where the Highlander really impresses.

Our Platinum Limited test car added brown leather and wood accents to the equation for a more premium feel. The large glass roof was also a nice touch. The Highlander's interior is packed with USB ports and clever storage nooks, like this shelf that runs the length of the front dash. There's also a massive box under the center armrest, between the front seats. In front of the driver is a 4. The Highlander comes standard with the Toyota Safety Sense package, which includes collision warning, pedestrian warning, lane-departure warning, automatic high beams, and radar cruise control.

Our test cars came with an 8-inch touchscreen running Toyota's Entune infotainment system. Base Highlanders get a 6. Despite Toyota's work to improve the system's usability, Entune is not one of our favorites.

It's perhaps the weakest part of the Highlander package. The image quality is poor, and its overall presentation feels as if it's stuck in a previous decade. Both Highlander test cars came equipped with optional second-row captain's chairs. A bench seat is standard. The rear cabin is spacious and comfortable. The captain's chairs also allow for easy passage to the third row. There are With the third row folded, cargo capacity goes up to Fold down the second row, and the Highlander's cargo space nearly doubles, to Under the hood of our Highlander SE is a horsepower, 3.

The base Highlander is powered by a somewhat diminutive horsepower, 2. The 3. No one does naturally aspirated V6 engines quite as well as Toyota, and it shows. The four-cylinder is paired with a traditional six-speed automatic transmission, while the V6-powered cars get an eight-speed unit.

The hybrid models are equipped with a continuously variable transmission. According to Toyota, V6-powered Highlanders can tow 5, pounds while hybrid models 3, pounds. Four-cylinder variants can tow just 1, pounds. What's it like to drive?

Next up is the Honda Pilot. Updates for include a refreshed front end with new LED headlights along with a redesigned bumper and chrome grille. The rear of the Pilot gets new taillights, bumper, and chrome accents. Even with the updates, the Pilot is far from being a real looker.

In fact, I prefer the Highlander's styling over the Pilot's. Aesthetic updates aside, the overall dimensions of the of Thus, the Honda remains four inches longer, roughly three inches wider, and two inches taller than the Toyota.

Like Toyota, Honda usually brings their A-game when it comes to interior design. Cabin ergonomics are terrific. Everything is exactly where you'd expect it to be.

The Pilot's interior is roomy, comfortable, and well put together. Overall material quality is superb. There wasn't a squeak or rattle to be detected. Even on the pothole-riddled roads of New York and New Jersey.

In front of the driver is a digital instrument display. I don't think it looks very good, but it was easy to use and presented all of the pertinent information the driver needs. As with all Pilot models, our test car came standard with the Honda Sensing driver's assistance tech package. This includes adaptive cruise control, collision mitigating braking, forward collision warning, road departure mitigation, lane keep assist. Outside of Honda sensing our test car came with blind spot awareness and rear cross traffic alert.

The Pilot's cabin includes a bevy of storage options like this configurable center console. Lastly, let's dive into safety and handling, one of the most important aspects to consider with any new vehicle. That's especially true if you have so many passengers that you require a three-row SUV. Standard safety features that helped it win this stellar rap include automatic high beams, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and forward-collision warning.

This isn't the first year that the Pilot won multiple awards, either. The Toyota Highlander meets the Honda Pilot pound-for-pound in this category. Standard features include automatic emergency braking, rearview cameras, and forward-collision warnings. Among earlier models with these same features are the model and the model. The Honda Pilot is agile and responsive and can get up to speed quickly.

The Highlander's AWD capabilities make it well-suited for backcountry camping. Its strong suspension means that it easily handles uneven roads. Their prices are similar, too, so how do you tell which one is best? Are you the type of person to do some heavy-duty camping? The Toyota Highlander is probably the safer option. Do you prefer quick and easy getaways to the lake or woods?

Pick the Pilot instead. Additionally, the price may be a determining factor for you. If you shop online for earlier models, though, you can find the right car for what you need. With Shift , you can buy a car from the comfort of your own home at a fair, up-front price. In that case, consider reading up on how much a used Toyota 4Runner costs here. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the author or Shift Technologies, Inc. Shift does not endorse or evaluate the accuracy of any claims made or data provided by third party sources referenced herein.

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It doesn't necessarily affect stability but gives you pause when rounding an entrance ramp. The Highlander also outgripped the Pilot, giving a slightly larger measure of security for evasive maneuvers. The Toyota also enjoyed an advantage in braking tests, where it stopped from 70 mph in feet to the Pilot's We also preferred the Highlander's firmer brake pedal. The Pilot also suffered from moderate fade during our six successive stops from 70 mph. Considering how similar the Pilot and the Highlander are, it's not a surprise that the EPA fuel-economy estimates for the all-wheel-drive Highlander and Pilot are very close.

The Toyota is rated at 20 mpg city, 27 highway, and 23 combined. The Honda gives up 1 mpg in all three categories. However, we were impressed with how much Honda has improved the Pilot's automatic stop-start feature, which can now unobtrusively and quickly restart the engine.

In our steady mph highway test, the Pilot returned 25 mpg to the Highlander's 28 mpg. Perhaps it's familiarity, but the Pilot's interior strikes us as functional rather than exciting. As in the best Hondas, there's plenty of passenger space and no shortage of interior cubby storage. Its front seats are comfortable for all body sizes, and the driver enjoys a commanding view of the road ahead.

Honda's infotainment system includes an 8. We appreciate the physical volume knob and large onscreen icons, but changing the radio station and navigating menus is harder than it should be. Our Black Edition also boasts features that make parenting easier, including a rear-seat entertainment system and an intercom called CabinTalk that lets front-seat passengers talk to or reprimand the back two rows.

Getting into the third row is easy because the second-row captain's chairs move well out of the way. Once you're in the third row, there's more room than in the Highlander. In our suitcase test, the Pilot held just as many roller-bag carry-ons as the Toyota behind its third row four , and it held eight more with all the rear seats folded 38 total.

The Highlander's interior looks and feels considerably richer than its Honda rival. Our Platinum model had the handsome Harvest Beige leather upholstery and one of the best examples of fake-wood trim that we've seen.

Below it is a set of HVAC controls and heated seat controls as well as a built-in shelf that's perfect for storing small items. The center-console bin offers additional storage, but its small opening and wireless charging pad impose size restrictions. While we found the Highlander's driving position to be more accommodating than the Pilot's, its cramped third row left us sitting with our knees in our chest.

Both the Pilot and the Highlander nail the practicality and people hauling part of the brief—although the Highlander's third-row seats don't measure up to the Pilot's.