Honda has a lot riding on the 2026 Pilot, which is arriving now at showrooms as a refreshed model with a significantly larger (12.3-inch) touchscreen, redesigned alloy wheels, Google Built-in infotainment platform, a standard power tailgate for the first time and a cabin that is about 3 decibels quieter than the ’25 model, thanks to new semi-tempered door glass.
The fourth-generation Pilot arrived just two years ago, so Honda’s decision to update this popular SUV so soon after launch says a lot about the lively segment in which it competes.
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Call It A Crossover Or An SUV?
Placing the Pilot in a particular segment is harder than it should be because different automakers and sales data aggregators define segments differently. For instance, Wards Intelligence calls the Pilot a Large Crossover because of its car-based unibody construction alongside the Chevy Traverse, Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride, Mazda CX-90, Nissan Pathfinder, Subaru Ascent, Toyota Highlander and Grand Highlander, and VW Atlas.
Pilot, Explorer, Highlander, Telluride, Palisade
Yes, most people would call these “SUVs,” but the truth is they all spend most of their time on pavement rather than climbing rocks or fording streams. In many ways, shoppers who can’t handle the idea of owning a minivan have gravitated to the spacious Pilot and others like it.
It could also be argued that an automaker is best suited to identify its rivals in a particular segment, and in the case of the Pilot, Honda tips its hat to the Ford Explorer, Highlander, Telluride, and Palisade.
No Jeep Grand Cherokee?
You may have noticed the Explorer is not counted among Large Crossovers, according to Wards, even though its platform switched from more rugged body-on-frame to unibody in 2011.
Instead, Wards considers the Explorer a Midsize SUV, likely due to its status as a pioneering SUV that consistently battles with the Jeep Grand Cherokee for leadership in that sector. The Grand Cherokee, by the way, rides on a unibody platform and is smaller than the others by several inches.
Pilot Was No.1 In 2024
So what’s happening on the sales front? The Pilot closed out 2024 as the No.1 Large Crossover in America, with 141,245 deliveries, according to Wards, well ahead of the Telluride, Palisade, and Traverse, in that order.
But if you believe the Pilot and the Explorer go head to head (separated by only a few inches in overall length), then the Explorer was the clear winner last year, with 194,000 units sold.
Toyota Grand Highlander Coming On Strong
But a lot has happened this year in the three-row utility realm. We’ve barely discussed Toyota’s approach, which was to offer a stretched version of the popular Highlander, called the Grand Highlander, which arrived in 2024.
It’s taken awhile, but it appears the Grand Highlander will assume the No.1 position among Large Crossovers in 2025, having sold more than 125,000 units through November. That growth has likely come from several of its rivals but even more directly from the two-row Highlander, whose sales were down 40 percent through November, compared to the same period in 2024.
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All-New Palisade-Telluride Tag Team
Meanwhile, the fight for second place is fierce. Honda has notched 113,686 Pilot sales through November, down 11 percent from a year ago. The all-new 2026 Palisade went on sale this past summer and has achieved 112,237 deliveries through November, while the Telluride is chugging along with 111,123 sales through November. A fully redesigned 2027 Telluride arrives in early 2026.
Chevy Traverse Could Take The Segment
Don’t discount the third-generation Chevy Traverse, which arrived last year and its 2025 sales reached nearly 104,000 units in September (General Motors only reports sales results quarterly), up 48 percent from the same period in 2024. It’s quite possible the Traverse will surprise the entire field when the year-end numbers are tallied in a few weeks.
And if you believe the Explorer indeed competes with all these other unibody utes, well, then it clobbers them all, with 198,819 deliveries through November.
This explains precisely why Honda wanted to update the Pilot so soon after launching its fully redesigned model.
Source: Honda, Wards Intelligence