What’s the 2026 Honda Pilot’s MPG?
What Car Shoppers Need to Know
- The 2026 Honda Pilot is one of few SUVs in its class to still use a V-6 engine.
- Competitors have switched to hybrid and turbocharged four-cylinder powertrains.
- The Pilot’s best of 22 mpg combined lags significantly behind rivals.
Honda’s Pilot is one of the longest-running nameplates in the mid-size three-row SUV class, and it remains among the most popular — for now. The Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride were both within a strong sales weekend on the 2025 charts, performances that will almost certainly be boosted by the duo’s recent and jaw-dropping redesigns.
In this class, where shoppers weigh myriad factors with dexterity honed by the daily juggling of parental priorities, efficiency matters. Let’s dig into how the Pilot’s fuel economy stacks up against that of its rivals.
Related: 2026 Honda Pilot: Advanced Screening, Minor Updates
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By the Numbers
As is typical for this class, the Pilot drives comes standard with front-wheel drive in most trim levels, and all-wheel drive is available on lower trims and standard on the pricier ones. Honda’s AWD system extracts a minimal fuel-economy penalty in exchange for improved traction, having no impact whatsoever in the EPA’s city test cycle and only reducing efficiency by 2 mpg on the highway. As the combined figure is calculated from those two numbers, the net result in the combined rating is a single mpg lower for most trim levels. The off-road-oriented TrailSport suffers more in part because of its taller all-terrain tires.
| Trim | Driveline | City MPG | Highway MPG | Combined MPG |
| Sport | FWD | 19 | 27 | 22 |
| EX-L | FWD | 19 | 27 | 22 |
| Sport | AWD | 19 | 25 | 21 |
| EX-L | AWD | 19 | 25 | 21 |
| Touring | AWD | 19 | 25 | 21 |
| Touring Blackout | AWD | 19 | 25 | 21 |
| Elite | AWD | 19 | 25 | 21 |
| Black Edition | AWD | 19 | 25 | 21 |
| TrailSport | AWD | 18 | 23 | 20 |
Versus the Competition
The Pilot is one of only two vehicles in its class that is still powered by a naturally aspirated V-6 engine (the Nissan Pathfinder is the other). Neither the Pilot nor the Pathfinder can match the efficiency of competitors that have adopted turbocharged four-cylinders or, in many cases, with hybrid assistance.
In our last big group test of three-row SUVs, the Pilot tied for second place in fuel economy, landing more than 10 mpg behind the then-new Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid. Since then, though, the Palisade and Telluride have been redesigned, and the Volkswagen Atlas that the Pilot tied with will be all-new for 2027.
Figures in the table below represent the best fuel economy achievable by each model. The table includes hybrids as well as gas powertrains since, in many cases, the hybrids can be had for about the same price as the Pilot. The 2026 Pilot starts at $43,690, compared to the following for its hybrid competitors (all prices include destination charges).
- 2026 Hyundai Palisade Hybrid: $45,760
- 2027 Kia Telluride Hybrid: $48,035
- 2026 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid: $46,705
| Model* | Engine/Drive Type | City MPG | Highway MPG | Combined MPG |
| Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid | Hybrid/FWD | 37 | 34 | 36 |
| Kia Telluride Hybrid | Hybrid/FWD | 36 | 33 | 35 |
| Hyundai Palisade Hybrid | Hybrid/FWD | 33 | 35 | 34 |
| Ford Explorer | Gas-only/rear-wheel drive | 20 | 29 | 24 |
| Nissan Pathfinder | Gas-only/FWD | 21 | 27 | 23 |
| Volkswagen Atlas | Gas-only/FWD | 20 | 27 | 23 |
| Honda Pilot | Gas-only/FWD | 19 | 27 | 22 |
| Chevrolet Traverse | Gas-only/FWD | 20 | 26 | 22 |
*All vehicles model-year 2026 except Telluride (2027)
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