Video: Highlander Vs. Pilot: Which 2017 3-Row SUV Should You Buy?

The Pilot and Highlander we tested were surprisingly similar. They each earn the same top safety scores from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. They both had the same fuel economy at 22 miles per gallon combined. And the price was just $150 different. cars.com's expert reviewers and guest in-market shopper drove the Highlander and Pilot on identical driving loops and assigned scores and categories, including seating, comfort in all three rows, cargo room, visibility, acceleration, ride quality, and much more. The Honda Pilot won our three-row SUV comparison in 2016 and is relatively unchanged since its previous win. The Highlander didn't participate in that test, because the updated 2017 wasn't available at the time. The 2017 Pilot now includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity standard on all trim levels, except the base LX. What we like about the Honda Pilot is that visibility remains a strong point and our judges loved this old-school safety feature of tall windows and little triangle windows in each front door where most other SUVs have a blind spot. Our test SUV also included new-school safety equipment with Honda Sensing, a package that's standard on this Touring trim and includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning. It's not a package that's standard across the board, however. The Pilot's interior is a nice place to be, with less wind and road noise than the Highlander. And this Touring trim level also has a standard rear entertainment system to keep kids entertained with a massive video screen and a number of video and power inputs for a variety of devices. Where you really start to see the difference between the Pilot and the Highlander is once you need access to that third row. With one touch of a button, the second row slides forward and tilts to accommodate passage to the third row. And once you're back there, it is a much more comfortable experience than the Highlander. What we don't like is how the Pilot drove in this configuration. the optional 9-Speed automatic transmission in our test SUV exhibited hesitation while trying to pass, as it took a long time to kick down gears when you needed more power. The 9-Speed comes on higher trim levels of the Pilot, including the Turing, but the lower trim levels have the transmission that we want: The 6-Speed automatic. The touch screen and multimedia system also drew criticism from our judges for having purely touch-sensitive controls and not buttoned dials or knobs. It still fared better than the Highlander, however, because of its inclusion of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. That alleviate some of the touch screen interaction with voice controls. The 2017 Toyota Highlander was mildly updated for 2017 with a new engine and 8-Speed automatic transmission. This is the first time we've tested this updated version against the redesigned Honda Pilot. What we like about the Highlander is the dashboard device-tray, which is a crowd favorite. Toyota made it into a shelf that can fit phones and has a cord-management system to keep charging cables neat. Unlike the Pilot, the Highlander has its forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking standard, and that's on all trim levels. While both of our test SUVs had the safety features, it's optional on the Pilot, but every Highlander gets this technology, which also includes adaptive cruise control and Lane Keep Assist. What we don't like is that the Highlander is clearly the smaller SUV in this test, which showed up in cargo space behind the third row and second and third row seating comfort. Judges complain you sit almost on the floor in the back of the Highlander with your knees up and headroom is severely limited. The captain's chairs didn't offer much support and the opening to get into the third row is very small. Behind the third row, there's just not enough cargo. Judges noted it's hard to see how the small cargo area behind the third row would ever be enough space for a family. Like the Pilot, the touchscreen and multimedia system drew criticism from our review team, mostly from not including the popular smartphone connectivity of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It would be less of an issue if the system were good, but the Highlander screen is low-resolution and the operation isn't very intuitive. Out of 14 judged categories, including safety features and child seat fit, The Pilot won 11 of those categories. The Highlander takes a few wins though, especially in front seat comfort and powertrain performance, where the Highlander's 8-Speed automatic transmission was much more predictable than the Pilot's 9-Speed. They tied in safety features, but the Pilot had the biggest spread in interior quality, second and third row comfort and cargo storage. And for those reasons, if you're shopping between the Highlander and the Pilot, we're gonna lean toward recommending the Pilot.