Looking for an SUV that marries everyday functionality with ultimate excitement? The 2023 Honda Pilot and 2023 Toyota Highlander are two SUVs with the powerful performance and versatile style you deserve for your active life—so, how should you choose?

Our team at Clinton Honda has the intel for our friends around Annandale, Clinton, and Somerville, New Jersey, and Easton, Pennsylvania! Keep reading this Honda Pilot vs. Toyota Highlander comparison for what you need to know about performance, interior features, and cargo room.

Honda Pilot vs Toyota Highlander: Power to Explore

You love to get moving and experience new things, so the Honda Pilot or Toyota Highlander could be the adventure companion you need. Feel free to run wild as you embark on weekend getaways and family vacations.

Both models offer available all-wheel drive for those looking for increased traction, as well as 5,000 pounds of towing capacity when properly equipped. You can use this towing capacity to break out your kayaks, camping trailer, or family fishing boat.

Do you love to feel the wind whip your hair on the highway? After a work week, does a long drive help you unwind? The Toyota Highlander offers a standard 265 horsepower to help you let off some steam, but the Honda Pilot offers a bit more: 285 standard horsepower. The Pilot puts the “joy” in your ride!

Honda Pilot vs Toyota Highlander: What’s Inside

What should you expect to find inside your potential SUV? Both models make for fun weekend driving with standard Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ compatibility, so you can play your happy music from your compatible device.

While you’re inside the cabin, you can enjoy these features, offered with both models:

• Tri-zone automatic climate control
• Bluetooth® streaming audio
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel
• Available leather-trimmed seating

Leather details will add comfort and refinement, and with tri-zone automatic climate control coming standard, you can rest comfortably as you catch your breath after an early morning run or post-work bike ride.

One difference, however, is that only the Honda Pilot has standard heated front seats—there to warm you up in the winter or soothe your muscles after a workout. You’ll need a higher trim level to enjoy this feature in the Toyota Highlander.

Honda Pilot vs Toyota Highlander: Flexible Cargo Space

Your SUV needs space to fit your favorite people as well as your favorite equipment because, while you love to be social, you also love to enjoy your solitude in nature now and again. With seating for up to eight, the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander can accommodate your workout partners, fun-loving family, or co-workers from the office carpool.

So, when you’re off on the family camping trip or planning to visit your best friend from school, where will you fit that tent or suitcase set? Each of these rides comes standard with fold-down second-row seats to maximize your space when necessary. Store your gear with the following cargo capacities:

• Toyota Highlander (behind front/second/third row): 84.3/48.4/16.0 cubic feet of cargo volume
• Honda Pilot (behind front/second/third row): 87.0/48.5/18.6 cubic feet of cargo volume

Both rides offer versatile interior space, but if you want maximum cargo volume for those extra-large grocery hauls or new gym equipment, the Honda Pilot is the way to go.

Honda Pilot vs Toyota Highlander: Our Verdict