Trims and Powertrain

There are five trim levels of the ’22 Pilot: the EX-L, Special Edition, Touring, Elite, and Black Edition. A 3.5-liter V-6 engine making 280 horsepower and 262 lb.-ft. of torque powers all trims. Front-wheel drive (FWD) is standard on the EX-L, Special Edition, and Touring. All-wheel drive (AWD) is available on these trims and standard on the Elite and Black Edition. FWD Pilots have an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 20 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway. For AWD drivetrains, that changes to 19 city/26 highway.

Sport

The ’22 Pilot’s eight-passenger Sport trim has a lot more than the average base trim. On the outside, you’ll find LED fog lights, heated side mirrors with turn-signal indicators, roof rails, and keyless entry. Thanks to the standard remote start system, you can warm or cool the vehicle before you even set foot inside. Heated front seats, three-zone automatic climate control system, and traction-enhancing Snow drive mode (with AWD, Sand and Mud modes are added) are some of its other standard features that help in harsh weather. The driver’s seat is power-adjustable, and the second-row bench has a convenient one-touch fold function while the third-row can be manually split 60/40. There’s plenty of space for passengers and stuff, and a hidden storage compartment under the cargo-area floor will keep valuables out of sight.

Other helpful features in the Sport are 15 cup holders, some 12-volt power outlets, a USB/smartphone audio interface, and a USB charging port. The infotainment system gets an 8-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio streaming, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, HondaLink remote services, hands-free text messaging, SiriusXM radio, and a seven-speaker audio system. The Sport also gets the base package of Honda Sensing, containing forward collision warning, collision mitigation braking, road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, a blind-spot information system with rear cross-traffic alert, and automatic high beams.

EX-L

While the EX-L doesn’t get roof rails, it adds some more deluxe features, such as leather seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a moonroof, a power tailgate, and reverse gear tilt-down side mirrors with position memory. The driver’s seat gets position memory, and the front passenger’s seat is power-adjustable. Among the other upgrades are two additional USB charging ports, an auto-dimming rearview mirror with HomeLink, and second-row sunshades.

Special Edition

The Special Edition is equipped much like the EX-L, but with a hands-free tailgate and a wireless phone charger.

TrailSport

The all-new TrailSport is geared towards the most adventurous drivers, showing off a more aggressive look with its rugged fender flares and beefier tires. It comes with all-season floor mats, and its infotainment system is augmented with integrated navigation and voice recognition. The tailgate reverts to the power version without hands-free operation.

Touring

The Touring doesn’t have the wireless phone charger or all-season floor mats, but it returns the hands-free liftgate and gains LED headlights, nice chrome door handles and silver roof rails, and front and rear parking sensors. Its beverage holders are illuminated, and there are front-row courtesy door lights and blue ambient interior lighting for a more upscale ride. The Pilot is one of the most family-oriented models in Honda’s lineup, and this deluxe trim has a rear entertainment system and heated outboard second-row seats (heated and perforated second-row captain’s chairs are available, reducing capacity to seven). An in-car PA system lets you communicate with occupants in the third row, and there’s a household-style 115-volt power outlet for convenience. The Touring trim’s infotainment system moves up to a superior 10-speaker sound system, HondaLink subscription services, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and multi-zone audio.

Elite

The Elite truly lives up to its name as it reinstalls the wireless charger and gets standard captain’s chairs. Its other standard fare includes rain-sensing windshield wipers, power-folding and auto-dimming side mirrors, a panoramic glass roof, front-row LED map lights, a heated steering wheel, and heated and ventilated front seats.

Black Edition

The final Black Edition trim flaunts a sleek-looking blacked-out exterior and trades the blue ambient interior lighting for red. Aside from that, it’s the same as the Elite in terms of default equipment.

Standard Equipment

The base EX-L includes 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a power sunroof, heated side mirrors, a power liftgate, proximity key entry with push-button ignition, remote start, tri-zone automatic climate control, leather seats, driver’s seat memory settings, heated power front seats, a 10-way power driver’s seat, a four-way power front passenger seat, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, second-row sunshades, one-touch folding second-row seats, 60/40-split folding third-row seats, and the Honda Sensing suite of advanced driver aids.

The Special Edition earns its name with 20-inch black-finish wheels, black exterior trim and accents, black roof rails, and a hands-free liftgate. The Touring adds to the EX-L’s features with sound-reducing glass, ambient interior lighting, and heated second-row seats. The Touring can be ordered with perforated and heated second-row captain’s chairs instead of the bench seat, which adds comfort but reduces seating capacity to seven. The Elite comes standard with the captain’s chairs and adds auto-dimming and power-folding side mirrors, automatic wipers, perforated leather, a panoramic sunroof, and ventilated front seats. The Black Edition is equipped similarly to the Elite but with black exterior accents and a black and red interior.

Safety and Technology

As mentioned, the Honda Sensing package of advanced driver’s aid technologies is standard on all 2022 Pilots. The base suite consists of forward collision warning, collision mitigation, road departure mitigation, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, a blind-spot information system with a cross-traffic monitor, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high-beam headlights. The Touring and above also receive front and rear parking sensors.

The Pilot’s base infotainment system has an 8-inch color LCD screen, a seven-speaker audio system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, SiriusXM satellite radio, Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio streaming capability, access to HondaLink telematics for emergency help and diagnostics, SMS text messaging, and four USB ports (two each in the front and second rows). The Touring and higher trims get a navigation system, a 115-volt power outlet, a 590-watt premium audio system, ten speakers, a Wi-Fi hotspot; they also get a cabin intercom and a rear entertainment system with a Blu-Ray player, a 10.2-inch screen, and two sets of wireless headphones. Wireless device charging is standard on the Special Edition, Elite, and Black Edition trims as well.