The 2 latest designs within the mainstream 3-row SUV class are the Honda Pilot and the Mazda CX-90.

You’ve been listening to in regards to the Pilot for a few years, in fact. However a latest redesign has radically modified its character. The 2024 Pilot is boxy in a good-looking means and has off-road expertise earlier Pilots lacked.

Chances are you’ll not have heard of the CX-90. It’s completely new, changing the CX-9 with one thing extra refined and versatile. It’s accessible with a gas-only powertrain frequent to the luxurious lessons or a fuel-saving plug-in hybrid setup.

Let’s see how these two examine.

2024 Honda Pilot

The Honda Pilot has lengthy been a dependable and family-friendly 3-row SUV. However Honda redesigned it from the wheels up late within the 2023 mannequin yr, giving it a brand new persona. It’s nonetheless a terrific household hauler however seems extra rugged and has an off-road-oriented TrailSport mannequin that backs up the look. Costs begin at $37,090.

Honda Pilot Highlights

Cheaper price: Mazda has been remaking itself as a extra upscale automaker, and the CX-90 exhibits it. However so does its price ticket. The bottom mannequin Pilot begins greater than $2,500 beneath the bottom mannequin CX-90. As you progress up the trim ladder, the hole grows. A totally-loaded CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus prices nearly $7,500 greater than the equal Passport Elite.

Rugged SUV character: Each of those can be found with all-wheel drive (AWD) that may get you thru icy climate. However the Pilot is available in a TrailSport version with a suspension arrange for off-road driving, added floor clearance, and grippy all-terrain tires. Mazda has nothing prefer it for the brand new CX-90.

Extra cargo area: We expect the boxy look is good-looking, however that’s subjective. What’s goal? Measurements. The Pilot has nearly 13 cubic toes extra cargo area than the CX-90.

Verify this week’s Honest Buy Value or see the Pilot fashions on the market close to you.

2024 Mazda CX-90

The 2024 Mazda CX-90 is completely new, changing the CX-9 because the flagship of the Mazda showroom. It’s a singular car within the reasonably priced 3-row SUV class, arrange like one thing from a luxurious automaker and accessible in a plug-in hybrid model. Costs begin at $39,595.

Mazda CX-90 Highlights

Luxurious automobile bones: Luxurious automobiles typically have totally different mechanical layouts than the reasonably priced vehicles you is perhaps extra aware of. When it constructed the CX-90, Mazda used a structure frequent to luxurious automobiles. Meaning a turbocharged inline 6-cylinder engine – a design identified for easy energy supply – and an AWD system that sends extra energy to the rear wheels than the entrance until it wants to forestall a slip. It feels smoother and extra poised.

Elegant design: It’s as if Mazda has spies within the design outlets of different automakers. Nearly each automaker bringing out a brand new SUV for the 2024 mannequin yr has leaned into boxy, chunky, rugged design themes. Mazda went the opposite means. The CX-90’s traces say tailor-made and complicated. Exhibiting as much as the get together underdressed is embarrassing. Exhibiting up overdressed is an influence transfer. The CX-90 made the facility transfer.

Elegant inside styling: That dressy theme continues if you open the door. The CX-90’s cabin feels pricier than the standard household SUV. Mild-colored wooden trims with pretty straight grain patterns and dashboard stitching drawn from conventional Japanese bookbinding strategies make it really feel extra thought-about than the Pilot’s cabin.

Verify this week’s Honest Buy Value or see the CX-90 fashions on the market close to you.

Similarities

Simply 5 horsepower separates them. They’ve equivalent warranties, and each get 25 mpg in mixed driving

Conclusion

2024 is an efficient yr for SUV design. The 2 latest entries within the reasonably priced midsize class present it.

The Honda Pilot retains its versatile household nature however brings a good-looking new look and actual off-road chops to the competition. It provides extra cargo area, and is accessible at a cheaper price.

The Mazda CX-90 is making an attempt a wholly totally different strategy. It seems to be extra refined, with elegant Euro-luxe traces and an upscale cabin. Its normal inline-6-cylinder engine and rear-biased AWD system give it a extra refined driving really feel, too. However its value displays its transfer uptown and received’t be value it for some.

Specs