(May 20, 2015) The all-new 2016 Honda Pilot SUV, with seating up to eight passengers, joins the Honda CR-V and all-new HR-V as the flagship in an expanded lineup of Honda SUVs. It is the third generation of Honda's popular three-row SUV to be designed, developed and manufactured in America.

The new Pilot was designed and developed by Honda R&D Americas in Los Angeles and Ohio, and is manufactured exclusively by Honda Mfg. Alabama in Lincoln, Ala.

The new Pilot will go on sale nationwide this summer.

Since its arrival in 2003 as the first three-row, mainstream SUV to be developed on a car-like unit-body platform, the Pilot has helped set industry standards for fuel efficiency, spacious and thoughtful interior packaging, safety performance, and dynamic handling performance in the midsize SUV segment.

American consumers have responded by purchasing more than 1.4 million Pilots over the past 12 years. Pilot also ties the CR-V in having the highest brand loyalty of any Honda model, with approximately 63 percent of Pilot buyers returning to purchase another Honda vehicle.

Reengineered from the ground up, virtually every aspect of the 2016 Pilot has been thoroughly redesigned to better accommodate the needs of all its occupants — the driver and all passengers.

The 2016 Pilot receives a new engine from Honda's EarthDreams Technology powertrain series — a direct-injected 3.5-liter SOHC i-VTEC V-6 engine with Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) — along with the available two new advanced transmissions (including a 9-speed) and a class-defining all-new intelligent variable torque management (i-VTM4) AWD system with Intelligent Traction Management and torque vectoring capability.

Together, these features make this the most powerful, refined and capable Pilot that Honda has ever offered.



The new V-6 engine's peak output of 280 horsepower and 262 lb.-ft. of torque is up 30 horsepower and 9 lb.-ft. over the previous model. The engine is matched to a choice of two new advanced transmissions — a Pilot-first 6-speed automatic transmission or, on upper trims, a Honda-first 9-speed automatic transmission.

These new powertrains combine with a new, lighter yet more rigid unit-body and aerodynamically efficient body and chassis designs that result in class-leading EPA fuel economy ratings topping out at 20/27/23 mpg (city/highway/combined) for two-wheel-drive models and 19/26/22 mpg for all-wheel-drive models.

The new Pilot also moves to the top of the class in safety performance with the most comprehensive suite of Honda Sensing advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies ever offered on a Honda vehicle. Furthermore, the 2016 Pilot adopts the next generation of Honda's Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure along with a new "3-bone" underbody frame design and new hot-stamped ultra-high strength steel door rings.

Taken together, these engineering features and technologies deliver major gains to the Pilot's collision avoidance and collision protection capabilities, as it targets the highest available U.S. government (NCAP) and IIHS safety ratings.

The all-new design sports a modern, sleek form incorporating new premium features, including standard LED taillights, and available features such as LED projector headlights, LED daytime running lights, 20-inch wheels and first-ever panoramic glass roof.

The premium quality of the new Pilot carries over to the interior, where designers have applied high quality, soft-touch materials throughout the cabin and added thoughtful details such as LED map lighting. Additional high-end amenities include a standard 4.2-inch color display, available heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel and heated second-row seats. For the first time, the top-of-the-line Elite trim includes second-row captain's chairs, providing for easy walk through between the second and third rows for a 7-passenger configuration, in addition to the standard second-row three-person 60/40 split seat for 8-passenger seating capacity.

The Pilot's available new Intelligent VTM4 (i-VTM4) is the most sophisticated and technologically advanced all-wheel-drive system offered in a mainstream, three-row SUV. This more capable system progressively distributes optimum torque between the front and rear axles and, for the first time ever in a Honda vehicle, dynamically distributes engine torque between the left and right rear wheels.

Benefits include superior all-weather handling and neutral, accurate steering under power that is more effective than front-drive, rear-drive or conventional all-wheel-drive systems.