Comparing the 2024 Honda Pilot vs Ford Explorer

Are you in the market for a three-row SUV? There’s a decent number of models to select from, but today, we’re stacking two long-running models against one another to see which one is better. The 2024 Honda Pilot vs 2024 Ford Explorer is the topic of today, so let’s find out which one is worth your money and the time of both you and your family. Given its advantages in everything from passenger space to tech features, we suspect that you’ll be looking for a Honda Pilot for sale soon.

The Better Family Vehicle

The Honda Pilot and Ford Explorer are designed to accommodate both the driver and the passengers. With three rows of seating for both SUVs, the Pilot and Explorer have large passenger volumes and are built for families. Whether it’s households with three or more children, extended family, pets, or carpooling coworkers, the Pilot and Explorer accommodate drivers who rarely find themselves traveling alone.

In order to be the ideal family option, a vehicle not only needs to offer generous measurements for all three rows, meaning nobody is excluded from comfort, but also accommodate everybody’s personal belongings and the occasional long and wide cargo you may need to transport by yourself. We’ll get to cargo space shortly, but for now, let’s discuss what sitting in the Pilot and Explorer is like as both a driver and a passenger.

The interior measurements for the driver and front-row passenger are extremely similar, with only fractions of an inch separating the two vehicles when it comes to headroom. For example, the 2024 Explorer’s front row has 40.7 inches of headroom compared to the 2024 Pilot’s 40.5 inches, which isn’t even a quarter-inch difference. The second row of seats tells a similar story, with an almost identical 40.2 inches of headroom for the Pilot and 40.5 inches for the Explorer. However, the Pilot does provide nearly two inches of additional second-row legroom, with 40.8 inches instead of 39 inches.

What helps SUVs like the Pilot and Explorer stand out from smaller SUVs are the third-row seats. The problem is that the third-row seats in many models are incredibly cramped, meaning that being a third-row passenger in some vehicles is a less-than-enjoyable experience. The Pilot and Explorer don’t see the third-row passengers as extras, so those sitting in the third row don’t have to make such drastic concessions.

Legroom measurements are expectedly lower for the third row than the first and second rows––as is usually the case with three-row SUVs––but the Pilot and Explorer hold up great and provide a comparable 32.5 inches and 32.2 inches of legroom, respectively. The third-row headroom leans even more in favor of the Pilot, with 39.3 inches instead of the 38.9 inches in the Explorer, and the shoulder and hip room tell the real story. With the 2024 Honda Pilot, you get 59.5 inches of third-row shoulder room and 44.6 inches of hip room, compared to the Explorer’s 54.6 inches and 40.9 inches of third-row shoulder and hip room, respectively. All things considered, the Pilot provides a greater total passenger volume of 158.4 cu.ft. as opposed to 152.7 cu.ft. for the Explorer.

Cargo Room in a Nutshell

As you may recall, we mentioned cargo space is also important when it comes to deciding which vehicle is the better choice for your family. Having excellent cargo space can be the difference between the family bringing everything they need along with them on vacation and only packing the bare essentials. You can even fold down the third and second rows of seats for maximum interior cargo space.

Why would you need such expansive cargo space? Often, the times that call for a three-row SUV’s maximum cargo capacity are the ones that are either unforeseen or carefully planned out. For example, you may be shopping and find a deal on a giant 65-inch 4K TV that you don’t want to miss, and having a three-row SUV is the difference between bringing home the TV yourself and paying for delivery services. As for the more planned-out events that call for terrific cargo space, you may be moving to a new house––or even helping a friend move––and having such cargo space means fewer trips or money saved without the need for a U-Haul.

Let’s discuss the cargo space differences between the 2024 Honda Pilot and the 2024 Ford Explorer. You likely appreciate having plenty of cargo space when everyone is along for the ride––the whole family or all of your friends––meaning all three rows of seats are upright. In this case, the 2024 Ford Explorer has 18.2 cu.ft. of space, while the Pilot has 21.8 cu.ft. This difference of nearly 20% is a large bonus in favor of Honda’s SUV, especially combined with the fact that third-row passengers have far better head, leg, shoulder, and hip room.

You might be buying the Pilot or Explorer and not always need that third row of seats. When you fold the third row down, you get 59.5 cu.ft. of space with the Pilot, while the Explorer provides only 47.9 cu.ft., which means Honda’s SUV will provide you with 24% more cargo space than Ford’s while you still have up to five people in your car––or four, if you opt for captain’s chairs. Lastly, let’s say that a spontaneous shopping trip comes up or you’re planning to utilize your SUV’s maximum cargo space. Folding down both the second and third rows of the 2024 Pilot reveals an astounding 111.8 cu.ft. of space, while the Ford Explorer crumbles under pressure with a rather underwhelming 87.8 cu.ft.

One Step Forward, One Step Back

One of the issues of the 2024 Ford Explorer is its reliance on old technology. Notably, the 2024 Ford Explorer utilizes a SYNC 3 infotainment center, regardless of which trim you buy. Why is this a problem, you ask? Compared to the rest of the Ford lineup, the fact the 2024 Explorer uses SYNC 3 instead of SYNC 4 means it’s woefully outdated for a vehicle with a modern price tag. Does this affect functionality? Yes, it does.

With SYNC 3, as opposed to a newer system, the 2024 Explorer is missing out on features the 2024 Pilot embraces, like the available wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Instead, the 2024 Explorer relies on the traditional tethered experience, which creates a mismatch because if you wish to utilize the functionality of your infotainment center by activating either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, it makes the available wireless charging pad redundant since you’ll be plugging your phone into the USB port anyway. With the Pilot, you can have your cake and eat it too by using wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to get the full effect of the available wireless charging pad you paid your hard-earned money for.

Pilot Your Future Towards Greatness

The 2024 Honda Pilot and 2024 Ford Explorer are two vehicles that aren’t afraid to show what they’re capable of, so which one should you buy? If you’re buying a three-row SUV because that third row is important to you and you genuinely care about your family having an equally enjoyable ride as you, the Pilot is the way to go, and in some regards, it isn’t even close. Ultimately, the 2024 Explorer’s aging technology and less cargo space, among other things, are areas that hurt it the most, meaning the Pilot is the all-around better choice.