Compare the2018 Chevrolet TraverseVS 2017 Honda Pilot

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Traverse are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Pilot doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Traverse has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Pilot doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Traverse LT Leather/RS/Premier/High Country has a standard Surround Vision to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Pilot only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Traverse and the Pilot have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front-wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all-wheel drive, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The Traverse’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Pilot’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Chevrolet pays for scheduled maintenance on the Traverse for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Chevrolet will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance (up to 2 oil changes). Honda doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Pilot.

There are almost 3 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Honda dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Traverse’s warranty.

The camshafts in the Traverse’s engine are driven by a hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs. The Pilot’s camshafts are driven by a rubber belt that needs periodic replacement. If the Pilot’s cam drive belt breaks the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Traverse has a standard 170-amp alternator (155-amp - Traverse RS). The Pilot’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2017 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet 6th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 17 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 20th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2016 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet 6th in reliability, above the industry average. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 7th.

The Traverse RS’ standard 2.0 turbo 4 cyl. produces 33 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 SOHC V6. The Traverse’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 30 more horsepower (310 vs. 280) and 4 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

Regardless of its engine, the Traverse’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. (Start/Stop isn’t accounted in present EPA fuel mileage tests.) Honda only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Pilot Touring/Elite.

For better traction, the Traverse has larger tires than the Pilot (255/65R18 vs. 245/60R18).

The Chevrolet Traverse’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Honda Pilot only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Traverse’s wheelbase is 9.9 inches longer than on the Pilot (120.9 inches vs. 111 inches).

The front grille of the Traverse uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Pilot doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Traverse has 1.2 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more front shoulder room, .2 inches more rear shoulder room, 1.6 inches more third row legroom and 3.9 inches more third row hip room than the Pilot.

The Traverse’s cargo area provides more volume than the Pilot.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the Traverse High Country’s third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Pilot doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Traverse Premier/High Country’s cargo door can be opened just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Pilot doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its cargo door, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Traverse uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Pilot uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The power windows standard on both the Traverse and the Pilot have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Traverse is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Pilot prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Traverse LS/LT/RS/Premier/High Country’s available exterior keypad. The Pilot doesn’t offer an exterior keypad entry system.

The Traverse has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Pilot has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the EX/EX-L/Touring/Elite.

The Traverse’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Honda only offers heated mirrors on the Pilot AWD EX/EX-L/Touring/Elite.

The Traverse’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Pilot’s power mirror controls are on the dash, hidden behind the steering wheel, where they are awkward to manipulate.

The Traverse Premier/High Country has standard automatic dimming rear and side view mirrors which automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Pilot offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Traverse has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Pilot EX/EX-L/Touring/Elite.

Insurance will cost less for the Traverse owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Traverse will cost $265 less than the Pilot over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Traverse is less expensive to operate than the Pilot because typical repairs cost less on the Traverse than the Pilot, including $52 less for a water pump, $34 less for an alternator, $135 less for a starter and $99 less for a power steering pump.