Compare the2022 Acura MDXVS 2021 Honda Pilot

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Acura MDX have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Honda Pilot doesn’t offer pretensioners for the middle seat belts.

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 MDX 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 Acura MDX has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Pilot doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The MDX offers an optional Low-Speed Braking Control that use rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Pilot doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The MDX Advance has a standard Surround-View Camera 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.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the MDX has a standard cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Pilot EX/EX-L/SE/Touring/Elite/Black Edition has a cross-path warning system.

The MDX’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Pilot doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the MDX and the Pilot have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

The MDX comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Pilot’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Acura’s powertrain warranty covers the MDX 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Honda covers the Pilot. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Pilot ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Acura vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Acura 10th in reliability, above the industry average. With 37 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 27th.

The MDX’s 3.5 SOHC V6 produces 10 more horsepower (290 vs. 280) and 5 lbs.-ft. more torque (267 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Acura MDX, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a nine-speed automatic is available for the Pilot.

For better stopping power the MDX’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Pilot:

For better traction, the MDX has larger tires than the Pilot (255/55R19 vs. 245/60R18).

The MDX’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Pilot LX/EX/EX-L’s standard 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the MDX has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Pilot LX/EX/EX-L.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the MDX’s wheelbase is 2.8 inches longer than on the Pilot (113.8 inches vs. 111 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the MDX is 1.4 inches wider in the front and 1.4 inches wider in the rear than on the Pilot.

The MDX has .7 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more front hip room, .1 inches more rear legroom and .5 inches more rear hip room than the Pilot.

The MDX 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.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Acura service is better than Honda. J.D. Power ranks Acura 6th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 21% lower rating, Honda is ranked 20th.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Pilot EX-L/SE/Touring/Elite/Black Edition, the MDX offers an optional passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The MDX offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and other key instrumentation readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Pilot doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The MDX’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Pilot’s parking brake has to released manually.

The MDX’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Pilot’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

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

The MDX’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Pilot’s power mirror controls are on the dash where they are possibly hidden by the steering wheel and are awkward to manipulate.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Acura MDX has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Pilot SE/Elite//Black Edition offers wireless charging.