For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Ford Explorer 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 Explorer 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 Ford Explorer 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.
The Explorer has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Pilot doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Explorer (except Base/XLT/Limited/Timberline) offers an optional Reverse Brake Assist 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.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Explorer 4WD’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Pilot doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The Explorer (except Base/XLT) offers an optional 360-Degree 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.
The Explorer’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 Explorer and the Pilot have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Ford Explorer is safer than the Honda Pilot:
|
Explorer |
Pilot |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
125 |
149 |
Neck Injury Risk |
26.3% |
28% |
Neck Stress |
167 lbs. |
189 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
26 lbs. |
46 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
29.2% |
35% |
Neck Compression |
129 lbs. |
478 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
380/405 lbs. |
478/436 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Explorer is safer than the Honda Pilot:
|
Explorer |
Pilot |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
65 |
109 |
Hip Force |
224 lbs. |
269 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
86 |
233 |
Spine Acceleration |
38 G’s |
42 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
15 inches |
HIC |
288 |
406 |
Spine Acceleration |
39 G’s |
45 G’s |
Hip Force |
573 lbs. |
838 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Explorer is 1.3% to 2.8% less likely to roll over than the Pilot.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Explorer its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2021, a rating granted to only 74 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Pilot last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Pick” for 2019.