Compare the2023 Infiniti QX60VS 2022 Honda Pilot

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Infiniti QX60 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 its second-row seat belts.

The QX60 Sensory/Autograph’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Pilot doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Infiniti QX60 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Honda Pilot doesn’t offer height-adjustable 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 QX60 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 Infiniti QX60 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 QX60 Autograph 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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The QX60 has standard Rear Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Pilot doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The QX60 Luxe/Sensory/Autograph has a standard Around View® Monitor 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 QX60 Luxe/Sensory/Autograph’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 QX60 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Infiniti QX60 is much safer than the Pilot:

	QX60	Pilot
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	125	206
Neck Tension	268 lbs.	335 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Shoulder Deflection	.63 in	.67 in
Torso Max Deflection	.94 in	1.22 in
Torso Deflection Rate	5 MPH	5 MPH
Pelvis Force	1160 lbs.	1339 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	65	206
Neck Tension	89 lbs.	178 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	.55 in	.94 in
Shoulder Force	178 lbs.	335 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.75 in	2.05 in
Torso Deflection Rate	4 MPH	12 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	580 lbs.	759 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the QX60 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Pilot last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.

Warranty

The QX60 comes with a full 4-year/60,000-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 24,000 miles sooner.

Infiniti’s powertrain warranty covers the QX60 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.

The QX60’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Pilot’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Infiniti pays for scheduled maintenance on the QX60 for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Infiniti will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Honda doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Pilot.

Reliability

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the QX60’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the Pilot’s camshafts. If the Pilot’s belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Infiniti vehicles are more reliable than Honda With 2 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Infiniti higher than Honda.

Engine

The QX60’s 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 15 more horsepower (295 vs. 280) and 8 lbs.-ft. more torque (270 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the QX60’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Pilot:

	QX60	Pilot
Front Rotors	13.8 inches	12.6 inches

The QX60’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Pilot are solid, not vented.

The QX60 stops much shorter than the Pilot:

	QX60	Pilot
70 to 0 MPH	171 feet	183 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	150 feet	153 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the QX60 has larger tires than the Pilot (255/50R20 vs. 245/60R18).

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the QX60’s wheelbase is 3.2 inches longer than on the Pilot (114.2 inches vs. 111 inches).

The QX60 Autograph AWD handles at .85 G’s, while the Pilot Elite 4WD pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the QX60’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Pilot’s (38.7 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

Passenger Space

The QX60 has 1.3 inches more front headroom, 1.2 inches more front legroom and .6 inches more third row hip room than the Pilot.

Cargo Capacity

Pressing a button automatically raises the QX60 Sensory/Autograph’s third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Pilot doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Honda Pilot is limited to 5000 pounds. The QX60 offers up to a 6000 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The QX60 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 Infiniti service is better than Honda. J.D. Power ranks Infiniti 9th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 27% lower rating, Honda is ranked 25th.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Pilot, the QX60 Sensory/Autograph has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster), outside mirror angle, climate settings and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The QX60 (except Pure) offers an available heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction 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 QX60’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Pilot’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The power windows standard on both the QX60 and the Pilot have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the QX60 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.

The QX60’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 QX60’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Pilot’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the QX60 (except Pure) offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Pilot doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The QX60’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.

The QX60 has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Pilot Elite.

The QX60 Sensory/Autograph has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Pilot.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Infiniti QX60 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Pilot SE/Elite//Black Edition offers wireless charging.

Recommendations

J.D. Power and Associates rated the QX60 first among midsize premium suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Pilot isn’t in the top three.