Compare the2023 Lexus GXVS 2022 Honda Pilot

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Lexus GX 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 GX’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 Lexus GX 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 GX 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 Lexus GX 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 GX has standard Active Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Pilot doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the GX. But it costs extra on the Pilot.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the GX’s standard Downhill Assist Control allows you to creep down safely. The Pilot doesn’t offer Downhill Assist Control.

The GX (except Base/Premium) offers an optional Panoramic 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 GX’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 GX and the Pilot have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, 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 and rear cross-path warning.

The Lexus GX weighs 805 to 1151 pounds more than the Honda Pilot. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Lexus GX has a better fatality history. The GX was involved in fatal accidents at a rate 9.9% lower per vehicle registered than the Pilot, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Warranty

The GX 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.

Lexus’ powertrain warranty covers the GX 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 GX’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Pilot’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

The Pilot’s redline is at 6900 RPM, which causes more engine wear, and a greater chance of a catastrophic engine failure. The GX has a 5800 RPM redline.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the GX’s reliability 47 points higher than the Pilot.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the GX second among midsize premium suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Pilot isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Lexus vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Lexus above average in initial quality. With 26 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Lexus vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Lexus above average in long-term dependability. With 33 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Honda is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Lexus vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Lexus third in overall reliability. Honda is ranked fifth.

Engine

The GX’s 4.6 DOHC V8 produces 21 more horsepower (301 vs. 280) and 67 lbs.-ft. more torque (329 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

Fuel Economy and Range

The GX has 3.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Pilot (23 vs. 19.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	GX	Pilot
Front Rotors	13.3 inches	12.6 inches

The GX’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 GX stops much shorter than the Pilot:

	GX	Pilot
70 to 0 MPH	176 feet	183 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	117 feet	128 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	143 feet	153 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the GX has larger tires than the Pilot (265/60R18 vs. 245/60R18).

The Lexus GX’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.

The GX has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Pilot; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

The GX has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Pilot’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The GX has active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Pilot doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The GX offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Pilot’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The GX 460 Luxury has a standard automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Pilot doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The GX’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (52% to 48%) than the Pilot’s (56.1% to 43.9%). This gives the GX more stable handling and braking.

For greater off-road capability the GX has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Pilot (8.1 vs. 7.3 inches), allowing the GX to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The GX is 4.4 inches shorter than the Pilot, making the GX easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

As tested by Car and Driver while under full throttle, the interior of the GX is quieter than the Pilot Elite 4WD (73 vs. 78 dB).

Passenger Space

The GX has .8 inches more front legroom and .5 inches more rear headroom than the Pilot.

Cargo Capacity

Pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the GX’s (except Base/Black Line) optional third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Pilot doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The GX’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the right swing out door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The Pilot’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

Towing

The GX’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Pilot’s (6500 vs. 3500 pounds).

Servicing Ease

The GX 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 engine in the GX is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Pilot. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because there are no rear spark plugs and the accessory belts are in front.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Lexus service is better than Honda. J.D. Power ranks Lexus first in service department satisfaction. With a 62% lower rating, Honda is ranked 25th.

Ergonomics

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

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The GX offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Pilot doesn’t offer headlight washers.

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

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the GX is less expensive to operate than the Pilot because typical repairs cost less on the GX than the Pilot, including $62 less for a water pump, $21 less for front brake pads, $32 less for a fuel pump and $99 less for front struts.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Lexus GX and the Honda Pilot, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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