Compare the2024 Cadillac XT6VS 2022 Honda Pilot

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

Safety

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The XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional 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.

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 XT6 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 Cadillac XT6 has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps 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 XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport offers optional Reverse 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.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Pilot doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport offers an optional 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 XT6 and the Pilot have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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, 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 Cadillac XT6 is safer than the Honda Pilot:

	XT6	Pilot
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	25%	28%
Neck Stress	187 lbs.	189 lbs.
Neck Compression	28 lbs.	46 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.6 inches
Neck Compression	71 lbs.	478 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	9/6 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 Cadillac XT6 is safer than the Honda Pilot:

	XT6	Pilot
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	98	109
Hip Force	255 lbs.	269 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	180	233
Spine Acceleration	41 G’s	42 G’s
Hip Force	249 lbs.	304 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	15 inches
HIC	292	406
Spine Acceleration	39 G’s	45 G’s
Hip Force	666 lbs.	838 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

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 XT6 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Pilot last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.

Warranty

The XT6 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Pilot’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the XT6 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 XT6’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Pilot’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the XT6’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.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the XT6 has a standard 220-amp alternator (155-amp - XT6 V6 and 170 optional). The Pilot’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the XT6 first among upper midsize premium suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Pilot isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in initial quality. With 20 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is rated lower.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in long-term dependability. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Honda is rated below average.

Engine

The XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 30 more horsepower (310 vs. 280) and 9 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the XT6 gets better mileage than the Pilot:

			MPG
XT6
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/27 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/26 hwy
Pilot
	FWD	3.5 SOHC V6	20 city/27 hwy
	AWD	3.5 SOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy

The XT6 AWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Pilot (22 vs. 19.5 gallons).

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Cadillac XT6 higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Honda Pilot (3). This means the XT6 produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Pilot every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The XT6’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 XT6 stops much shorter than the Pilot:

	XT6	Pilot
70 to 0 MPH	171 feet	183 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	134 feet	136 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	137 feet	153 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Pilot (265/45R21 vs. 245/60R18).

The XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Pilot SE/Touring/Elite/Black Edition’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport offers optional 21-inch wheels. The Pilot’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Cadillac XT6’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.

Suspension and Handling

The XT6 offers an optional 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.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the XT6’s wheelbase is 1.7 inches longer than on the Pilot (112.7 inches vs. 111 inches).

The XT6 Sport AWD handles at .88 G’s, while the Pilot Elite 4WD pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The XT6 Sport AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Pilot Elite 4WD (27.2 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the XT6’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Pilot’s (38.7 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

Chassis

The front grille of the XT6 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.

Passenger Space

The XT6 has .3 inches more front headroom, .3 inches more front legroom and .7 inches more rear legroom than the Pilot.

Cargo Capacity

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the XT6’s second row seats and pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Pilot doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Servicing Ease

The XT6 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 Cadillac service is better than Honda. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac second in service department satisfaction. With a 45% lower rating, Honda is ranked 25th.

Ergonomics

The XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer 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 XT6’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 XT6 and the Pilot have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the XT6 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 XT6’s front and rear power windows all lower with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Pilot’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the XT6 has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Pilot doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The XT6’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 XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional Automatic Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting and stopping automatically, with the driver only responsible for switching from reverse to drive. The Pilot doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the XT6 is less expensive to operate than the Pilot because typical repairs cost much less on the XT6 than the Pilot, including $16 less for a water pump, $97 less for a starter, $270 less for a fuel pump and $50 less for front struts.