Compare the2024 Kia EV9VS 2024 Honda Pilot

Both the EV9 and Pilot have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The EV9 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Pilot’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The EV9 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.

The EV9 has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. Only the Pilot Sport/EX-L/TrailSport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the EV9 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Only the Pilot Sport/EX-L/TrailSport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition offers Cross Traffic Monitor and the Pilot’s Cross Traffic Monitor does not include automatic braking.

Both the EV9 and the Pilot have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Kia EV9 weighs 408 to 1770 pounds more than the Honda Pilot. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The EV9 comes with a full 5-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 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the EV9 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Honda covers the Pilot. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Pilot ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia 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 statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 85 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 24th.

The EV9 Land/Wind’s standard electric motors produces 94 more horsepower (379 vs. 285) and 181 lbs.-ft. more torque (443 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 DOHC V6. The EV9 GT-Line’s standard electric motors produces 94 more horsepower (379 vs. 285) and 254 lbs.-ft. more torque (516 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the EV9 GT-Line electric motors is faster than the Honda Pilot:

On the EPA test cycle the EV9 gets better mileage than the Pilot:

The EV9 can travel with zero emissions for 230 to 304 miles (dependent on model). The Pilot can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the EV9’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Pilot doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Kia EV9 higher (10 out of 10) than the Honda Pilot (7). This means the EV9 produces up to 11.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Pilot every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the EV9’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Pilot:

The EV9 stops shorter than the Pilot:

For better traction, the EV9 GT-Line’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Pilot (285/45R21 vs. 265/60R18).

The EV9 GT-Line’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Pilot Sport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the EV9 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Pilot LX/EX-L. The EV9 GT-Line’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Pilot Sport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition.

The EV9 offers an optional 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 EV9 has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Pilot doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The EV9’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Pilot doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the EV9’s wheelbase is 8.2 inches longer than on the Pilot (122 inches vs. 113.8 inches).

The EV9 GT-Line AWD handles at .86 G’s, while the Pilot Elite pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The EV9 GT-Line AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.5 seconds quicker than the Pilot TrailSport (26.4 seconds @ .69 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .66 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the EV9 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Pilot (7.8 vs. 7.3 inches), allowing the EV9 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The EV9 has .7 inches more front headroom, .4 inches more front legroom, 1 inch more front hip room, 2 inches more rear legroom, .5 inches more rear hip room and .2 inches more third row headroom than the Pilot.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the EV9’s optional second and third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Pilot doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The EV9 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 EV9’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 manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The EV9’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Honda only offers heated mirrors on the Pilot EX-L/TrailSport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition.

The EV9 has standard front air conditioned seats and the EV9 Land/GT-Line also has them in the second row. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The Pilot doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The EV9 GT-Line 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 Hyundai Palisade has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Pilot EX-L/TrailSport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition offers wireless charging.

The EV9 (except Light/Wind)’s optional Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Pilot doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The EV9 was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2024. The Pilot hasn’t been picked since 2007.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the EV9 as the 2024 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Pilot has never been chosen.