Compare the2024 Genesis GV80VS 2024 Honda Pilot

Both the GV80 and Pilot have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The GV80 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 GV80 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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the GV80. But it costs extra on the Pilot.

The GV80 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 GV80 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist and automatically engage the brakes. 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 GV80 and the Pilot have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front 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 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the GV80 is much safer than the Pilot:

The Genesis GV80 (built after August 2023) has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and an “Acceptable” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Pilot is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

The GV80 comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes free 24-hour roadside assistance. The Pilot’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Genesis’ powertrain warranty covers the GV80 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.

The GV80’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Pilot’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Genesis pays for scheduled maintenance on the GV80 for 1 year and 12000 miles longer than Honda pays for maintenance for the Pilot (3/36,000 vs. 2/24,000).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Genesis vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Genesis above average in initial quality. With 14 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 Genesis vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Genesis fourth in reliability, above the industry average. With 75 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 24th.

The GV80 2.5T’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 15 more horsepower (300 vs. 285) and 49 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 DOHC V6. The GV80 3.5T’s standard 3.5 turbo V6 produces 90 more horsepower (375 vs. 285) and 129 lbs.-ft. more torque (391 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 DOHC V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the Genesis GV80 is faster than the Honda Pilot:

On the EPA test cycle the GV80 2.5T 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder gets better fuel mileage than the Pilot TrailSport 4WD (20 city/24 hwy vs. 18 city/23 hwy).

The GV80 has 2.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Pilot (21.1 vs. 18.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the GV80’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Pilot:

The GV80’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 GV80 stops much shorter than the Pilot:

For better traction, the GV80 has larger tires than the Pilot (265/40R22 vs. 255/50R20).

The GV80’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Pilot LX/EX-L’s standard 60 series tires. The GV80’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Pilot Sport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the GV80 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Pilot LX/EX-L. The GV80’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Pilot Sport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition.

The GV80 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 GV80 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.

The GV80 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 GV80 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.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the GV80’s wheelbase is 2.5 inches longer than on the Pilot (116.3 inches vs. 113.8 inches).

The GV80’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (51% to 49%) than the Pilot’s (55.3% to 44.7%). This gives the GV80 more stable handling and braking.

The GV80 Prestige handles at .86 G’s, while the Pilot Elite pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The GV80 Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Pilot TrailSport (26.9 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .66 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the GV80 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Pilot (8.1 vs. 7.3 inches), allowing the GV80 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The GV80 is 5.2 inches shorter than the Pilot, making the GV80 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the GV80 Prestige is quieter than the Pilot Elite:

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the GV80 easier. The GV80’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 31.7 inches, while the Pilot’s liftover is 33.2 inches.

Pressing a button automatically lowers the GV80’s second row seats and pressing a button automatically lowers or raises the third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Pilot doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The GV80’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Pilot’s (6000 vs. 3500 pounds).

The GV80 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 GV80 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.

If the windows are left open on the GV80 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Pilot can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The GV80’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 GV80’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.

Optional air conditioned front and second row seats keep the GV80’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The Pilot doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The GV80 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 TrailSport/Elite/Black Edition.

The GV80 offers optional 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 Cadillac XT6 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console and one for the rear passengers. Only the Pilot EX-L/TrailSport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition offers wireless charging.

The GV80’s optional Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Optional 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 GV80 was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2021. The Pilot hasn’t been picked since 2007.