Compare the2024 Honda PilotVS 2024 Kia Sorento Hybrid

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Honda Pilot have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Kia Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

The Honda Pilot 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 Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Pilot deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Pilot’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Sorento Hybrid’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Both the Pilot and the Sorento Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The Honda Pilot achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Sorento Hybrid has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

The Pilot’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Sorento Hybrid runs out after 100,000 miles.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the Pilot for 2 years or 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Sorento Hybrid.

There are over 35 percent more Honda dealers than there are Kia dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Pilot’s warranty.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 5 places higher in reliability than Kia.

The Pilot’s 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 58 more horsepower (285 vs. 227) and 4 lbs.-ft. more torque (262 vs. 258) than the Sorento Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Honda Pilot is faster than the Kia Sorento Hybrid:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Pilot’s fuel efficiency. The Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Pilot has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Honda Pilot, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Sorento Hybrid.

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

The Pilot stops shorter than the Sorento Hybrid:

For better traction, the Pilot has larger standard tires than the Sorento Hybrid (255/50R20 vs. 235/65R17). The Pilot TrailSport’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Sorento Hybrid (265/60R18 vs. 235/65R17).

The Pilot LX/EX-L’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sorento Hybrid’s standard 65 series tires. The Pilot Sport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition’s tires have a lower 50 series profile than the Sorento Hybrid’s optional 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Pilot has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Sorento Hybrid. The Pilot Sport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the Sorento Hybrid.

The Pilot has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

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

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Pilot’s wheelbase is 3 inches longer than on the Sorento Hybrid (113.8 inches vs. 110.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Pilot is 2.7 inches wider in the front and 2.6 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Sorento Hybrid.

The Pilot TrailSport handles at .81 G’s, while the Sorento Hybrid EX pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For greater off-road capability the Pilot has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Sorento Hybrid (7.3 vs. 6.85 inches), allowing the Pilot to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Pilot TrailSport’s minimum ground clearance is 1.45 inches higher than on the Sorento Hybrid (8.3 vs. 6.85 inches).

The front grille of the Pilot uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Pilot uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Pilot offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the Sorento Hybrid can only carry 6.

The Pilot has 53.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Sorento Hybrid (158.4 vs. 105.3).

The Pilot has .2 inches more front headroom, 2.8 inches more front hip room, 2.8 inches more front shoulder room, 1.1 inches more rear headroom, .1 inches more rear legroom, 2.3 inches more rear hip room, 3.6 inches more rear shoulder room, 2.5 inches more third row headroom, 2.9 inches more third row legroom, 2.1 inches more third row hip room and 6.5 inches more third row shoulder room than the Sorento Hybrid.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Pilot’s middle and third row seats recline. The Sorento Hybrid’s third row seats don’t recline.

The Pilot’s cargo area provides more volume than the Sorento Hybrid.

The Pilot’s cargo area is larger than the Sorento Hybrid’s in every dimension:

The Pilot’s minimum standard towing capacity is much higher than the Sorento Hybrid’s (3500 vs. 2000 pounds).

The Pilot Elite/Black Edition has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Pilot’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 Sorento Hybrid’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

On a hot day the Pilot’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Sorento Hybrid can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Pilot EX-L/TrailSport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Sorento Hybrid has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Honda Pilot and the Kia Sorento Hybrid, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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

The Honda Pilot outsold the Kia Sorento by 24% during 2023.