Compare the2025 Honda PilotVS 2024 Mercedes GLB

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 Pilot are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The GLB doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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 GLB 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 GLB’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Pilot EX-L/TrailSport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition has a standard Low-Speed Braking Control that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The GLB doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

The Pilot’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLB.

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

The Honda Pilot weighs 415 to 1047 pounds more than the Mercedes GLB. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Honda Pilot 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 an “Acceptable” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The GLB has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Honda’s powertrain warranty covers the Pilot 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the GLB. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the GLB ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 3 times as many Honda dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Pilot’s warranty.

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 Pilot’s reliability 27 points higher than the GLB.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 25 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes With 12 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Honda higher than Mercedes.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 24 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

The Pilot’s 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 64 more horsepower (285 vs. 221) and 4 lbs.-ft. more torque (262 vs. 258) than the GLB’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Honda Pilot uses regular unleaded gasoline. The GLB requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Pilot has 5 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLB (18.5 vs. 13.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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 GLB doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Honda Pilot higher (7 out of 10) than the Mercedes GLB (6). This means the Pilot produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the GLB every 15,000 miles.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Honda Pilot, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the GLB.

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

The Pilot stops shorter than the GLB:

For better traction, the Pilot has larger standard tires than the GLB (255/50R20 vs. 235/55R18). The Pilot TrailSport’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the GLB (265/60R18 vs. 235/55R18).

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 GLB 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 GLB; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed. Some tire options on the GLB don’t have a run-flat feature, either.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Pilot’s wheelbase is 2.4 inches longer than on the GLB (113.8 inches vs. 111.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Pilot is 4.1 inches wider in the front and 4.4 inches wider in the rear than the track on the GLB.

For better maneuverability, the Pilot TrailSport’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the GLB’s (37.7 feet vs. 38.4 feet). The Pilot’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the GLB’s (37.8 feet vs. 38.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Pilot TrailSport has a greater minimum ground clearance than the GLB (8.3 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Pilot to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

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 GLB 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 GLB doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Pilot offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the GLB can only carry up to 7.

The Pilot has 6 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear headroom, 2.7 inches more rear legroom, 6.8 inches more rear shoulder room, 4.5 inches more third row headroom, 3.4 inches more third row legroom and 15.7 inches more third row shoulder room than the GLB.

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

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

The Pilot’s cargo area is larger than the GLB’s in almost every dimension:

The Pilot has a 3500 lbs. towing capacity. The GLB has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the Pilot uses the Vehicle Stability Assist sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The GLB doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Pilot has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the GLB only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Pilot has standard extendable sun visors. The GLB doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Pilot to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The GLB doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Both the Pilot and the GLB have standard heated front seats. The Pilot Elite/Black Edition also has standard heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated second row seats aren’t available in the GLB.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Pilot Elite/Black Edition keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The GLB doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

Insurance will cost less for the Pilot owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Pilot will cost $925 to $1875 less than the GLB over a five-year period.

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

The Honda Pilot outsold the Mercedes GLB by almost seven to one during 2023.