Compare the2024 Infiniti QX80VS 2025 Honda Pilot

The QX80 Sensory’s 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.

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Infiniti QX80 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Honda Pilot doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

The QX80 has standard Active Head Restraints (AHR), which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the AHR system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Pilot doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the QX80 and Pilot have rear cross-traffic warning, but the QX80 has Back-up Collision Intervention (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Pilot’s Cross Traffic Monitor doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the QX80 and the Pilot have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

The Infiniti QX80 weighs 1016 to 1779 pounds more than the Honda Pilot. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The QX80 comes with a full 4-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 1 year or 24,000 miles sooner.

Infiniti’s powertrain warranty covers the QX80 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 QX80’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Pilot’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Infiniti pays for scheduled maintenance on the QX80 for 1 year and 21000 miles longer than Honda pays for maintenance for the Pilot (3/45000 vs. 2/24,000).

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the QX80’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 start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the QX80 has a standard 780-amp battery. The Pilot’s 650-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Infiniti vehicles are more reliable than Honda With 2 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Infiniti higher than Honda.

The QX80’s 5.6 DOHC V8 produces 115 more horsepower (400 vs. 285) and 151 lbs.-ft. more torque (413 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Infiniti QX80 is faster than the Honda Pilot:

The QX80 has 7.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Pilot (26 vs. 18.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The QX80’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 QX80 stops shorter than the Pilot:

For better traction, the QX80 has larger tires than the Pilot (275/60R20 vs. 255/50R20). The QX80 Luxe’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Pilot (275/60R20 vs. 265/60R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the QX80 Luxe has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Pilot EX-L. The QX80 Premium Select/Sensory’s 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Pilot Sport/Touring/Elite/Black Edition.

The Infiniti QX80’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.

The QX80 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 rear suspension of the QX80 uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Pilot, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The QX80 Sensory has a standard 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 QX80 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 QX80’s wheelbase is 7.3 inches longer than on the Pilot (121.1 inches vs. 113.8 inches).

The QX80’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (51% to 49%) than the Pilot’s (55.3% to 44.7%). This gives the QX80 more stable handling and braking.

For greater off-road capability the QX80 has a 1.9 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Pilot (9.2 vs. 7.3 inches), allowing the QX80 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The QX80’s minimum ground clearance is .9 inch higher than on the Pilot TrailSport (9.2 vs. 8.3 inches).

The QX80 has .8 inches more front hip room, 1.9 inches more front shoulder room, .2 inches more rear legroom, 1 inch more rear hip room, 1.8 inches more rear shoulder room, 4.2 inches more third row hip room and 1 inch more third row shoulder room than the Pilot.

The QX80 has a standard third row seat which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly, without having to lift, carry or store heavy seats, like in the Pilot.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the QX80 Sensory’s second row seats and pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the QX80’s third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Pilot doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The QX80’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Pilot’s (8500 vs. 3500 pounds).

The QX80 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 QX80 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.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Infiniti service is better than Honda. J.D. Power ranks Infiniti 9th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 27% lower rating, Honda is ranked 25th.

The QX80’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Pilot does not have an oil pressure gauge.

If the windows are left open on the QX80 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Pilot can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The QX80’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.

Consumer Reports rated the QX80’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Pilot’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The QX80 Sensory has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Pilot doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the QX80 Sensory has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Pilot doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The QX80’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 QX80 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.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Infiniti QX80 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.