The Four People Actually Shop
Sport, EX-L, TrailSport and Elite Side by Side
Every trim runs the same 3.5-liter V6 and the same 10-speed automatic, so this is not a horsepower decision. It is a decision about drivetrain, tires, seat material, and how much technology you want. Here is where each one lands.
Sport
2026 Pilot Sport FWD V6, AWD available
EPA MPG 19 city / 27 hwy FWD
Drivetrain FWD standard
- 12.3-inch touchscreen
- 10.2-inch digital cluster
- Honda Sensing standard
- Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto
- Power tailgate
EX-L
2026 Pilot EX-L FWD V6, AWD available
EPA MPG 19 city / 27 hwy FWD
Drivetrain FWD standard
- Everything on Sport
- Leather-trimmed seats
- Heated front seats
- Remote start
- The volume seller here
TrailSport
2026 Pilot TrailSport AWD V6, AWD standard
EPA MPG 18 city / 23 hwy
Drivetrain AWD standard
- All-terrain tires
- Trail Torque Logic AWD
- TrailWatch camera system
- Off-road-tuned suspension
- Heated second row, new for 2026
Elite
2026 Pilot Elite AWD V6, AWD standard
EPA MPG 19 city / 25 hwy
Drivetrain AWD standard
- Panoramic moonroof
- Head-up display
- Second-row sunshades
- Hands-free power tailgate
- Premium interior materials
Based on 2026 EPA mileage ratings. Use for comparison purposes only. Your mileage will vary depending on driving conditions, how you drive and maintain your vehicle, and other factors.
The three trims this page does not cover in depth: the Pilot lineup runs to seven. Touring sits between TrailSport and Elite and adds Bose 12-speaker audio, Google built-in, and ventilated front seats. Touring Blackout is new for 2026 and layers blackout exterior trim over Touring content. Black Edition sits at the top with diamond-quilted seat accents and blacked-out exterior details. Call us if one of those three is what you are really after, and we will tell you what is on the lot.
Three Real Decisions
What You Are Actually Choosing Between
Trim walks are usually presented as a ladder, as if the only question is how much you want to spend. There are really only three decisions in this lineup, and two of them have nothing to do with money.
Front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive
Right for you if: you take all-wheel drive when you regularly run gravel toward Land Between the Lakes, tow a boat to Kentucky Lake, or live somewhere a plow never reaches.
Middle Tennessee gets a handful of genuinely bad winter days a year. Front-wheel drive on decent tires handles most of them. All-wheel drive costs you about 2 mpg on the highway.
TrailSport or everything else
Right for you if: you take the TrailSport when the all-terrain tires will actually be used, not just admired in the Kroger lot.
Those tires cost fuel economy and a little road quiet. That is a fair trade for grip on a wet boat ramp and a bad trade for a school run on Trenton Road.
Comfort now or comfort later
Right for you if: you take the EX-L when heated seats and leather matter more than a head-up display and a panoramic roof.
The jump from Sport to EX-L buys things you touch every single morning. The jump to Elite buys things you notice on a long trip. Both are defensible. Know which one you are buying.
Full Comparison
2026 Pilot Specs by Trim
Tap a category to switch the table. Every figure below applies to the 2026 Honda Pilot with the 3.5-liter V6 and 10-speed automatic, which is every trim.
| Feature | Sport | EX-L | TrailSport | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.3-inch touchscreen | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Power tailgate | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Hands-free |
| Leather-trimmed seats | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Remote start | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| All-terrain tires | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Panoramic moonroof | – | – | – | ✓ |
What Separates Them
Three Differences You Will Actually Notice
The TrailSport earns its tires, or it does not
Trail Torque Logic sends power across the rear axle rather than just front to back, and the TrailWatch cameras show you what is under the front bumper. On a wet ramp at Kentucky Lake that is genuinely useful. On Wilma Rudolph Boulevard it is 4 mpg you gave away.
Be honest with yourself about how often you leave pavement. Most people who want the TrailSport look are better served by an EX-L.
Every trim carries the same third row
Seating is eight across the lineup, with 22.4 cu ft still behind the third row and 113.7 cu ft with everything folded. You do not buy your way up to more space in this lineup, only to nicer surfaces around it.
The Elite adds second-row sunshades and available seven-passenger captain's chairs, which changes how the third row is reached rather than how big it is.
The Elite is the long-trip trim
A head-up display, a panoramic moonroof, and hands-free tailgate access are not things you notice on the drive to Rossview. They are things you notice on hour four of a drive to see family two states away.
If most of your miles are inside Montgomery County, that money is better spent elsewhere. If you drive to Atlanta twice a year with three kids, it is not.
Standard on Every Trim
Honda Sensing Comes on All Seven Trims
This is the part of the trim walk where nothing changes. You do not have to buy up to get the safety suite, and Post-Collision Braking joined the standard list for 2026.
Collision Mitigation Braking
Watches for a vehicle ahead and can brake if you do not.
Road Departure Mitigation
Nudges you back if the Pilot drifts toward the edge of the lane.
Lane Keeping Assist
Steering support that helps hold a lane on a long stretch of I-24.
Adaptive Cruise with Low-Speed Follow
Holds a gap in traffic and can come to a stop and resume.
Auto High-Beam Headlights
Switches between high and low so you do not have to on dark county roads.
Post-Collision Braking
New as standard for 2026. Helps slow the vehicle after a first impact.
Pick One
Which 2026 Pilot Trim Fits You
Sport
Right for you if the third row is the whole reason you are here and the rest is negotiable. You get the full screen, the full safety suite, and cloth seats you will not worry about after a muddy soccer Saturday at Heritage Park.
EX-L
Right for you if you want the things you touch every morning to be better. Heated seats and remote start earn their money in the two weeks each January when Clarksville actually gets cold.
TrailSport
Right for you if your weekends involve gravel roads toward Land Between the Lakes, a boat ramp, or a campground access road that has never been graded properly.
Elite
Right for you if you do long highway trips with a full car and want the head-up display, the panoramic roof, and the sunshades for the kids in the second row.
Come Drive Two
Jenkins & Wynne Honda, Clarksville
We are at 2655 Trenton Rd, family owned at the same address since 1946. Call ahead and we will have two trims pulled up side by side so you can settle the Sport versus EX-L argument in twenty minutes instead of two weeks.
Sales 931-630-0055. Service 931-263-5045. Every service visit includes a complimentary car wash, and our 48-Hour Love It or Leave It guarantee covers you if you pick wrong.
Reviews
What Pilot Owners Around Clarksville Say
Questions
2026 Honda Pilot Trim Questions
Which 2026 Honda Pilot trim is the best value?
For most Clarksville families, the EX-L. It adds leather-trimmed seats, heated front seats and remote start over the Sport without moving into the price territory of the top four trims. Sport buyers usually end up wishing they had the heated seats by the first cold snap in January.
Do I need all-wheel drive in Middle Tennessee?
Not for most of the year. Clarksville gets a handful of genuinely bad days each winter, and front-wheel drive with decent tires handles nearly all of them. Get all-wheel drive if you regularly run gravel toward Land Between the Lakes, tow, or live on a hill that never sees a plow. Otherwise the front-wheel drive Sport or EX-L is honest money saved.
How many trims does the 2026 Pilot actually have?
Seven. This page compares the four most people shop, which are Sport, EX-L, TrailSport and Elite. The other three are Touring, Touring Blackout, which is new for 2026, and Black Edition. Touring sits between TrailSport and Elite, and the two blacked-out trims are appearance packages layered on top of Touring and top-trim content.
Is the TrailSport worth it if I never go off-road?
Probably not. The all-terrain tires cost you fuel economy and a little road quiet, and the Trail Torque Logic system and TrailWatch cameras are wasted on pavement. Buy it if you actually run gravel and boat ramps. Buy the EX-L or Elite if you just like the look.
Can every Pilot trim tow 5,000 lbs?
Yes, with a properly equipped hitch. All seven trims share the same 3.5-liter V6 and 10-speed automatic, so the towing rating does not change as you move up the lineup. That is worth knowing before you buy a higher trim purely for towing.
What is new on the 2026 Pilot?
A refreshed front end, a 12.3-inch touchscreen standard on every trim instead of just the upper ones, a 10.2-inch digital cluster on all trims, retuned steering, Post-Collision Braking as standard, a power tailgate standard across the range, and a new Touring Blackout trim. The V6 carries over unchanged.
Does any Pilot trim come as a hybrid?
No. Every trim uses the 3.5-liter V6. If a hybrid is what you are really after, the CR-V Hybrid and the Accord Hybrid are the two to drive, and both are two-row vehicles.
Is there a military discount for Fort Campbell buyers?
Yes, we offer a military discount, and Honda periodically runs its own military appreciation program alongside it. Terms change, so call 931-630-0055 and ask what is live that week rather than trusting a number printed on a web page.
Can I drive two trims back to back?
Yes, and it is the only reliable way to settle a Sport versus EX-L argument. Call ahead so both are pulled up and ready when you get to Trenton Road. Fifteen minutes in each usually ends the debate.
How much does a 2026 Pilot cost?
Pricing moves, and a stale figure on a web page helps nobody. Call 931-630-0055 or check our Pilot inventory page for current pricing on the specific trim and drivetrain you want.
Stop Reading Spec Sheets. Drive Two.
Fifteen minutes in each trim ends the argument faster than any comparison table, including this one.