The short answer is 2019 through 2022. Here is the long answer, generation by generation, with the third row, the towing and the transmission question all covered honestly.
The best year for a used Honda Pilot is 2019 to 2022. Honda refreshed the third generation Pilot for 2019, made Honda Sensing standard on every trim, and moved the Touring and Elite to a 10-speed automatic. That combination is the one to shop: current-feeling safety technology, the well-known 3.5-liter V6, and a price that has already taken its steepest depreciation hit.
Buying newer, the 2023 and up fourth generation is a genuinely bigger vehicle with the most usable third row Honda has built. Buying older, a clean 2013 to 2015 Pilot is one of the cheapest honest ways into three rows and a V6 right now.
Fuel economy below is the EPA combined rating for front-wheel-drive versions, rounded. All-wheel drive gives up roughly 1 mpg. Look up the exact figure for the year and trim you are considering at fueleconomy.gov, and check crash test results at IIHS before you commit to a generation.
| Model Years | Generation | Powertrain | EPA Combined | What You Get | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 to now | Fourth | 3.5L V6, 10-speed automatic | Around 21 to 22 mpg | Longer body, the most usable third row Honda has built, removable second row middle seat on some trims, TrailSport with real off road hardware | Best Overall |
| 2019 to 2022 | Third, refreshed | 3.5L V6, 6-speed or 10-speed automatic | Around 22 mpg | Honda Sensing standard on every trim, 10-speed automatic on Touring and Elite, Sport and TrailSport trims join the lineup for 2022 | Best Buy |
| 2016 to 2018 | Third, early | 3.5L V6, 6-speed or 9-speed automatic | Around 22 mpg | All new platform, lighter body, softer styling, eight seats available on lower trims, big jump in cabin quality over the second generation | Strong |
| 2013 to 2015 | Second, refreshed | 3.5L V6, conventional automatic | Around 20 mpg | Updated cabin and audio, backup camera standard, the boxy shape people still ask for by name | Best Value |
| 2009 to 2012 | Second, early | 3.5L V6, conventional automatic | Around 19 mpg | The cheapest honest route into a three row V6, simple to service, still seats eight | Budget Pick |
Buy this one if your budget reaches it and you actually put people in the third row.
Honda redesigned the Pilot from the ground up for 2023 and made it visibly bigger. Most of that growth went where it matters on a three row SUV: the back two rows and the cargo floor behind them. This is the first Pilot where a grown adult can ride in the third row on a real trip and not spend the drive negotiating.
The second row is the other quiet upgrade. On several trims the middle seat lifts out and stows under the cargo floor, so the same vehicle switches between eight seats for a carpool and captain's chairs with a walk-through aisle for a family of five. If your week involves a school run through Vestavia Hills and a Saturday with four extra kids in the car, that flexibility is the whole argument for this generation.
The new 3.5-liter V6 pairs with a 10-speed automatic across the lineup. The TrailSport is the one trim worth a special trip. Unlike the appearance-focused 2022 version, the 2023 and newer TrailSport adds a lift, steel skid plates and all-terrain tires, which turns a gravel road out past Oak Mountain from a wince into a non-event.
A 2019 to 2022 Pilot is the best mix of price, safety equipment and known engineering you can shop right now.
This is the generation that turned the Pilot from a boxy people mover into the default three row crossover for a two car family. It rides better than the truck-shaped Pilot that came before it, the cabin is quieter on the interstate, and lower trims still seat eight. For a household running the Hwy 280 corridor twice a day, it is the version that stops feeling like a compromise.
The transmission is the part worth understanding rather than guessing at. Lower trims used a straightforward 6-speed automatic. The Touring and Elite launched with a 9-speed for 2016 through 2018. For 2019 Honda moved the upper trims to a 10-speed automatic and made Honda Sensing standard across the whole lineup, which is exactly why 2019 is the line we draw. Buy a 2019 or newer and you get the newer gearbox on the upper trims plus adaptive cruise, lane keeping and collision braking on every trim, including the base one.
Shopping a 2016 to 2018 car is still a good move if the price is right. Drive it in stop and go traffic on the way back from the lot, pay attention to how it behaves at low speed, and ask what software updates are recorded in the service history. That is a five minute conversation, not a reason to walk away. For 2022, Honda reshuffled the lineup into Sport, EX-L, Special Edition, TrailSport, Touring and Elite, so read the window sticker rather than assuming the old LX and EX names still apply.
If you want the most working three row SUV per dollar, this is the range to shop.
This is the boxy one, and it has aged into a bargain. The upright body means the third row is easier to climb into than the shape suggests, the cargo area behind it is square and useful, and the 3.5-liter V6 with a conventional automatic is about as well understood as any drivetrain on the road. Independent shops have been servicing these for fifteen years and parts are everywhere.
The 2013 refresh is the one to aim for inside this range. Honda updated the cabin and audio and made a backup camera standard, which matters more on a vehicle this tall than the spec sheet lets on. A clean 2013 to 2015 Pilot does most of what a 2019 does for a fraction of the money, which is why the under $15,000 band is worth a look before you stretch your budget.
At this age the paperwork matters more than the odometer. A documented 140,000-mile Pilot with a timing belt receipt is a better buy than a 90,000-mile one with nothing on file. If you are not sure how to read that, we wrote a full walkthrough on how many miles is too many on a used car.
Nobody cross shops a Pilot on horsepower. They cross shop it on whether the people and the stuff fit, and whether it will pull what is in the driveway.
More than most of the class, and it depends on the generation. The 2023 and newer Pilot seats an adult back there for a Birmingham to Atlanta run. A 2016 to 2022 Pilot is comfortable kid and teenager space and fine for adults on shorter drives. The 2009 to 2015 Pilot is easier to climb into than it looks, because the roof is flat.
The part people forget is the cargo floor behind the third row. The Pilot has always been better here than the crossovers it competes with, which is the difference between a stroller fitting and a stroller riding in someone's lap.
Around 5,000 pounds with all-wheel drive when properly equipped, and less on front-wheel-drive versions. Confirm the exact rating for your year, trim and drivetrain in the owner's manual before you buy a trailer, because the number depends on the factory hitch and cooling equipment, not just the badge on the back.
In practice, that is a small boat or a pair of jet skis to Logan Martin, or a utility trailer for a project weekend. It is not a half-ton truck, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
Front-wheel drive is enough for most people here. We get rain, not four months of snow, and a front-drive Pilot on decent tires handles a wet Hwy 280 without any drama at all. Spend the difference on a better trim or lower miles instead.
Buy all-wheel drive if you tow, if your driveway is steep and unpaved, or if your weekends involve gravel around Oak Mountain State Park. All-wheel drive also carries the higher tow rating, which is usually the real reason to choose it.
We sell all three, so nothing here is steering you. The Pilot generally wins on third row space and on cargo room behind that third row. The Toyota Highlander wins on fuel economy if you find a hybrid and is easier to park, but its third row is tighter. The Kia Telluride has the nicest cabin of the three and holds its value hard, which shows up as a higher price for the same year and miles.
If you are still deciding between shapes rather than badges, our guides to the best year for a used Honda CR-V and the best year for a used Toyota RAV4 cover the two row versions of the same decision.
Every Driver's Way price is the price. There is no negotiation, no three trips to a manager's office, and nobody on our sales floor works on commission, so nothing below is pushing you up a tier. Browse by price band if that is how you shop: under $15,000 or under $20,000.
Leather, a backup camera, eight seats and the same V6 the newer ones use. Get the timing belt receipt and the transmission service history and you have a family SUV that will run well past 200,000 miles.
Honda Sensing standard, leather, power tailgate, and a third row that handles the carpool without complaint. This is the recommendation for most families shopping the Hwy 280 corridor.
The lift, the skid plates and the all-terrain tires are real, not a sticker package, and the third row is the most usable Honda has built. The one to drive first if the weekends matter as much as the school run.
Everything above is what you would be checking yourself buying from a stranger in a parking lot. Buying from us, it is already done and written down. If you want the full walkthrough, we published what to look for when buying a used car, and our Pelham service center is open Saturdays for anything a Pilot needs after you own it.
Every vehicle we list is inspected and reconditioned before it goes on the lot.
Nearly three decades of used cars in the Birmingham metro, at two locations.
Nobody here earns more by putting you in a bigger vehicle than you came for.
Every listing includes the report, and an extended service plan is available if you want it.
Reviews from our Hwy 280 store, pulled live from Google.
We are at 5470 Hwy 280, a few minutes from Inverness and about fifteen from Mountain Brook, with Hoover and Trussville both an easy run. Tell us which Pilot years you are considering and we will pull what fits, including anything sitting at our Pelham store. You can schedule a test drive ahead of time or get a number on your current vehicle with an instant trade quote before you come in.
Three row inventory moves fast. Check what is here today, or tell us what you are after and we will call you when it lands. Already know the one you want? Fast Lane Purchase gets most of the paperwork done before you arrive.
Driver's Way Hwy 280 | 5470 Hwy 280, Birmingham, AL 35242