Compare the2024 Kia SorentoVS 2024 Honda Pilot

Both the Sorento and Pilot have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Sorento S/EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Pilot’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Sorento has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. Only the Pilot Sport/EX-L/TrailSport/Touring/Elite offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Sorento has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Only the Pilot Sport/EX-L/TrailSport/Touring/Elite offers Cross Traffic Monitor and the Pilot’s Cross Traffic Monitor does not include automatic braking.

Both the Sorento and the Pilot 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, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Sorento the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 165 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Pilot has not been tested, yet.

The Sorento comes with a full 5-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 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Sorento 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Honda covers the Pilot. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Pilot ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in initial quality. With 20 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is rated lower.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 85 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 24th.

The Sorento EX/SX’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 49 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 DOHC V6.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Sorento EX/SX 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Honda Pilot:

On the EPA test cycle the Sorento gets better mileage than the Pilot:

The Sorento offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Pilot doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The Sorento stops much shorter than the Pilot:

The Sorento SX/SX Prestige’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Pilot Sport/Touring/Elite’s 50 series tires.

The Sorento X-Line SX Prestige handles at .85 G’s, while the Pilot Elite pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Sorento X-Line SX Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the Pilot TrailSport (26.5 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .66 average G’s).

The Kia Sorento may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 550 pounds less than the Honda Pilot.

The Sorento is 10.3 inches shorter than the Pilot, making the Sorento easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Sorento has .4 inches more front legroom and .9 inches more rear legroom than the Pilot.

The Sorento 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 button automatically lowers the Sorento’s optional second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Pilot doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Sorento’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.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Kia Sorento will be $1888 to $7229 less than for the Honda Pilot.

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