Honda Introduces Special-Edition Pilot! (Relax, It’s Just a New Trim Level)Honda Introduces Special-Edition Pilot! (Relax, It’s Just a New Trim Level)

The 2015 Honda Pilot is officially on sale now, but that’s not the exciting part: There’s a new Special Edition trim level! The new version brings the total number of trim levels for the aging three-row crossover to five: LX, EX, SE, EX-L, and Touring.

Priced at $33,950 in front-wheel-drive form, the new SE bridges the $4850 chasm between the $32,950 EX and leather-lined $37,800 EX-L with RES (RES = rear entertainment system) grades. It brings pewter-colored 18-inch aluminum wheels, a power sunroof, satellite radio, and a rear-seat DVD setup. In all-wheel-drive form, it costs $35,550 and slots in between the $34,550 EX and the $37,800 EX-L (without RES), As such, the SE models represent a decent value, especially for families with young kids, for whom having the ability to screen films likely trumps navigation as a sanity savers.



Last redesigned for the 2009 model year and refreshed in 2012, the Pilot is competent if not compelling. It was a favorite upon its debut, but it finished third out of three in its most recent comparison test. The new trim level should help keep interest in the Pilot alive until its replacement debuts, which we expect to happen by 2016 and be followed shortly by the replacement for the Ridgeline pickup.

Honda Introduces Special-Edition Pilot! (Relax, It’s Just a New Trim Level)Honda Introduces Special-Edition Pilot! (Relax, It’s Just a New Trim Level)