My wife has narrowed it down to these two vehicles. I've done a lot of looking and early found really good stuff on the Highlander vs the Pilot. Later research was the opposite.

A few of our thoughts:
Toyota - she likes the styling inside and out, doesn't like the lack of Apple CarPlay, said it drove a tad heavy, a little more horsepower

Honda - liked the features of the touring model, interior was roomier, the interior felt a little cheaper though

I'm not a car guy per se and I've been told you can't go wrong with either. Is that a pretty widely held opinion? Lastly, based on reliability, do we bypass extended warranty or buy one?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Are you looking at highlander vs. pilot or Highlander vs. pathfinder? You said NISSAN in your post.

Highlanders are a little tougher to find preowned with the equipment you likely want vs Nissan or pilot which come pretty standard by trim.

Corrected to Honda. Thanks.

A lot of "car guys", myself included, pick power and handling long before considering comfort and cup holders. Pick the one that is most comfort to drive. Forget the apple crap. Infotainment in cars is a huge distraction.

I am looking at both as well and have driven both. My primary issue with the Highlander is the cargo space when you are using all 3 rows....too small. Also, the 3rd row feels roomier in the Pilot. You can get a better price/discount on the 2019 Highlander right now c/t a 2019 Pilot b/c the 2020 Highlander is a reset.

Pilot

The alternative is called the Tahoe/Yukon.

Maybe I don't know what CarPlay is but whenever I drive my wife's 2017 Highlander it starts playing music from my iPhone immediately.

Great car btw.

Quote:

---

The alternative is called the Tahoe/Yukon.

---

Only if you need to pull more than 5,000 lbs. Otherwise, you spend WAY more, get worse mpg, and have a considerably less reliable SUV.

We bought a pilot last year. The Highlander was the main competitor for us. The Toyota has the fake wood accents that look nicer than they really are. The pilot has piano black trim inside, at least on the upper levels, which looks cheaper than the Toyota. We have an AWD pilot, and it handles and drives way better than the Highlander, which is subjective, especially to a 'non car' guy. The AWD in the pilot is the same as the SHAWD system used in the Acuras, just with a different name. Torque vectoring is cool. We have captains chairs in the second row, which were much nicer and roomier than the Highlander as well. The pilot seems bigger and more comfortable to us in every way. We just took it to Winter Park and put about 1,800 miles on it in a week and a half. Most comfortable trip we have ever had. We averaged 26.6mpg. You can't really go wrong with either, and if you can get a super deal on a Highlander, it may be a no brainer if you like it equally.

PS, I wouldn't buy a warranty extension for either.

Both are great. Whichever one gives your wife that little bit extra happiness is the one to get.

A few years back the back row of the Highlander is basically unusable to an adult. The little extra room of the Pilot made a big difference. I think this is still the case. My wife and test drove both in January. I like the Highlander a little better. My wife like the Pilot. So the Pilot is the odds on favorite if we decide to replace her car.

If you are really looking at the Highlander than just wait for the 2020 model.

nortex97 said:

---

The alternative is called the Tahoe/Yukon.

---

No it's not. Full-size suv =/= full-size crossover. They're entirely different beasts

TxSquarebody said:

---

Forget the apple crap. Infotainment in cars is a huge distraction.

---

The nice thing about Apple CarPlay and AndroidAuto is those systems take away a significant amount of the distraction that comes from the OEM audio/nav controls.

Also, Apple and Google are much better at designing UI/UX than any OEM system I've ever encountered. The biggest distraction is having your phone in your hand and CarPlay and AndroidAuto do a great job of minimizing that distraction.

Tone2002 said:

---

If you are really looking at the Highlander than just wait for the 2020 model.

---

I went and looked online and the 2020 doesn't look much better than the current version, IMO.

hatchback said:

---

TxSquarebody said:

---

Forget the apple crap. Infotainment in cars is a huge distraction.

---

The nice thing about Apple CarPlay and AndroidAuto is those systems take away a significant amount of the distraction that comes from the OEM audio/nav controls.

Also, Apple and Google are much better at designing UI/UX than any OEM system I've ever encountered. The biggest distraction is having your phone in your hand and CarPlay and AndroidAuto do a great job of minimizing that distraction.

---

This. It was a requirement for the wife in her new car. Ended up with a 2018 Odyssey and the OE phone integration isn't bad, but Android Auto us gar superior. We use that most of the time and barely even look at the screen.

Also, for this class the Telluride has the best 3rd row I've been in. Both in terms of comfort and storage with the 3rd row up.

Thanks for all the responses. We'd like to drive the Telluride as well, but can't find one in DFW to drive. Happy to order it if that's what she likes.

We are going to drive each again. I thinks she leaning towards the Highlander as of now.

I shopped the Highlander and Pilot back in December and ended up getting the Pilot mainly due to:

Tiny 3rd row seat and cargo area in the Highlander. Our 5 year old didn't even fit back there in her booster. I was actually really surprised the first time I sat in one because I always thought they were much more roomy than they actually are.

Infotainment is outdated in the Highlander. I can't emphasize enough how nice it is to have Apple Car Play in the Pilot.

Interior is much more roomy and modern looking to me on the Pilot though I did prefer the exterior styling a bit more on the Highlander.

hatchback said:

---

TxSquarebody said:

---

Forget the apple crap. Infotainment in cars is a huge distraction.

---

The nice thing about Apple CarPlay and AndroidAuto is those systems take away a significant amount of the distraction that comes from the OEM audio/nav controls.

Also, Apple and Google are much better at designing UI/UX than any OEM system I've ever encountered. The biggest distraction is having your phone in your hand and CarPlay and AndroidAuto do a great job of minimizing that distraction.

---

Hand held or hands free, taking on the phone is the same distraction because the conversation is the predominant task. It is NOT like having a conversation with someone in the car. Also, texting while driving puts a person 23 times more at risk of a collision. Talk to text features, being sold as a safety benefit, increase that risk.

Griffle said:

---

Thanks for all the responses. We'd like to drive the Telluride as well, but can't find one in DFW to drive. Happy to order it if that's what she likes.

We are going to drive each again. I thinks she leaning towards the Highlander as of now.

---

I think Southwest Kia is the DFW dealer marking them way up over MSRP, which means they actually keep them long enough put them on the lot. See if they have one, then if you like it buy from a dealer not marking then up.

Or just wait for supply to catch up.

If your position is that one should never talk on the phone in the car, even hands free, that's certainly a reasonable take. But it also means your opinion on infotainment features isn't useful to an OP trying to buy his wife a new car in 2019.

'03ag said:

---

Griffle said:

---

Thanks for all the responses. We'd like to drive the Telluride as well, but can't find one in DFW to drive. Happy to order it if that's what she likes.

We are going to drive each again. I thinks she leaning towards the Highlander as of now.

---

I think Southwest Kia is the DFW dealer marking them way up over MSRP, which means they actually keep them long enough put them on the lot. See if they have one, then if you like it buy from a dealer not marking then up.

Or just wait for supply to catch up.

---

Yeah, Southwest has 2 across their multiple dealerships but they are near Duncanville and we are in Richardson. We might drive out this weekend. All other dealerships we called are still waiting to get more.

2020 Aviator.

1agswitchin4lanes said:

---

2020 Aviator.

---

Is that 3rd row going to be all that great? For people that actually use it enough to care? That sloping rear window is also going to limit rear cargo space which the OP seems concerned about.

Otherwise, hell yes that car looks fantastic.

The kid hauler that my wife drives is a 2012 Pilot. It's been a great car. We will probably get a new one in the next year or so just because I don't want her driving a bunch of young kids around in an aging car. There's nothing wrong with it though so it wouldn't surprise me if it lasted another 100k miles without huge issues.

We looked around at the other 3 row "mid-sized" SUVs and Pilot still seems like the best fit. I've tried to talk her into getting a Tahoe but she doesn't like the way it drives, says it feels like a much bigger car.

Just to echo a bunch of other folks here, we drove every 3 row SUV available in the "smaller than a suburban" class and ended up with the Pilot because it had the most adult sized 3rd row.