Honda gave the 2026 Pilot the kind of refresh family-SUV shoppers will notice right away: bigger screens, more standard tech, and a higher bill. As Kelley Blue Book reports, the base Sport now starts at $43,690 including destination, which is a $1,995 jump. That stings a little, because three-row SUV prices were already doing a pretty good impression of luxury-car pricing.

The upside is that Honda did not spend that extra money on nonsense. Every 2026 Pilot now gets a 12.3-inch touchscreen, a 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a power tailgate. On Honda’s 2026 build-and-price page, the lineup starts at $42,395 before destination for the Sport, climbs to $44,695 for the EX-L, then runs through TrailSport at $50,595, Touring at $51,295, Touring Blackout at $52,495, Elite at $53,695, and Black Edition at $55,195. The core mechanical stuff stays familiar: a 285-hp V-6, available all-wheel drive, up to eight seats, and up to 5,000 pounds of towing capacity.

For most buyers, the real conversation starts at EX-L, not Sport. The EX-L adds the stowable second-row center seat, leather, CabinTalk, and parking sensors, which are the kind of daily-use features families actually notice after the dealership coffee wears off. TrailSport still makes sense if you genuinely want the tires, suspension tuning, and camera help for dirt roads, but a lot of shoppers are probably better off skipping the rugged costume and keeping a few thousand dollars in their pocket.

That also means Honda is betting buyers will accept a higher entry price if the cheap-feeling parts are pushed out of the lineup. Fair enough. If you were already cross-shopping a Kia Telluride, Toyota Grand Highlander, or Mazda CX-90, the refreshed Pilot is easier to take seriously now. If you were hoping Honda would keep the old smaller-screen bargain trim alive, that ship has sailed.