UPDATE: 2026/09/24 22:05 EST BY SEAN MCMANUS
Honda’s New Hybrid Powertrain Will Help Fight Toyota
We added a section to discuss the three Honda models lacking hybrid options, while their direct Toyota rivals benefit from more power and better fuel economy with hybrid trims.
The biggest vehicle in the Honda lineup right now is the Pilot, and it’s been that way pretty much since the moment it was revealed in 2002. In that time, the model has steadily grown and evolved to meet the demands of the three-row SUV market. If a recent report from Automotive News is correct, though, the Pilot’s reign as Honda’s biggest ride may soon end with the introduction of a model above it.
That report also suggests that this new Honda could be genuinely enormous.
2026 Honda Pilot sideJared Rosenholtz/CarBuzz/Valnet
The SUV Will Be Longer, And We’ll Be Waiting A Long Time For It
This report comes from Automotive News, which cited an anonymous source for the information. Apparently, this extra-large SUV would fit above the current Pilot, and would be around 8 inches longer than the Pilot. It would probably be closely related to the reported three-row Acura flagship SUV.
This would definitely make both the Honda and Acura models more feasible by adding volume across both brands. Apparently that volume would be 40,000 units per year on the Honda side. Numbers like that would make for a bestseller for Acura, but it would be a slow seller for Honda, doing worse than the Ridgeline. In fact, the Honda Prologue sold about 40,000 units last year, and that didn’t save it. Of course, margins on a very large SUV would almost certainly be much better than a small to midsize mainstream EV.
Honda’s new V6 hybrid system has been developed with America in mind.Roger Biermann/CarBuzz/Valnet
We would expect this SUV to use the new V6 hybrid powertrain that Honda has developed for its large vehicles such as the Pilot and Odyssey. It will use the same basic powertrain setup as Honda’s current four-cylinder hybrids, but with the aforementioned V6 and much larger electric motors. It would also rely on a separate rear motor for driving the rear wheels. The powertrain will first appear in the next-generation Acura RDX by the end of the decade. The flagship Acura this big Honda would be related to is also rumored to arrive around the end of the decade. The big Honda itself, however, won’t be coming until 2032, according to Automotive News.
How Would It Compare To The Competition?
The current Honda Pilot is actually one of the larger three-row SUVs in its class right now. At 200.1 inches, it’s longer than the Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander, Mazda CX-90, and Nissan Pathfinder. It’s only 1.3 inches longer than Toyota’s largest unibody SUV, the Grand Highlander, and 4.4 inches shorter than the truly huge Chevy Traverse.
2026 Honda Pilot TrailSport rear 3/4 angle in greenHonda
As a result, the extra 8 inches would thoroughly leapfrog the entire three-row unibody SUV segment, and would actually put this giant Honda in striking distance of body-on-frame SUVs. It would be exactly the same length as the Toyota Sequoia, 1.5 inches shorter than the Nissan Armada, 1.8 inches shorter than the Ford Expedition, and 3.2 inches shorter than the Chevy Tahoe. As a hybrid, it could offer substantially better fuel economy than those competitors, and its unibody, car-like chassis could offer more civilized driving dynamics. However, other key specifications such as towing capacity and off-road capability might be tough for it to match.
2026 Toyota Sequoia 1974 Edition front 3/4Toyota
Honda’s New Hybrid Powertrain Will Help Fight Toyota
Honda’s new V6 hybrid system has been developed with America in mind.Roger Biermann/CarBuzz/Valnet
As it sits, Honda is lacking in its fight against Toyota. Honda models are already popular while offering robust gas-only engines, but some models — those which lack hybrid options — are up against Toyota models with both gas and hybrid options. These include the aforementioned Pilot, the Ridgeline unibody pickup truck, and the Odyssey minivan. The upcoming larger Pilot will most likely benefit from the brand’s new hybrid engine, but we’ll have to wait and see about the others.
With the Ridgeline going on break for a year, we can only hope it’ll come back stronger with a hybrid option to rival the Tacoma’s iForceMax hybrid powertrain. Whether it can stand up to the most powerful Tacoma hybrid’s 326 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque might be too much to ask, though.
Then we have the Odyssey. Buyers will have to choose between a larger Pilot SUV with better styling, and the Odyssey with even more interior space. Currently, the Toyota Sienna makes a compelling argument for families wanting a softer ride than the Sequoia’s body-on-frame construction offers. Since the Pilot will remain a unibody SUV, it could pull buyers away from the Odyssey, even if they both get the new hybrid system.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Honda is clearly interested in targeting larger, higher-priced car segments, and it’s certainly not the only one. Multiple luxury car brands seem to be considering larger flagship SUVs, even BMW, when they already have fairly large three-row options. So it’s only logical that Honda’s own luxury brand, Acura, would consider it, too. Having a Honda variant spreads out costs, but as we’ve discussed, it may end up being more of an outlier in the market than the Acura will be.
Honda has found at least moderate success with oddball takes on markets, such as the Ridgeline, so it’s possible it could do it again, but it has its own flops, too, such as the Accord Crosstour.
Source: Automotive News
