The Toyota-Honda rivalry has been around for what feels like forever. It doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, either. Which is great for consumers, as the two companies are pushed to try to beat the other by including more and more features at lower and lower prices.
Let’s compare two popular mid-size SUV options from the two manufacturers: the 2020 Toyota 4Runner SR5 Premium AWD and the 2020 Honda Pilot EX-L AWD.
The 2020 4Runner has the Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 (TSS) suite. The TSS is a comprehensive set of safety and driver assistance features that are often relegated to higher trim levels on other vehicles. The TSS is standard on every 2020 4Runner, meaning that even the base trim is as safe as the premium trim. Included in the TSS are things like a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert, automatic high beams, road sign assist, and lane tracing assist. Toyota has a reputation for putting safety first, and as a result, their safety systems are refined and unobtrusive.
The 2020 Pilot also has many safety features, but they aren’t nearly as well implemented. In particular, the adaptive cruise control is very spotty, requiring a lot of micromanagement. Similarly, the lane-departure system can be incredibly obnoxious with its warnings, and the lane-keep system can become intrusive on long stretches of curved roads.
Real-World Off-Road Capability
The 2020 Honda Pilot is AWD, this much is true. However, the Pilot, at 7.3 inches, lacks the ground clearance and its AWD system lacks the utility to do much more than handle some relatively muddy road. The 2020 4Runner is 4WD and has 9.6 inches of ground clearance, meaning you can take the 4Runner in rougher territory than the Pilot.
If you’re interested in the 2020 Toyota 4Runner, come try it out at Arlington Toyota.
