Here's How Much A 2021 Honda Pilot Has Depreciated In 5 Years

Honda entered the three-row utility game in 2003 when it debuted the Pilot, taking on the Toyota Highlander, the Ford Explorer, and others. Fast forward to the present day, and the refreshed 2026 Honda Pilot, with more screens and a bigger grille, starts at north of $50,000 for most trims. For some buyers, that's a budget buster. So, the natural alternative is to shop used.

Dialing back to a 2021 Pilot makes sense in many ways. A depreciation rate of 44% to 45% means you can get three rows of Honda-branded transportation for about the price of a new Civic. This model year also earned an above-average reliability rating from Consumer Reports and a "CR Recommended" badge. The 2021 edition is also new enough to have family-friendly safety tech like automatic emergency braking, and most trims have blind-spot monitoring.

For a more complete look at Honda Pilot depreciation, we analyzed data from CarEdge and iSeeCars. And to put these numbers in perspective, we compared Pilot depreciation against valuation estimates for the 2021 editions of the Toyota Highlander, Ford Explorer, and Chevrolet Traverse. Also in the mix is pricing for the 2021 Pilot from Autotrader's retail marketplace listings.

Over five years, CarEdge estimates that a 2021 Pilot drops in value by 47.6%. Based on this number, a higher Elite trim, which had an MSRP of $50,170 (including freight) when new, should be selling today for about $26,200. In 2026, the Pilot Elite has a base price of $54,990 (including a $1,495 destination charge). iSeeCars offers a less conservative depreciation rate of 44.1% after half a decade.

At the same time, Autotrader shows numerous dealer listings for 2021 Honda Pilots, with most asking prices in the $23,000 to $32,000 range. That's based on good-condition (no accident history or title issues) examples with average mileage or better. In other words, the depreciation forecasts point to a midpoint in real-world marketplace pricing. Fortunately, the 2021 model skips the federal investigation that targeted the engine failures in older Honda Pilots.

The depreciation estimates from both firms get closer beyond five years. After seven years, CarEdge says the 2021 Pilot will lose 56.2% of its original value, compared to 54% in the iSeeCars projection. At the 10-year mark, this Honda will drop in value by 67.8%, according to CarEdge. iSeeCars isn't that far off, with its depreciation forecast of 68.8% over the same period.

In this four-crossover comparison, the 2021 Toyota Highlander is the low-depreciation champion, with a five-year value hit of 36.3% (iSeeCars) to 40.3% (CarEdge). Remember, the 2021 Pilot has a depreciation rate of 44.1% to 47.6% over the same period.

If you're keeping an eye on depreciation with the hope of getting an even cheaper three-row family hauler, then you'll need to look outside the world of Honda and Toyota. The value of the 2021 Chevrolet Traverse drops by 48.3% after five years, according to iSeeCars. CarEdge says it's even worse: 54%. However, this model year at least has an average reliability ranking in Consumer Reports' ratings for the Chevy Traverse.

Meanwhile, the 2021 Ford Explorer takes the high-depreciation prize. At its worst (or best, from a car buyer's perspective), this Blue Oval offering drops in value by 56.7% after five years, based on CarEdge data. The number from iSeeCars is less dramatic at 50.1%.