NEW CARS

2026 Honda Pilot Refresh: Bigger Screens, Quieter Cabin, and Sharper Road Manners Keep Honda’s Three-Row SUV on Top

Honda didn’t reinvent the Pilot for 2026—but it didn’t need to. Instead, the brand focused on the stuff that actually matters to families who live with a three-row SUV every day: better tech, a calmer cabin, sharper steering, and styling tweaks that give the Pilot a bit more attitude. The result is a meaningful refresh that keeps the Pilot firmly in the conversation as one of the benchmarks in the midsize SUV class.

The updated 2026 Pilot is arriving at dealerships now, with pricing starting at $42,195 for the Sport model (before the $1,495 destination charge). As before, the lineup spans six trims—Sport, EX-L, Touring, TrailSport, Elite, and Black Edition—each clearly differentiated by equipment and personality.

Screens Finally Catch Up to the Competition

The most obvious upgrade greets you the moment you climb inside. Every 2026 Pilot now comes standard with a 12.3-inch touchscreen, a massive step up from the outgoing system and one that finally looks at home next to rivals from Hyundai and Kia. It’s paired with a new 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster, and both displays run Honda’s latest software for quicker responses and cleaner graphics.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now standard across the board, along with Google built-in and available 5G Wi-Fi. Translation: fewer cables, faster connections, and less frustration on school runs and road trips alike. Honda also made a power tailgate standard on all trims—one of those “why wasn’t it already?” features that families will appreciate immediately.

Quieter, Calmer, More Premium Inside

Honda didn’t stop at screens. Engineers went after noise, vibration, and harshness with surprising enthusiasm, adding thicker glass, better insulation, and revised door materials. Honda claims a 2–3 dB reduction in key frequencies, which might sound minor on paper but pays dividends on the highway. Touring and Elite models go a step further with enclosed fender liners to further hush road noise.

Material quality also takes a step up. Touring models now get more upscale upholstery and stitching, while Elite and Black Edition trims introduce diamond-quilted Ultra Suede seat accents that push the Pilot closer to entry-luxury territory. TrailSport buyers aren’t left out either, with an available brown leather interior accented by bold orange stitching and newly standard heated second-row outboard seats.

Subtle Styling Tweaks, Stronger Presence

Outside, the changes are evolutionary but effective. A redesigned front fascia with a larger grille gives the Pilot a more assertive face, while new scuff plates emphasize its rugged intent. Wheel designs are freshened across higher trims, including new Shark Gray 20-inch alloys on Touring and Elite models and Berlina Black wheels for the Black Edition.

Honda also adds a trio of new colors—Solar Silver Metallic, Smoke Blue Pearl, and TrailSport-exclusive Ash Green Metallic—that bring some welcome variety to the Pilot palette. Roof rails are now standard on every trim, further reinforcing the SUV’s adventure-ready image.

Better Steering, Same Strong V-6

Under the skin, Honda focused on refinement rather than reinvention. A retuned electric power steering system delivers more on-center weight and improved feedback, especially noticeable during highway cruising and on winding roads. It’s a subtle upgrade, but one that helps the Pilot feel more composed and confident behind the wheel.

Power still comes from Honda’s naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V-6, producing 285 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque, paired with a smooth-shifting 10-speed automatic. All-wheel drive remains optional across most trims and standard on TrailSport, Elite, and Black Edition models. Honda’s torque-vectoring i-VTM4 system continues to be a standout, sending power not just front-to-rear but side-to-side at the rear axle for improved traction and cornering stability.

TrailSport Still Means Business

For buyers who actually plan to leave the pavement, the TrailSport remains one of the more convincing off-road-oriented trims in the segment. It features a raised suspension, steel skid plates, all-terrain tires, and exclusive drive modes that genuinely improve performance in sand and on trails—all without turning the Pilot into a penalty box on the highway.

Safety and American Roots

Every 2026 Pilot comes standard with the Honda Sensing suite of driver-assistance tech, including adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, collision mitigation braking, and road departure mitigation. New for 2026 is a Post-Collision Braking system designed to reduce secondary impacts, while the Touring trim gains a 360-degree camera system previously reserved for the top models.

The Pilot continues to be built in Lincoln, Alabama, reinforcing Honda’s long-standing commitment to U.S. manufacturing. More than 2.5 million Pilots have rolled out of the Alabama plant since 2006, and the model consistently ranks near the top of Cars.com’s American-Made Index.

The 2026 Honda Pilot refresh doesn’t chase trends—it refines strengths. Bigger, better screens, a noticeably quieter cabin, improved steering feel, and thoughtful feature upgrades make an already solid three-row SUV even easier to recommend. In a segment packed with flashy newcomers, Honda’s steady, well-executed evolution might just be the Pilot’s biggest advantage.

Source: Honda

NEW CARS

Smart #2: The Fortwo Reborn, but Not as You Remember It

Smart is finally ready to show its hand on the car that matters most to its future. The company has released the first official images of the #2, the long-awaited successor to the Fortwo, and while the photos show little more than camouflaged test mules, the message is clear: Smart hasn’t abandoned its original idea—it’s rebuilding it from the ground up.

Due to arrive late next year, the all-electric #2 will become Smart’s new entry point, slotting beneath the #1 and #3 crossovers, the #5 SUV, and the forthcoming #6 saloon. In a lineup that has drifted steadily upward in size and ambition, the #2 is meant to pull the brand back to its urban roots.

What’s hiding beneath that familiar-looking test body is far more interesting than the camouflage suggests. The #2 rides on Smart’s new Electric Compact Architecture (ECA), a platform developed jointly by parent companies Geely and Mercedes-Benz. That alone makes it a first for the modern Smart era. Until now, Smart’s electric lineup has followed a clear division of labor: Geely handled the engineering, Mercedes handled the styling. The #2 breaks that mold, with the platform co-developed in China and Europe to better suit its primary target market—European cities.

For now, that new architecture is wearing a third-generation Fortwo body, a deliberate choice meant to underline continuity. Smart says this confirms the #2 will maintain proportions similar to the car it replaces, which is reassuring news for anyone worried that the Fortwo’s replacement might grow into yet another small crossover. Short overhangs, a tight footprint, and wheels pushed to the corners remain central to the brief.

Design-wise, Smart is keeping its cards close. There’s no official styling reveal yet, but the company describes the #2 as a “reinvention” with a “fresh identity” penned by Mercedes-Benz designers. Expect something more expressive and modern than the old Fortwo, but not a betrayal of its purpose. This is still meant to be a city tool first, fashion statement second.

Crucially, Smart has confirmed that the fundamentals remain unchanged. The #2 will stick with a two-door, two-seat layout and rear-wheel drive, preserving what it calls the same “core driving dynamics” as the Fortwo. In an era where even city cars are turning into mini SUVs, that commitment feels almost radical.

Behind the scenes, however, the business case is anything but simple. Smart CEO Dirk Adelmann has openly acknowledged that developing a bespoke small-car EV platform is expensive—and difficult to justify without scale. To make the numbers work, he’s hinted that the ECA platform could underpin additional models, potentially even a modern Forfour successor.

“We need the economies of scale,” Adelmann said earlier this year, noting that shrinking an EV platform to Fortwo dimensions is far harder than expanding an existing one. The fact that Smart pulled it off at all suggests just how serious it is about keeping a true city car alive.

Technical details remain scarce, but Adelmann has confirmed that the platform can accommodate a dual-motor setup, opening the door to an all-wheel-drive variant—an intriguing possibility for a car this small. Still, the real engineering priority wasn’t straight-line speed. It was maneuverability.

“The wishlist feature we gave to engineering was a very small turning cycle—the same as the last Fortwo,” Adelmann said. In other words, the #2 isn’t trying to be a miniature hot hatch. It’s trying to be unbeatable where it counts: tight streets, narrow parking spots, and dense city centers.

If Smart gets this right, the #2 won’t just be another EV. It’ll be proof that the original Smart idea still makes sense in an electric world—and that small, purpose-built cars still have a place in an industry obsessed with going big.

Source: Autocar

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Audi’s Formula 1 Future Gets a Name—and a Date—with the Audi Revolut F1 Team

Audi’s long-telegraphed march into Formula 1 has finally crystallized into something you can point to, pronounce, and—soon—see on a grid. The Audi Revolut F1 Team is now official, complete with a name, logo, and a global launch date set for January 20, 2026, in Berlin. It’s the clearest signal yet that Audi’s entry into the pinnacle of motorsport is no longer a concept study or a corporate promise, but a fully formed factory effort counting down the days to its debut season.

The naming matters more than it might seem. Formula 1 teams are brands as much as racing outfits, and Audi’s decision to fuse its factory identity with Revolut, the global fintech powerhouse confirmed as title partner in July 2025, is a statement of intent. This isn’t a logo-on-the-sidepod deal. It’s a partnership designed to define how the team operates, communicates, and connects with fans in a sport that is rapidly evolving beyond the racetrack.

More Than a Sponsor Sticker

Revolut’s involvement goes well beyond traditional sponsorship optics. The partnership is positioned as a strategic alliance built on shared values: innovation, performance, and global reach. In practical terms, that means Revolut Business will be integrated into the team’s financial operations, while Revolut Pay will handle transactions in the team’s online store—small details, perhaps, but ones that underscore how deeply the fintech company is embedded in the project.

For fans, the promise is a new layer of engagement. Audi and Revolut are targeting app-based benefits, exclusive access, and activations that aim to pull Formula 1 closer to a younger, digitally native audience. It’s a nod to the reality that modern F1 fandom isn’t confined to grandstands and television screens—it lives on smartphones, social platforms, and global communities that expect more than just lap times.

Berlin as a Statement, Not a Convenience

Audi could have unveiled its team anywhere. Choosing Berlin is deliberate. The German capital offers a mix of history, modernity, and cultural edge that aligns neatly with Audi’s desired F1 identity. On January 20, the Audi Revolut F1 Team will present its full brand for the first time in an immersive launch designed around three pillars: clarity, technical intelligence, and emotion.

In a sport often criticized for being opaque and overly complex, “clarity” is an intriguing word choice. Audi appears keen to demystify its F1 project, making its ambitions and values legible not just to engineers and insiders, but to fans worldwide. The following day, January 21, the doors open to the public—another signal that Audi wants its entry into Formula 1 to resonate beyond the paddock.

The Livery That Sets the Tone

While power units and organizational charts are critical, Formula 1 still runs on visuals and symbolism. The Berlin launch will mark the first full unveiling of the team’s 2026 race livery, building on the Audi R26 Concept shown in November. With fewer than 50 days remaining before the first race of the new regulations era, the livery reveal isn’t just cosmetic—it’s the visual manifesto of Audi’s F1 philosophy.

Expect Audi’s design DNA to be front and center: precision, restraint, and technical confidence rather than gratuitous aggression. How that translates to the hyper-aerodynamic canvas of a modern F1 car will say a lot about how Audi sees itself in a grid crowded with legacy brands and aggressive newcomers.

Rewriting the Corporate Map

Behind the scenes, the transformation is just as significant. As part of the team’s formation, Sauber Motorsport AG will be renamed Audi Motorsport AG, with the Technology Centre in Bicester, UK, becoming the Audi Motorsport Technology Centre UK. It’s a clean rebranding that firmly places Audi at the core of the operation.

At the same time, Audi is careful not to erase the past. The names Sauber Holding AG and Sauber Technologies AG remain, acknowledging the Swiss outfit’s long-standing contribution to Formula 1. It’s a balancing act between heritage and reinvention—one Audi appears keen to get right.

Leadership, Aligned

The tone from leadership is notably unified. Audi CEO Gernot Döllner frames the team name and logo as a “clear identity” that reflects both ambition and innovation, positioning the Berlin launch as the moment Audi officially introduces this new chapter to the world.

Mattia Binotto, heading the Audi F1 project, emphasizes culture over spectacle. His comments point to a team “driven by precision and relentless ambition,” suggesting that the groundwork—technical, organizational, and philosophical—is well underway. For Binotto, Berlin isn’t just a reveal; it’s the first time the team stands together as a single entity.

Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley highlights the multinational nature of the effort, uniting Germany, the UK, and Switzerland under one banner. In a sport where coordination across borders can make or break a season, that sense of collective identity may prove crucial as 2026 approaches.

From Revolut’s side, CEO and co-founder Nikolay Storonsky casts the partnership in disruptive terms, framing the alliance as a challenge to the status quo, powered by a shared obsession with engineering excellence. For Revolut, Formula 1 isn’t just marketing—it’s a platform for global growth.

Counting Down to 2026

Formula 1’s 2026 regulations reset the competitive deck, offering new manufacturers a rare opportunity to enter on relatively equal footing. Audi knows this is its window. The Audi Revolut F1 Team name, logo, and Berlin launch aren’t the finish line—they’re the starting signal.

When the lights go out in early 2026, Audi won’t just be debuting a car. It will be debuting a philosophy, a partnership, and a brand vision designed for Formula 1’s next era. Berlin is where it all becomes real.

Source: Audi

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