A Week With: 2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport

Till now, the Honda Pilot’s been all hat, no cattle with regards to convincing anybody that it’s even remotely an SUV. It was very a lot the household bus. And it nonetheless is for 2023. However because of a redesign for the brand new mannequin yr, it lastly appears considerably like an SUV, and with the addition of its TrailSport trim, it’s lastly received some gear to enterprise off highway. 

All hat no cattle? Not a lot anymore.

Overview

Launched in late 2002, the Honda Pilot has confirmed to be a extra modern alternative for households than a minivan, though each are well-known for being supremely succesful rug rat lorries.

And whereas the 2023 Honda Pilot is obtainable in LX, Sport, EX-L, TrailSport, Touring and Elite trim, it’s the TrailSport mannequin that has seen the largest improve for the brand new mannequin yr. That is now a real off-road-capable car, though it’s not for the intense boulder bashers. Nevertheless it’s prone to be fashionable amongst cul-de-sac off-roading wannabes because of its all-terrain tires, all-wheel drive, further inch of floor clearance together with underbody skid plates, and a torque-vectoring rear differential.

Exterior

The Honda Pilot TrailSport’s new duds make for a extra convincing case for this car being extra succesful than your conventional mall crawler. Credit score its flared fenders, upright honeycomb grille, tall hood, shorter entrance overhang, wider observe, and bigger tires.

It now has a 2.8-inch-longer wheelbase, which doesn’t damage both. In reality, it nearly appears butch. And take a look at the third-row facet window. It appears a bit, um, distinctive, though that’s only a good means of claiming it appears awkward. Which it does. However in any other case, the Pilot TrailSport’s wardrobe is impeccably conservative and tasteful within the best Honda custom. Bravo. 

Inside

Whereas its design not wreaks of minivan-ness, its inside does, if just for its measurement. Fold the second and third-row seats flat, and also you’ll have 113.7 cubic ft of sleeping or schlepping area. With the seats in use, you’ll nonetheless have 22.4 cubic ft of area. That mentioned, whereas you may get seating for eight throughout three rows in different Honda Pilot fashions, the TrailSport comes solely with second-row Captain’s Chairs, decreasing seating capability to seven. If you happen to do go for a non-TrailSport eight-passenger mannequin, the second row’s center seat might be eliminated and saved within the cargo space. 

The inside is well-assembled, however feels sturdy and easy, fairly than lavish and lacks the superior enchantment of the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride. And whereas there are the anticipated sot-touch surfaces, among the inside trim appears a bit low cost for the value, though its controls have a top quality really feel. 

A 7-inch digital instrument cluster is commonplace, besides on the Elite, the place it grows to 10.2 inches. The bottom infotainment show measures 7 inches, however grows to 9 inches on spendier fashions.

However there’s an astounding 14 cupholders — eight of which might maintain 32-ounce drinks, so that you’ll by no means go thirsty. 

Powertrain

The all-new 2023 mannequin comes with a 3.5-liter V-6 engine rated at 285 horsepower, a 5-horsepower enhance for 2023, together with 262 pound-feet of torque. That’s sufficient energy to tow 5,000 kilos with all-wheel drive, 3,500 kilos with front-wheel drive. 

A brand new 10-speed automated transmission with seven drive modes comes commonplace, as is front-wheel drive. All-wheel drive is an possibility, and has been up to date so it now can ship as much as 70% of the engine’s torque to the rear wheels. How considerate, and appreciated.

The EPA charges our all-wheel-drive Pilot TrailSport at 18 mpg in metropolis driving, 23 mpg on the freeway and 20 mpg in blended metropolis/freeway driving. The Pilot makes use of common unleaded gasoline.

The brand new Pilot TrilSport employs Honda’s latest light-truck structure that shall be discovered below the upcoming redesigns of the Odyssey, Ridgeline and Passport.

Security and Expertise

The Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration has not crash examined the 2023 Honda Pilot, however the Insurance coverage Institute for Freeway Security has, and designated it a 2023 High Security Choose Plus, its prime ranking. 

Mother and father shall be joyful to know that the Honda Sensing suite of superior driver help programs is commonplace. It comes with Collision Mitigation Braking, Street Departure Mitigation, Ahead Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Maintaining Help, Adaptive Cruise Management, Site visitors Signal Recognition, Site visitors Jam Help, Cross Site visitors Monitor, Blind Spot Info System, Low Pace Braking Management, Driver Consideration Monitor, Auto Excessive-Beam Headlights and eight Parking Sensors. It additionally has TrailWatch, which makes use of cameras to point out the path forward when cresting a hill. TrailSport fashions even have entrance digital camera washers in addition to the rear ones used on the remainder of the line-up.

Additionally commonplace are 4 cameras that offer you a birds-eye view of the car on-road and off. If you’re in Path mode, it activates mechanically. You might also flip it on by urgent a button on the proper steering wheel stalk.

Relating to tech, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are commonplace together with the 245-watt, 9-speaker audio system.

Driving Impressions

The Honda Pilot TrailSport proves to be a reasonably good, um, sport round city, with greater than sufficient stand up and go to simply take care of metropolis, suburban and freeway site visitors. The steering is pretty mild, nevertheless, which together with a comparatively excessive experience top for Honda doesn’t precisely provoke you to drive this Honda with any actual gusto. Physique roll is well-controlled, as are undesirable experience motions, whereas the experience proves to be pretty cozy. However then once more, you’re not precisely driving this like a Civic Si. 

However a minimum of it’s geared up for off-road motion. OK, this isn’t meant for the intense boulder bashing present in Moab or on the Rubicon, however it will likely be succesful sufficient as soon as the sidewalk ends. And its skill to sort out quite a lot of driving situations actually makes this Pilot the one to get, because it sacrifices nothing in trade for its capabilities.

Unexpectedly, all rows are liveable by adults, even the third row, surprisingly sufficient. However the driver’s place is especially good, and encompasses a left foot useless pedal, which is at all times appreciated. That mentioned, it does reside as much as its familial DNA as Hondas have at all times been noisy, and the Pilot TrailSport appears to be no exception, significantly with its all-terrain tires. 

That mentioned, there are some options the TrailSport lacks, comparable to a head-up show, Bose premium audio, a Wi-Fi hotspot, a navigation system, and acoustically-laminated entrance facet glass. Nevertheless it does have an ordinary tow hook. 

2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport Specs

Wrap Up

The TrailSport rendition of the 2023 Honda Pilot lends it a layer of legitimacy that it beforehand lacked. For modest off-road adventures and occasional inclement climate, it ought to show to be a secure, spacious, comfy buddy, even when it’s not the quickest or most succesful in its class. 

However its clean demeanor, in depth listing of ordinary driver-assistance security programs, good crash scores and spacious cabin makes it an ideal alternative as a household hauler. 

2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport ­— Incessantly Requested Questions

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