Honda upgraded its midsize Pilot SUV for 2023. The three-row Pilot is larger and more powerful than the outgoing model, with new interior touches and flexible seating. The outdoorsy Pilot TrailSport returns to improve its sales against the Jeeps, Ford Explorers and Toyota 4Runners of the world, all of which topped the Pilot in sales in 2021.
The new Pilot, as with the last, is designed and built in America. It has a new exterior look with a new horizontal beltline to accentuate its increase in width by 3.4 inches. The wheelbase is also longer than the outgoing model and new LED taillights differentiate the rear.
“The three-row family crossover segment continues to remain perhaps the most important one for an automaker to have a solid entry in. These vehicles are key money-makers and the competition among them is intense. Honda’s last Pilot, which launched for the 2016 model year, was beginning to age in a space occupied by more modern and newer rivals,” Robby DeGraff, industry analyst at AutoPacific told Newsweek.
“We’ve seen the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade climb to the top as almost ‘instant’ benchmarks as other brands are trying to catch up. In looking at our product cycle plans, many of the Pilot’s competitors, apart from the Pathfinder, haven’t really been redesigned yet, only facelifted.”
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The 2023 Pilot comes in the same trims as last year including Sport, EX-L, TrailSport, Touring and Elite. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but the current Sport model starts at $36,830.
The new Pilot Sport comes with gloss black trim and grille bar, a chrome exhaust, black roof rails, fog lights and Shark Gray seven-spoke, 20-inch wheels. EX-L adds chrome trim and grille with five-spoke, 18-inch alloy wheels. Moving up to the Touring and Elite, those more expensive trims come with more premium exterior touches with gloss black grille mesh and B-pillar, dual chrome exhaust and unique seven-spoke, 20-inch wheels.
A sporty Honda Performance Development (Honda’s U.S.-based racing company) package will be offered with bronze-colored aluminum wheels, fender flares and HPD decals.
Inside, buyers will have the option between a second-row bench for an eight-passenger layout and two second-row captain’s chairs for a seven-person layout. With the extra length second-row passengers get 2.4 more inches of legroom (along with 10 degrees of recline, up from 6 degrees). With the eight-person layout the second row can be folded flat.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
The 2023 Honda Pilot has more cargo room than the previous model with up to 113.67 cubic feet behind the first row, and up to 22.42 cubic feet behind the third row. Storage bins can fit a full-size tablet; the passenger gets an instrument panel shelf, and it has 14 cupholders with eight fitting 32-ounce water bottles.
On the technology front, the Honda Pilot Sport comes with a 7-inch central touchscreen infotainment with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A 7-inch digital instrument cluster with driver selectable functions is also standard. A storage tray can fit two phones, and features two standard illuminated USB ports (A and C). Second-row passengers get two 2.5A USB-A charging ports as standard. Everything but the Sport trim comes with wireless charging and add two USB-A ports in the last row.
“Families want more features, more capability, more space, and of course more truck-like upright styling. The all-new Pilot appears to check the boxes with a roomier cabin, rugged looks, an influx of Honda’s latest and greatest infotainment and safety tech, as well as an updated robust V6 powertrain,” said DeGraff.
Upgraded trims get a 9-inch touchscreen with wireless smartphone connection and a 10.2-inch digital cluster. Touring and Elite models get a 12-speaker Bose premium audio system including a subwoofer.
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Power continues to come from a 3.5-liter V6, updated to produce 285 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. A ten-speed automatic transmission is standard with front-wheel drive. Optional, and standard on TrailSport is a new four-wheel drive system that Honda says reacts faster to slippery surfaces.
The i-VTM4 system has a stronger rear differential that can handle 40-percent more torque and provides 30-percent faster response. The V6 can send up to 70 percent of the engine’s torque to the rear axle, and 100-percent of that can be sent to either rear wheel. Drive modes include Normal, Econ, Snow, Sport and Tow modes.
The TrailSport, EX-L and Touring with all-wheel drive, and Elite have an updated Sand mode and a new Trail. The Pilot can tow 5,000 pounds and hill descent control, which helps drivers slowly descend a steep, slippery hill at a safe speed, is also standard.
The 2023 Pilot TrailSport adds features for going off road like a new camera system, a tuned off-road suspension with a 1-inch lift, unique stabilizer bars and Continental TerrainContact all-terrain tires with unique 18-inch wheels. The TrailSport also adds skid plates, which can support the entire vehicle’s weight, and recovery tow hooks in case things go really wrong. The four-wheel drive system gets extra programming for off-road maneuvers.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Honda Sensing safety features are standard including blind spot warning, Traffic Jam Assist, traffic sign recognition and low-speed emergency braking. Adaptive cruise control and lane keeping have been updated, according to Honda. Standard rear seatbelt reminder is new to the Pilot this year.
“Honda’s paid attention to growing demand for soft off-roaders and given the all-new Pilot a proper TrailSport version with actual mechanical upgrades, all-terrain tires, skid plates, and a suspension lift, to battle against Ford‘s Explorer Timberline and Kia’s Telluride X-Pro,” said DeGraff.
“For more than a handful of reasons, I do believe the all-new Pilot will help Honda rob a larger portion of the segment’s sales from its current leaders,” he said.
The 2023 Honda Pilot goes on sale in December.