2023 Honda Pilot Breaks the Old Mold on the Trail and the Road

The Broken Arrow Trail outside of Sedona, Arizona, is like an off-road theme park ride. Spanning 2.8 miles in and out, it rises over 400 feet and features the region’s iconic red rock formations as a stunning backdrop. It’s also the birthplace of Pink Jeep Tours, which has been pulling people up and down Broken Arrow since 1960. While the company’s pink-painted Wranglers are a daily sight, it’s not every day they share the trail with mid-sized caravans. Sized three-row SUV, specifically the 2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport.

It cost a family of four more than $500 to take a Jeep tour on the same route where we drove the new fourth-generation Pilot. We couldn’t help but laugh at the shocked looks on people’s faces as they passed what looked like the SUV they had arrived at. Some passengers smiled and took pictures with their phones; others sat pensively in open Jeeps, perhaps wondering if they could drive their own vehicles instead of paying for the tour.

A relatively difficult trail like Broken Arrow can’t be conquered in most family SUVs—at least not without damaging something. Honda hopes to change that with the improved Pilot TrailSport, and our first experience on prototype wheels shows it’s more capable than the fake off-roaders that are so popular in this space (including the previous Pilot TrailSport). By making the model as capable as advertised, Honda hopes the new Pilot will stand out in the hotly contested segment.

Outdoorsy Pilot

The TrailSport, which starts at $49,695, is the poster child for the fourth-generation Pilot. Its ruggedness includes the redesigned Pilot’s boxy appearance and larger proportions. Compared to its predecessor, the new TrailSport is 3.7 inches longer overall—making it Honda’s largest SUV ever—with front and rear tracks that are 1.1 and 1.3 inches wider, respectively. Unlike before, the Pilot also won’t be mistaken for a minivan, mostly due to its squared-off jaws and longer dash-to-axle ratio.

While every 2023 Pilot looks beefier and benefits from a new platform that Honda says is the stiffest yet, the TrailSport stands out with its exclusive off-road hardware. That includes a 1.0-inch lift that adds ground clearance (for a total of 8.3 inches) and a trim-specific suspension with retuned dampers with different valving, unique spring rates and thinner front anti-roll bars for better flexibility. The new TrailSport is the first Pilot to be factory-fitted with all-terrain tires, mounted on dark 18-inch rims with a unique insert spoke design and wheel flange to prevent damage. It’s also the only model with full-size matching parts. Fortunately, we didn’t have to repair a flat on the Broken Arrow Trail, nor did we have to use the TrailSport’s front and rear recovery points.

TrailSport’s Continental TerrainContact A/T all-terrain tires and torque vectoring all-wheel drive work together to maintain maximum traction. The 30.5-inch tires clung securely to Broken Arrow’s rocky red terrain, slick from the previous day’s snow. The all-wheel drive system can send up to 70 percent of the available torque to the rear axle, and 100 percent of that can be sent to one wheel. As the Pilot tackled the toughest obstacles in the new Trail mode, we could feel Honda’s Trail Torque Logic at work as we relaxed in the front seats, which are now more supportive.

Our comfortable daydreams are occasionally interrupted by teeth-gnashing scrapes when hard objects meet the steel skid plates that protect the engine, transmission and fuel tank. However, there was no danger, and our convoy of Pilots confidently marched along. Our confidence was boosted by the TrailSport’s handy TrailWatch camera system, which has front, side and 360-degree views that can be quickly accessed via a button on the end of the windshield wiper stalk. The forward sight is especially useful on steep hills when the view over the hood shows nothing but the sky.

Road Improvements

While the TrailSport model is the most eye-catching, the regular Pilot is also much better. We spent time in the top Elite, whose luxury features explain its $53,375 starting price. Aside from the improved TrailSport off-road grips, the Pilot’s new improvements are the most interesting updates to the 2023 model. The structure is more rigid, there are various sound deadening measures, and Honda redesigned the suspension to improve driving comfort and stability. The chassis also has larger front brake rotors (13.8 versus 12.6 inches) and shorter overall brake pedal travel. The steering is quicker, and the wheels are slightly wider and wrapped in nicer materials.

Improvements not only help make the Pilot quieter inside, but driving this Honda SUV is no longer a boring event. Granted, the Pilot doesn’t corner or stop like the Civic Type R, but it doesn’t feel like a wobbly barge anymore. The steering’s direct feel is a big leap over the old, lifeless steering wheel, and it combines with better body control and more responsive braking for a much better driving experience than its predecessor.

Every Pilot has Honda’s new twin-overhead-cam 3.5-liter V-6, which has the same displacement as the venerable single-overhead-cam V-6 it replaces with significant upgrades to the fuel delivery system, interior and packaging. The new engine still produces 262 lb-ft of torque, but horsepower is up from 280 to 285. The powerplant is paired with a new 10-speed automatic transmission instead of the nine-speed unit, and front- or all-wheel drive.

The new powerplant doesn’t make the Pilot feel faster, but the throttle is more responsive at low speeds, and gear changes are mostly unnoticed. Towing capacity remains 5000 pounds. EPA fuel economy estimates for front-wheel-drive models are 22 mpg combined, while all-wheel-drive versions get 21 mpg combined (20 mpg for the TrailSport). Those combined figures are all 1 mpg lower than the outgoing Pilot.

Breaking Old Molds

While the 2023 Pilot lacks its predecessor’s obvious visual tie to the Honda Odyssey minivan, the new SUV’s larger dimensions and 2.8-inch longer wheelbase make it a more practical people mover than ever.

The Pilot can seat seven or eight people comfortably, although moving around the cabin is easier in its sliding-door sibling. Still, the second-row seats are very flexible, and some models have a removable center seat that can be stored under the rear cargo floor. However, the chair weighs more than 30 pounds, so storing it requires some muscle. When the underfloor storage is not occupied, it offers 3 cubic feet of space. Removable load floor panels are also reversible, with carpet on one side and rubber on the other.

The Pilot’s wider third row has a USB port on each side and four cupholders (out of 14 total). The cargo area is also larger, now with 49 cubic feet behind the second row and 19 cubes behind the third row, in both cases of double gain. Folding down all the rear seats creates a flat floor and opens up 87 cubic feet of space. There’s also additional storage up front via a larger center console bin and a handy parcel shelf built into the dashboard.

Only the top-level Pilot Elite has a 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster and head-up display. All versions except the LX and Sport trims have a 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s all part of an attractive package that includes standard driver aids such as automatic emergency braking, automatic high beams, adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist.

We’re impressed with the improvements of the 2023 model. It breaks the mold of the old generation, growing from forgotten to desirable—especially to everyone who saw the TrailSport compete with the pink Jeep on the Broken Arrow Trail.