THE PILOT is back in an all-new guise, at least in the United States — for now. The largest and most powerful SUV from the Japanese car maker features a special variant — the Pilot TrailSport — which gets all-terrain tires, steel skid plates, higher ground clearance, off-road-tuned suspension and more. The eight-seater Pilot, badged as a 2023 model, is set to go on sale with five trim levels: Sport, EX-L, TrailSport, Touring, and Elite.
Averred American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Vice-President of Auto Sales Mamadou Diallo in a company release, “The Honda Pilot has been a family favorite for two decades, and now we’ve made it even better with more space and refinement inside, cool new rugged styling outside, and substantially increased off-road performance to back it up. Topping it off, the new Pilot TrailSport is an authentic, off-road-capable SUV for true weekend adventures, without sacrificing comfort and on-road dynamics for daily driving.”
A tough, aspirational design features a large upright grille and a powerful stance highlighted by flared fenders, wider tracks, and larger tires. Under a longer hood is Honda’s most powerful V6 ever, an all-new dual overhead cam (DOHC) 3.5-liter engine producing 285 horsepower. A new second-generation i-VTM4 torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system improves off-road capability.
Inside, the eight-seater features a removable second-row seat that can be conveniently stowed under the rear cargo floor. The Pilot is said to have the most passenger and cargo space in the model’s history. It boasts a “more comfortable” third row, and best-in-class overall passenger space and top-class cargo volume behind the last row of seats. Body-stabilizing seats are expected to reduce fatigue even during longer drives. The all-new Pilot also receives “sophisticated materials, premium touches, and must-have tech features” to make it more upscale.
Standard class-leading safety features include a new and improved suite of Honda Sensing safety and driver-assistive technologies, a next-generation front passenger air bag, improved front side air bags and new driver and front-passenger knee air bags.
