2023 Honda Pilot Review
2023 Honda Pilot Review
The all-new Honda Pilot now features a capable off-roading TrailSport trim level.
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The Honda Pilot has long been a popular three-row crossover SUV. The strong-selling model has been fully redesigned and updated for the 2023 model year and, although there are still no signs of a hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrain, Honda has added the TrailSport trim level to the mix. With great safety features and impressive technology, we expect the new Pilot to find plenty of fans.
Read our full review of the 2023 Honda Pilot on CarGurus: https://cargur.us/Tg1ZS
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Presenter: Mark Takahashi
Cinematography: Phil Shuyler
#honda #pilot #trailsport
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0:00 The 2023 Honda Pilot
0:28 Exterior Styling
1:34 Under the Hood
2:11 Driving Impressions–Elite
5:29 Off-Road Impressions–TrailSport
7:59 Interior
10:33 Rear Seat
12:38 Cargo Space
13:35 Pricing \u0026 Final Thoughts
Content
0 -> Shoppers of a certain age will remember that when
they were kids the go-to family car was a station
5.94 -> wagon in the 80s that got replaced by minivans and
in the 90s and 2000s well that's the rise of the
12.42 -> SUV that brings us to today where we're looking at
three row mid-size SUVs and this happens to be one
19.02 -> of the newest ones the all-new 2023 Honda Pilot
before we get too deep into this review do us a
24.78 -> favor hit like And subscribe below to get all of
our latest content so let's talk about what's new
30.12 -> with this 2023 pilot first off style it looks a
lot more rugged especially with this more upright
37.32 -> Grille and it's just a little more boxy and a
little more aggressive than before last one well a
44.1 -> little softer a little rounded edges and a sloping
nose and another thing that's kind of important to
50.16 -> the styling of this is it's got a flatter hood for
a little more presence on the road down the side
55.92 -> there's not too much to talk about but we do have
some plastic fenders here that might come in handy
61.74 -> when we go off-roading and we'll get to that in a
bit right here around the back we have these nice
66.24 -> big chunky tail lights that nicely frame this
trim piece here with the Bold all caps pilot
72.12 -> overall it's a really nice tidy design I think
they accomplish their goal of making the pilot
79.14 -> a little rougher a little more rugged personally
I like the new personality of the pilot but let
85.26 -> us know what you think are you attracted to
this new more rugged look or are you looking
90.72 -> for something a little more conservative let us
know in the comments below powering the pilot is
95.76 -> an all-new three and a half liter V6 that's good
for 285 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque
102.48 -> that's paired with a new 10-speed automatic
transmission that drives the front wheels
107.82 -> all-wheel drive is available on every model
and it's standard on the top two trims
113.34 -> and one thing that is notable is this new engine
and drivetrain gets 31 miles per gallon in
119.88 -> Combined City and highway driving that's actually
two miles per gallon less than its predecessor but
126.6 -> to Honda's credit these new engines do emit far
fewer greenhouse gases as far as power goes the
133.92 -> pilot has an adequate amount but it's not really
that impressive but that makes sense for a family
138.9 -> SUV now I think for most drivers they'll have
plenty of power they won't need much more than
145.32 -> this now the transmission is a 10-speed automatic
it's not a CVT so it has a lot better response
151.86 -> it feels like it's right there ready to get you
accelerating and the shifts are nice and smooth
157.14 -> there's none of that droning that you'll hear with
some of the other CVT transmissions ride quality
162.48 -> is really nice and smooth it's a little on the
soft side which makes sense for a family three row
168.84 -> SUV now when you're in the curves you will feel
some body roll but it's not that disconcerting
174.9 -> I mean it's not a sports car after all well it's
a good blend of handling and comfort and as far
181.26 -> as noise goes while we're hearing a little bit
of road noise right now but we are in a pretty
185.76 -> coarse asphalt surface so I'm willing to give it a
pass for that one thing that is a little different
191.94 -> for me is actually the steering feel it's
super super light and even when I switch it
197.7 -> to sport mode it doesn't build up that much now
it seems right for a family SUV that you don't
204.18 -> want really stiff steering that will eventually
kind of fatigue you on a long drive but I would
210.3 -> like a little more effort just because it
feels a little vague almost like a video game
216 -> as far as outward visibility goes this
front roof pillar here is pretty thick but
222.36 -> I feel like I won't have to Bob my head too much
around sharp left turns now that's also pretty
228.84 -> typical of modern SUVs I mean a lot of the
airbags and structural strengthening goes on
235.86 -> there to give you the rollover protection that
you need for those great test scores and Honda
242.76 -> expects the pilot to get top scores including a
top safety pick plus rating from the iihs rear
250.02 -> visibility not that great either but again pretty
typical for SUVs in this class the good thing is
257.04 -> you get Saran view cameras that will take all the
guesswork out but it is only standard on the top
263.76 -> trims like every other new vehicle out there the
pilot comes with a long list of advanced safety
270.42 -> features right now we're using the adaptive cruise
control and it's doing a great job of maintaining
275.64 -> a gap between me and the car in front the got
nice inputs as far as braking and throttle so
282.18 -> it doesn't feel like you're kind of being yanked
back and forth like this it drives pretty much
287.22 -> like I would drive nice and smooth over the last
couple years the midsize three row SUV class has
294.3 -> been dominated by the Kia Telluride it really just
seems that every new competitor that comes along
299.4 -> just can't quite surpass what it delivers and that
space and convenience and power and performance
307.5 -> this new redesign pushes the pilot a lot closer
to that I can't say for sure just yet if it's
314.4 -> going to meet or beat it but I would have no
problem taking either of them at this point
319.26 -> another alternative is the Nissan Pathfinder which
in my book comes in at kind of a close third place
325.2 -> between all three of these I don't think you can
go wrong now returning for the pilot lineup this
331.2 -> year is the trailsport which is their off-road
version this time around it's a lot more serious
337.32 -> it's not just an inch lift for the suspension
and some aesthetic decals and stuff no this one
342.78 -> actually has legitimate parts for off-roading to
give it the kind of capabilities that you might
348.3 -> expect from almost a Jeep so we'll find out about
that my big concern though is this new suspension
354.48 -> in the trailsport might affect ride quality and
comfort so let's hop into one next and see how
361.08 -> it drives and here we are in the trail sport now
ride quality wise it doesn't feel that different
366.9 -> but I am feeling some kind of wobbling from the
tires because these are all terrain tires these
373.14 -> aren't all season tires these are true off-road
tires so you will expect some kind of lumpiness
378.54 -> in those tires and it's really not that bad and
that's nice now it's also an inch taller in ride
384.48 -> height and I don't really feel that either so
that's pretty good it doesn't feel floaty or kind
390.36 -> of out of sorts on the highway overall I think the
trail sport is comfortable enough for daily Duty
397.08 -> I said Duty now that we've confirmed that the
trail sport doesn't make any huge significant
403.02 -> changes to its ride quality it's still quite
comfortable it's time to test out why it exists
408.96 -> at all and that's off-roading we're on some
moderate Trails there are some low speed crawls
415.98 -> and this is definitely the kind of terrain that
would [ __ ] a lesser SUV now with this trail
423.36 -> sport it's not just an appearance package you
get 18 inch wheels with all-terrain tires you
430.92 -> have skid plates underneath that can actually
support the entire weight of the vehicle on a
435.18 -> single point as well as a completely reworked
suspension you also get a lot of different
440.94 -> Trail Drive modes we're currently in trail which
seems perfect for this it's kind of narrow lots
448.26 -> of undulations left and right even some pretty
steep climbs over some big rocks so to me this
456.24 -> definitely fits the bill for a moderate off-roader
and honestly most people won't need to do anything
463.2 -> this serious but this is a family SUV after all so
that means that the interior is vitally important
471.42 -> so let's pull over and go into some detail
479.16 -> here in the pilot the design of the dash
doesn't mimic the latest dashes from Honda
484.74 -> like the Civic and CRV and the newer cord which
have this mesh horizontal Grille that goes across
491.28 -> instead and here's actually a better idea is
they hollowed this area out for some extra
497.28 -> storage makes perfect sense especially on long
road trips where the passenger might have some
501.9 -> extra snacks and phones and that type of thing
overall Honda makes good use of all available
507.6 -> space we have this large rubberized tray here
with a single phone charger large cup holders and
515.4 -> as an added bonus in the door Pockets there's
large cup holders that can accommodate those
520.38 -> large one liter Nalgene bottles otherwise you
have a huge bin here that's deep they said you
527.1 -> can actually fit a full-size tablet in there and
there's plenty of other Pockets which is pretty
532.62 -> indicative of what Honda is known for clever
use of storage when it comes to seat Comfort the
539.1 -> these are really quite good they're really heavily
cushioned I mean they're kind of pillowy like a
545.22 -> nice sofa so I can see myself logging tons of
hours on a long road trip without any fatigue
551.82 -> in the higher trims you do get ventilated
seats as well as heated seats and overall
558.24 -> you have plenty of adjustments to find your
optimal position the cockpit has the right amount
563.52 -> of buttons for me there's just enough shortcuts
for climate control where you don't have to go
568.08 -> digging through menus and the infotainment system
itself is pretty quick but the graphics seem just
575.04 -> a little bit behind the times if it's the new
system I would have expected maybe updated
579.96 -> Graphics when it comes to Interior quality it's
quite nice maybe not as nice as the Telluride in
587.4 -> the top trim level but this I mean everywhere
you're touching is nicely padded there is some
593.16 -> plastic but it's a nice high quality plastic this
infotainment screen though does seem a little
598.56 -> small for the space it's occupying I wouldn't be
surprised if in following years they bump it up to
604.32 -> 10 to 12 inches another great infotainment feature
is the trail watch cameras that's not anything
610.86 -> new a lot of other 4x4s have been doing that for
years but it gives you a really great indication
616.62 -> of where you on the trail and of any obstacles
that might be lurking underneath also notable
622.74 -> right here it says bows this is the first time a
Bose premium audio has been thrown into the pilot
628.38 -> and yeah it's got nice Punchy base which is what
you expect from Bose here in the second row there
634.86 -> is a wealth of room really truly I'm five foot
ten sitting behind the driver's seat which is set
640.02 -> for me and you can see there's just tons of knee
room and plenty of space under the seat for your
645.18 -> feet here above me I have at least three inches
before I start hitting the headliner which means
650.16 -> you can easily fit six foot adults back here and
then there's the killer app in my book which is
657.54 -> this Center seat or is it here's the deal it folds
flat to be a little console with cup holders and a
665.22 -> tray here but you just pull a strap here lift from
the back and this thing pops out and you can pop
672 -> it in the trunk and it fits underneath the floor
so that means if you're out and about and need
677.22 -> another seat it's still back there not in your
garage where it's doing you no good to me this is
683.4 -> really smart design now the Nissan Pathfinder does
something similar where it's a removable console
688.8 -> but that console doesn't flip into a seat other
things we have back here we have our own separate
693.96 -> climate control heated seats in this top trim here
we have two USB ports and a household power outlet
702.18 -> of course this isn't the only trick we've got
to find out how much space there is in the third
706.8 -> row follow me now if you don't have the center
pass-through open getting past the second row is
713.22 -> easy with just a touch of one button and doesn't
take too much of contortionist to get back here
718.14 -> and once I am back here well the space is adequate
ish this seat here isn't reclined all the way back
726.3 -> so I do have some knee room but not a whole lot
of foot room in this well here the key here though
732.9 -> is the seat height it is a bit lower than the
tellurides which means you're not getting the
738.18 -> kind of thigh support up up here but I have to say
I do have enough Headroom now materials quality
744.96 -> isn't quite as nice back here but that also makes
sense because this is more about durability and we
750.24 -> are technically in the cargo hold so we have hard
plastic bits here for your elbows they don't feel
755.52 -> so great but kids should be fine back here behind
the third row we have about 22 cubic feet of cargo
761.88 -> space case that's comparable to the Telluride
once you fold them down which is pretty easy
767.22 -> that expands to 60 cubic feet with the second roll
folded that bumps it up to 114 cubic feet that's
775.44 -> sort of minivan territory if you ask me so you
should have no problem squeezing a ton of stuff
781.56 -> in here and as I mentioned under here that Center
seat fits perfectly and really not a lot of effort
788.52 -> to get it in or out to me that drives home the
point that Honda is just good at packaging another
795.3 -> great feature is this lid itself not only is it
high in all your cargo but you can flip it over
802.98 -> and now you have this surface that's better for
wet objects I mean I'm not going to be gutting a
808.74 -> fish back here but if you have some surf equipment
or whatever it's not going to make everything wet
813.96 -> and mildewy back here after driving both the elite
and the trail sport on and off-road I gotta say
821.04 -> this pilot is not making my job any easier it
is pretty much a dead heat between this and the
828.18 -> Telluride prices start right around twenty seven
thousand dollars for either of them while the
833.76 -> pilot that goes just past fifty thousand dollars
for the top Elite trim this trail sport model
839.34 -> starts just below fifty thousand dollars when it
comes to power and comfort and cargo space it is
847.32 -> pretty much right up there with the Telluride
now the Telluride has a little bit more third
852.18 -> row space but this trail sport will dominate
it on a trail like this now the Telluride does
858.36 -> have some off-road capabilities but they are
much much lighter the Telluride is also just
864.54 -> slightly more luxurious on the inside but when
it really comes down to it really the decision
870.9 -> could be down to just Aesthetics and personal
preference now if you do have some desire to
875.88 -> get out and about and do some adventuring and
some off-roading this is definitely your pick
880.38 -> but if not the Telluride might actually be
a better choice so that leaves the question
885.06 -> do you go for the Telluride or the pilot let us
know in the comments below and if you go for the
890.4 -> pilot do you go for the trail sport for one of the
more regular versions well that's it for us from
895.68 -> Sedona thanks for watching and don't forget to hit
like And subscribe below we'll see you next time
902.76 -> foreign [Music]
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoNRoL9Y_nc