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The 2023 trim lineup for the updated Pilot is made up of the Sport, EX-L, TrailSport, Touring, and Elite. Their power source is a revised 3.5-liter V6 that makes 285 horsepower (a modest increase of 5 hp over the 2022 edition) and 262 lb.-ft. of torque; a fresh 10-speed automatic transmission completes the powertrain. The offroad-minded TrailSport and the top-shelf Elite both get standard AWD, while the Sport, EX-L, and Touring have standard front-wheel drive with AWD available. Versions with FWD can tow up to 3,500 pounds; they get a drive-mode selector with settings for Normal, ECON, Snow, Tow, and Sport. AWD Pilots can pull as much as 5,000 pounds, and their drive-mode selector gets an additional setting labeled Trail and Sand.
The ’23 Pilot’s fuel economy is good for a three-row hauler. According to the EPA’s official estimates, a Pilot with FWD will return 19 miles per gallon in city driving and 27 mpg on the highway. With AWD, the city rating stays the same while the highway rating dips to 25 mpg, except in the case of the TrailSport, which is rated for 18 city/23 highway due to the added weight of its specialized components.
The Sport can fit up to eight people, thanks to its three-person middle-row bench seat, and has some great features like LED lights both inside and outside, including fog lights and auto on/off headlights. The power-adjustable front seats are heated, and both the second and third rows of seats split (60/40) and fold for versatility in accommodating larger items; roof rails, rear privacy glass, and reversible dual-level cargo floor help further with transporting stuff and protecting it from prying eyes. This base Pilot also has roof rails, tri-zone automatic climate control, push-button ignition, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a 7-inch driver information display, and Smart Entry with Walk-Away Auto Lock. There are two USB charging ports and a USB-A data port along with a 12V outlet. The infotainment system has a 7-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and a sounds system with seven speakers plus a subwoofer.
Honda ensures that the Pilot Sport has a high safety factor by equipping it with a drive mode selector with multiple settings (Normal, ECON, Snow, Tow, and Sport). Honda Sensing, the proprietary grouping of advanced driver-aid technologies, also comes standard. Besides the two newly added components for 2023 – traffic sign recognition and traffic jam assist – it has automatic high beams, driver attention monitoring, forward collision warning, collision mitigation braking, road departure mitigation, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and revised versions of adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and lane keeping assist.
This trim gets 7-passenger seating with the default second-row pair of captain’s chairs instead of the bench seat – although that remains an option for anyone who prefers it. Honda also upgrades the exterior mirrors in the EX-L: they’re heated to melt frost and ice, plus they have integrated turn-signal indicators, position memory, and reverse gear tilt-down. Likewise, the infotainment system moves up to a 9-inch touchscreen and gets an additional pair of speakers, wireless smartphone connectivity, SiriusXM satellite radio, and HD radio.
This Pilot trim also adds convenience with wireless smartphone charging, a power tailgate, position memory for the driver, second-row sunshades, smartphone pockets on the backs of the front seats, separate climate controls for the middle row, an auto-dimming rearview mirror with HomeLink, a hidden storage compartment in the cargo area, a conversation mirror, Honda’s CabinTalk in-car PA system, another 12V outlet, and a pair of USB-A charging ports for the third row. Its ride is more tranquil, thanks to a sound-absorbing windshield, and the seats are upholstered with real leather. and a pair of second-row captain’s chairs that drop the seating total to seven (although the three-person bench can be opted back in). Rear parking sensors and low-speed braking control are added to the safety tech array, and EX-Ls equipped with AWD will add a Trail & Sand to their drive-mode selector settings.
The debuting TrailSport represents the pinnacle of capability in the entire Honda vehicle lineup. Besides an extra inch of ground clearance over the other Pilot trims, it has all-terrain tires on 18-inch wheels, skid plates, a sport-tuned suspension, and tough recovery points at both the front and rear. There’s also a Class III trailer hitch, the TrailWatch camera system, a household-style 110V outlet, all-weather floor mats, and rugged simulated leather seats dressed up with orange contrast stitching. But it’s not all about toughness: it gets some luxury elements such as a heated steering wheel, power-folding side mirrors, a panoramic moonroof, and heated windshield wipers. This is also the only Pilot trim that isn’t available with eight-passenger seating: it is only made with the middle-row captain’s chairs, with no option for the bench seat.
The Touring is set up like the EX-L (with the middle-row bench), but with more amenities: a hands-free liftgate, a moonroof, sound-deadening front-door glass, in-trunk seat storage (the removable center seat from the second-row bench fits here for stowing), ambient interior lighting, and an enhanced version of Smart Entry with Walk Away Auto Lock system that works on all of the doors. The infotainment system in this refined trim adds voice recognition, navigation, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and a 12-speaker Bose sound system with multi-zone audio.
At the top of the Pilot hierarchy, the strictly AWD Elite spoils its occupants with the same upgrades found on the Touring trim, plus auto-dimming power-folding side mirrors, a head-up display, perforated leather seats, ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, a 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster, rain-sensing wipers, and LED door lighting.
