Review: The 2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport is a jumbo off-roader

The Honda Pilot has become something a jumbo jet pilot would appreciate.

The all-new fourth-generation SUV is the biggest version of the model that Honda has ever built.

It is designed on the same platform as the Acura MDX that launched last year and has more room across its three rows of seating than before, and a larger cargo bay behind the third row.

The Pilot features a long hood style that gives it an athletic stance and its forward-slanted C-pillar is a small tip of the hat to the original Pilot from 2003.

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All Pilots are powered by a 285 hp V6 and have a 10-speed automatic transmission. Prices start at $37,296 for a front-wheel-drive LX and climb to $53,375 for an all-wheel-drive Elite, but the most interesting model is the TrailSport, which is equipped with gear that makes it Honda's most capable off-road SUV to date.

The $49,695 TrailSport comes with all-terrain tires and an off-road tuned independent suspension that gives it 8.3 inches of ground clearance; steel skid plates for the engine/transmission and fuel tank; a recovery point strong enough to carry twice the vehicle’s weight; and a full-size spare.

Inside there are rubber floor mats, black leather upholstery embroidered with the TrailSport logo and second-row captain's chairs that give it a seven-passenger layout. Other trims have a bench with a removable second row center seat that can be stored in the large compartment under the cargo area floor.

Aside from the color, there are no options, but it’s loaded with technology like a nine-speaker 245-watt audio system with subwoofer; the Honda Sensing suite of electronic driver aids, which includes a lane-centering system that works with or without the adaptive cruise control engaged; and a 360-degree camera system.

The TrailSport’s standard all-wheel-drive system is also specially tuned to handle the kind of moderate off-roading it was meant to handle. There’s a Trail setting among the drive modes that’s programmed to send the majority of available torque to the wheel with the most grip. At speeds under 15 mph, it activates a front camera to offer a better view of what’s directly in front of the vehicle, which is helpful when navigating challenging paths and cresting hills.

The TrailSport won’t make it very far down something extreme like the Rubicon Trail, but it’s happy scrambling along a gravel road and over small rocks. The traction is well managed, and Trail mode keeps the transmission in lower gears for improved response and increased engine braking when you lift off the throttle. A hill descent control can also be used on slopes that are steeper than 7% and adjusted from 2 mph to 12 mph. 

On paved roads, the new Pilot feels a lot like the old one. It has a comfortable ride and nimbler handling than something this big should exhibit. Its turning circle is also reasonably tight, which comes in hand in the woods and parking lots.

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The TrailSport’s most direct competitor is the also new for 2023 Kia Telluride X-Pro, which gets basically the same type of upgrades, compared to the street-smart Tellurides.

Having recently tested both, I can tell you they are the class of the field, and there’s not a lot between them. They differ in style, but they’re similarly priced and equally accommodating, and the way they ride and feel on any surface is uncannily similar.

The Telluride does beat the Pilot on fuel economy, however, at just 21 mpg to 20 mpg combined.

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Unlike the vehicles, neither rating is what anyone would call very big.

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2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport

Base Price: $49,695

As tested: $50,150

Type: 7-passenger, 4-door, all-wheel-drive SUV

Engine: 3.5-liter V6

Power: 285 hp, 262 lb-ft

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Fuel economy: 18 city, 23 hwy