{"id":35424,"date":"2022-11-07T09:04:48","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T14:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=35424"},"modified":"2022-11-07T09:04:48","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T14:04:48","slug":"2023-honda-pilot-first-look","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=35424","title":{"rendered":"2023 Honda Pilot First Look: Better-looking, more rugged, more family friendly – Autoblog"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Honda Pilot<\/a> has experienced some rotten timing over the years. After helping establish the three-row crossover<\/a> segment with its highly successful first-generation, Honda<\/a> decided to switch things up and make a boxier, more rugged second-generation. Unfortunately, that coincided with a gas price<\/a> surge that sent shoppers away from boxy, rugged vehicles. The third-generation went back to what worked originally, but was perhaps too much of a course correction, as boxy and rugged made a comeback in recent years. Now, to see if the fourth time\u2019s a charm, the all-new, fourth-generation 2023 Honda Pilot arrives as a sort of blending of the two approaches.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The styling is indeed boxier than its melted soap predecessor, with the Honda Pilot TrailSport version leaning heavily into the rugged realm, but Honda didn\u2019t go full 4Runner<\/a> here. There is still a clean refinement to the design, which, when combined with the boxy silhouette, is a bit reminiscent of the Volvo XC90<\/a>. Any comparison to that timeless beauty is always a good thing. Ornamentation is similarly restrained, and in person, both the Elite and TrailSport versions certainly put the 2023 Pilot<\/a> in the running for the segment\u2019s best-looking. At very least, it\u2019s a lot less minivan-adjacent now.<\/p>\n

The new Pilot is nearly 3 inches longer, with a similarly lengthened wheelbase, making it a bit more minivan-adjacent inside. That\u2019s especially true of the novel new second-row seating arrangement standard on the Touring and Elite trims. At first look, it\u2019s a bench seat, but as in the Odyssey<\/a> and the Pilot\u2019s Acura MDX<\/a> cousin, the middle seat folds to create a console-like armrest, or (here\u2019s the big part) be removed completely from the car. There\u2019s no need to choose between eight-passenger bench seat or seven-passenger captain\u2019s chairs at the dealer<\/a> (unless you\u2019re in the price range of a Sport, EX-L or TrailSport). Ah, but here\u2019s the even bigger part: That middle seat can actually be stored inside the Pilot behind the third row and under the cargo floor. There\u2019s a strap and tie-down points included as well. It\u2019s not exactly light or easy to pull the seat out, but the fact that it\u2019s possible is really impressive.<\/p>\n

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Third-row space grows by 2.5 extra inches of legroom, and is even friendlier for bigger teens and adults. A 6-foot-3 person fit quite comfortably back there. Cargo<\/a> space explodes by 6 cubic-feet behind that third row from a decent 16.5 cubes to 22.4. Apparently, that does not include the huge underfloor area, which as before, can be utilized to carry even more luggage. We\u2019ll be curious to see how much better the new Pilot is in a luggage test than its already-impressive predecessor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the cabin, the Pilot gets the same infotainment options as the Civic<\/a>, HR-V<\/a> and CR-V<\/a> before it. That\u2019s great news as the outgoing Pilot\u2019s touchscreen was quite old and wasn\u2019t that good when new. The base Sport trim gets a 7-inch touchscreen, while everything else gets the 9-inch unit along with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus wireless charging (the Sport requires a wire).<\/p>\n