Review of 2023 Honda Pilot Trail Sport undergoes off-road testing

You might find it hard to believe that a 2023 Honda Pilot Trail Sport followed a Jeep Wrangler on a snow-covered trail of rocks and mud ruts outside of Sedona, Arizona, this past January. To be fair, the Wrangler was painted pink and equipped with an open rear that could carry eight tourists under a safari-style canopy. While far from Jeep Jamboree material, the Pilot Trail Sport was more capable than the tourist crossover SUV stranded in the parking lot.

More importantly, the off-road equipment on the redesigned eight-passenger crossover SUV was more rugged marketing than off-road capability, and the Ford Explorer Timberline and Kia Telluride X Pro (and even the Honda Passport Trail The company's first major success was in proving itself against rival soft loaders such as the Ford Explorer Timberline and Kia Telluride X Pro (and even the Honda Passport Trail Sport), which boast more rugged marketing than off-road capability.

According to Honda, the new 2023 Pilot Trail Sport can handle off-road terrain that is considered easy or moderate, which covers 52% of public lands in the US. It's not the kind of thing you can climb over the slippery rocks of Moab or trek down and up canyons, but on the craggy semi-desert sandstone of Sedona, it performed beyond expectations.

The longest and largest pilot is a bit longer as a trail sport, with a minimum ground clearance of 8.3 inches, an inch higher than the other pilots. The approach angle has been widened, and a 4.0mm-thick high-strength steel front skid plate protects the new 285-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 engine and new 10-speed transmission in the fourth-generation Pilot.

The 2023 Honda Pilot

Torque remains the same at 262 lb-ft, but the new powertrain reduces carbon emissions by at least 40%, although it has an EPA rating of 1 mpg less than its predecessor. Still, with standard all-wheel drive, the Pilot Trail Sport is quiet and smooth on pavement, even with Continental Terrain Contact all-terrain tires (265/60 R18) wrapped around 18-inch wheels.

The engine feels familiar, but the 10-speed shifts through gears inconspicuously quickly. It downshifts four gears at a time for quick passing response, and the standard paddle shifters give the driver some control. In Sport mode, it can jump around a bit when downshifting, but otherwise it's much smoother than the 9- and 10-speed competitors that dance around looking for a partner. Except in Sport mode, where Honda amplifies the engine sound through the speakers, which helps keep the engine and cabin quiet. The sound is also quite good.

Switching between drive modes (Normal, Economy, Snow, Tow, and Sport) adjusts throttle response, shift timing, and steering weight to give the family hauler a condition-specific personality, and AWD models have a Trail mode and Sand mode is added; the ride quality of the TrailSport with 18-inch tires was not significantly different overall than the Pilot Elite with 20-inch wheels.

2023 Honda Pilot

Sharing the brand new global light-track platform with the Acura MDX, the 2023 Pilot is up to 60% stiffer than its predecessor. It leans less than its predecessor and feels firmer on the road thanks to improved MacPherson front struts and a stiffer multi-link rear suspension.

In Trail Sport, the Trail mode was welcomed beyond the pavement. The tall low gear, which causes a bit of lean from traffic lights, is helpful when traveling at low speeds crawling up snow-covered rock stairs. On these climbs, a light touch on the throttle kept the car moving forward without any forward wobble, but once the throttle was released, there was no wobble. The tires also helped, and the Trail Sport continued to drive steadily.

A more advanced all-wheel drive system also helped propel the Trail Sport forward through ruts and mud puddles. Like Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, the Pilot's variable torque management system can send up to 70% more torque to the rear wheels. The Torque Vectoring Rear Differential transmits up to 100% of the torque to the rear wheels where it has the most grip. Even when the driver paused and appeared to be leaning toward the desert bushes, the system was able to move forward with no problem using the grounded wheel until the other wheel fully settled.

2023 Honda Pilot

Another skid plate protects the fuel tank, but the standard full-size spare and Trail Sport hitch shave the starting angle and could lead to abrasions when exiting rock ruts. The hitch and front skid plate have recovery points that can carry twice the gross vehicle weight of the Trail Sport. Gross vehicle weight is 4,650 pounds with a towing capacity of 5,000 pounds.

Improved stabilizer bars help with wheel articulation, but the Pilot Trail Sport lacks the shocks and real off-road bits to increase wheel travel to the level of a rock crawler. Still, it would have no problem going over forest access roads and into hunting and farm lands.

2023 Honda Pilot

Honda also adds standard Hill Descent Control, which maintains throttle and brake control between 2-12 mph on grades of 7 degrees or more. We tested it and don't think many Pilot Trail Sport drivers will be descending gradients steep enough for long enough to need it. The surround view camera system, which operates in trail mode or wiper stalk, provides forward, overhead, and side mirror views to assist the larger pilot in detecting corner moves and drops.

Trail Sport gave us more confidence than we expected. Honda let us prove our capabilities on a course shared with a Wrangler carrying tourists. The Pilot Trail Sport seats seven and its panoramic sunroof acts as a safari canopy; the $49,695 Pilot Trail Sport has unexpected off-road capabilities, adding a sense of adventure to a common-sense family hauler.

Honda covered the cost of airfare and lodging for Motor Authority to bring you this first-hand report.