Pilot

Make
Honda
Segment
SUV

Honda has been excluding base trims from its new models lately, but the LX trim is returning for the 2023 Honda Pilot, which brings the starting price down to $37,295, including delivery charges.

That's a significantly lower starting price than the Sport's $40,495, although it drops or changes some features. The drivetrain remains the same with a 10-speed automatic transmission driven by Honda's updated 285-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine. Front-wheel-drive is standard, and all-wheel-drive is a $2100 upgrade.

As of writing, the LX trim isn't showing on Honda's website yet. We don't have photos yet but expect it to look like the higher-trim models sans certain exterior high-end trim materials.

Feature-wise, it will come with a seven-inch touchscreen rather than the larger nine-inch unit, dual-zone climate control rather than tri-zone, fewer driver assist features, and 18-inch painted wheels.

The driver assistance features this model has to do without include parking sensors, blind-spot assistance, low-speed braking control, and cross-traffic monitor.

However, it's still feature-rich and includes niceties like the Sport trim's seven-speaker 240-Watt Audio System - something we prefer over the Bose system that's touted as an upgrade by many automakers now.

It's quite a big U-turn Honda is making, and not just with the Pilot. We reported back in February that Honda would bring back base trims for the Civic and CR-V. The CR-V has become an expensive SUV, and it's possible to spend $46,000 on a top-spec model with some additional extras.

Honda recently stated that it expects most CR-V and Accord sales to be hybrid models. However, it appears the Japanese brand wants to increase production levels to meet demand, and models with fewer features are easier to build due to the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage.

The introduction of the 2023 Honda CR-V LX will see the SUV retails for under $30,000, while we expect the Civic LX to start at around $23,500.