New Pilot TrailSport Will Be Honda's Most Rugged SUV Ever

Sep. 14, 2022 12:46 PM ET by Gerhard Horn Teaser / 4 Comments

With all-terrain tires, steel skid plates, and an off-road-tuned suspension.

The all-new Honda Pilot and Pilot TrailSport will be revealed this fall, which means the Japanese manufacturer is trying to create hype by releasing teaser images. The first teaser was terrible and felt like a page from a Where's Waldo book.

This time we have six new images, and the camouflage has been removed in some of them. Immediately we can tell that Honda is making a significant design departure from the 2022 model, which is 50 shades of bland.

The new Pilot's design is closely aligned with more modern Honda products like the all-new CR-V, which recently made its highly anticipated debut. The new slim, slightly angled headlights, larger grilles, and sharp lines are working wonders for Honda.

Honda says the Pilot TrailSport will be its most rugged SUV ever. It will ship standard with all-terrain tires, steel skid plates, an off-road-tuned suspension, and "expanded all-wheel drive system capabilities."

Honda first filed a trademark for "TrailSport" in 2021 and has used it on several models since. You can already buy the current 2022 Pilot in TrailSport trim, in which case you get all-wheel-drive, grippy all-terrain tires, and intelligent traction management as standard. The driving modes include Snow, Sand, and Mud.

Honda's statement regarding the 2023 model makes it clear that it wants to go beyond everything mentioned above.

Compared to the 2022 model, the wheels appear smaller, but that's a good thing. It means Honda can fit a grippier tire with a higher profile. The wheels also do a much better job of filling the arches. We wouldn't be surprised if those tires came standard with a reinforced sidewall, given the terrain the car is on.

The terrain doesn't appear particularly tricky, but at least you can tell the AWD system works. If we had to guess, Honda will likely include more driving modes, with the most obvious candidates being Gravel and Rock.

There are no official details other than what Honda has chosen to reveal. Honda won't change the three-row format and will likely soldier forth with the naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 producing 280 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. Honda might fettle with the nine-speed automatic's first gear to mimic a low-range gearbox, but it already does a perfectly adequate job.

Honda might go nuts and drop the Acura MDX's 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 (355 hp/354 lb-ft) under the hood, but we think it would take the Pilot too deep into Honda's fancy division, which will inevitably lead to cannibalization.

The full debut is imminent, so we should know everything shortly.

New Pilot TrailSport Will Be Honda's Most Rugged SUV Ever

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New Pilot TrailSport Will Be Honda's Most Rugged SUV Ever

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