Topic: 2023 Honda Pilot First Drive Review

[AutoTrader.ca]

Fully redesigned with a tough exterior, the new Pilot sits among the best in its class.
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[Jaeger]

Sharp looking ride.  Not something I would have said about the previous gen.

[KD]

Sharp looking ride.  Not something I would have said about the previous gen.

Agreed.  I think Honda nailed it with this and the new CRV.  They made them nice and square to maximize interior space and still managed to keep them stylish.  Proper SUV proportions imo.  Also liked that they stuck with the V6 in the Pilot. 

[Jaeger]

Sharp looking ride.  Not something I would have said about the previous gen.

Agreed.  I think Honda nailed it with this and the new CRV.  They made them nice and square to maximize interior space and still managed to keep them stylish. Proper SUV proportions imo.  Also liked that they stuck with the V6 in the Pilot.

Hell yes.

[ktm525]

Sharp looking ride.  Not something I would have said about the previous gen.

Agreed.  I think Honda nailed it with this and the new CRV.  They made them nice and square to maximize interior space and still managed to keep them stylish.  Proper SUV proportions imo.  Also liked that they stuck with the V6 in the Pilot.

Now they just have to get rid of the afm (active fuel management ie. cylinder deactivation) and the stop start.

[KD]

Sharp looking ride.  Not something I would have said about the previous gen.

Agreed.  I think Honda nailed it with this and the new CRV.  They made them nice and square to maximize interior space and still managed to keep them stylish.  Proper SUV proportions imo.  Also liked that they stuck with the V6 in the Pilot.

Now they just have to get rid of the afm (active fuel management ie. cylinder deactivation) and the stop start.

Isn't that kind of emissions control stuff mandated now?  All manufacturers seem to going that route.  Needs to be a software fix for that stuff if that's the case. 

[JohnnyMac]

Sharp looking ride.  Not something I would have said about the previous gen.

Agreed.  I think Honda nailed it with this and the new CRV.  They made them nice and square to maximize interior space and still managed to keep them stylish.  Proper SUV proportions imo.  Also liked that they stuck with the V6 in the Pilot.

Now they just have to get rid of the afm (active fuel management ie. cylinder deactivation) and the stop start.

I thought the afm in Honda's are not problematic like the GM's?  Regarding stop start, just wish there was a way to turn it off permanently but I guess it needs to turn on after each start up to qualify to be used for the EPA fuel economy ratings.

[valuator]

Sharp looking ride.  Not something I would have said about the previous gen.

Agreed.  I think Honda nailed it with this and the new CRV.  They made them nice and square to maximize interior space and still managed to keep them stylish.  Proper SUV proportions imo.  Also liked that they stuck with the V6 in the Pilot.

My wife's first question when I mentioned the new Pilot was about the V6.  Let's be real, I'm 99% getting one of these within the next 2-3 years (I'll wait and see if interest rates fall, or give myself time to save up the cash if rates are high).

[ktm525]

Sharp looking ride.  Not something I would have said about the previous gen.

Agreed.  I think Honda nailed it with this and the new CRV.  They made them nice and square to maximize interior space and still managed to keep them stylish.  Proper SUV proportions imo.  Also liked that they stuck with the V6 in the Pilot.

Now they just have to get rid of the afm (active fuel management ie. cylinder deactivation) and the stop start.

I thought the afm in Honda's are not problematic like the GM's?  Regarding stop start, just wish there was a way to turn it off permanently but I guess it needs to turn on after each start up to qualify to be used for the EPA fuel economy ratings.

Oh Honda struggled with it but better than most. As the odo clicks over 200k kms I would rather have a V6 without it as there is less to go sideways.

[Blueprint]

Sharp looking ride.  Not something I would have said about the previous gen.

Agreed.  I think Honda nailed it with this and the new CRV.  They made them nice and square to maximize interior space and still managed to keep them stylish.  Proper SUV proportions imo.  Also liked that they stuck with the V6 in the Pilot.

Now they just have to get rid of the afm (active fuel management ie. cylinder deactivation) and the stop start.

They kept it, and dropped V-Tec : https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42662418/honda-35-v-6-engine-dohc/

This completely new V6 has the same output specs as the old one, but runs much cleaner. The old one was going to be toast with emission regs.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

^^^Sounds like this new V6 won't have nearly the character the old one did.  Might as well be a Pentastar - another boring, yet dependable DOHC V6.

[Blueprint]

The launch event was held in Sedona, and Honda had journalists (I don't get flyaways yet  ) ride the Broken Arrow Trail in Pilots, much to the amazement of the people who paid for the Pink Jeep tours. I rode that trail in 2012 as a passenger in The Mentor's lightly lifted and minty Gen-1 JGC Laredo V8. The hill on the way down was a stone staircase from Hell. No way in that place that a Pilot would have made it down intact back then, but due to increased off-road traffic, the stone stairs broke away and now the thing is just a rocky wash, easier to tackle in a regular SUV.

Pic below taken elsewhere, bet the Pilots scraped more than a bit!

[valuator]

^^^Sounds like this new V6 won't have nearly the character the old one did.  Might as well be a Pentastar - another boring, yet dependable DOHC V6.

The last time I floored the Pilot or droved with enough spirit to wake up the engine was....I have no idea.  Maybe using a short merge lane getting onto the highway at some point on a road trip last summer?  Nobody that shleps their family in one of these will notice whether it has VTEC or not.  At least it is 6 cylinders, and hopefully it's reliable.

[Blueprint]

^^^Sounds like this new V6 won't have nearly the character the old one did.  Might as well be a Pentastar - another boring, yet dependable DOHC V6.

The last time I floored the Pilot or droved with enough spirit to wake up the engine was....I have no idea.  Maybe using a short merge lane getting onto the highway at some point on a road trip last summer?  Nobody that shleps their family in one of these will notice whether it has VTEC or not.  At least it is 6 cylinders, and hopefully it's reliable.

I like that V-Tec kick in the Odyssey! The old girl has some giddyup on onramps and uphill passing lanes! My Gen-1 was definitely faster though.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

^^^Sounds like this new V6 won't have nearly the character the old one did.  Might as well be a Pentastar - another boring, yet dependable DOHC V6.

The last time I floored the Pilot or droved with enough spirit to wake up the engine was....I have no idea.  Maybe using a short merge lane getting onto the highway at some point on a road trip last summer?  Nobody that shleps their family in one of these will notice whether it has VTEC or not.  At least it is 6 cylinders, and hopefully it's reliable.

But you could if you wanted to. 

I totally get that 'character' is basically a useless feature in a vehicle that will be hauling families around, but I'll still lament the demise of the last mainstream V6 that had any character whatsoever.  The world is full of characterless, boring V6's and turbo-4's, and now every midsize Honda will join that inclusive club.

[PoweredSilenceGT]

They kept it, and dropped V-Tec : https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42662418/honda-35-v-6-engine-dohc/

This completely new V6 has the same output specs as the old one, but runs much cleaner. The old one was going to be toast with emission regs.

So they kept the worst part and got rid of the best part 

[Blueprint]

They kept it, and dropped V-Tec : https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42662418/honda-35-v-6-engine-dohc/

This completely new V6 has the same output specs as the old one, but runs much cleaner. The old one was going to be toast with emission regs.

So they kept the worst part and got rid of the best part 

Emissions rule the day.

[ktm525]

^^^Sounds like this new V6 won't have nearly the character the old one did.  Might as well be a Pentastar - another boring, yet dependable DOHC V6.

The last time I floored the Pilot or droved with enough spirit to wake up the engine was....I have no idea.  Maybe using a short merge lane getting onto the highway at some point on a road trip last summer?  Nobody that shleps their family in one of these will notice whether it has VTEC or not.  At least it is 6 cylinders, and hopefully it's reliable.

I ring out the V6 in the old Ridgeline regularly. If I am going to live with no bottom end torque then I will make it sing on the top end.    That new V6 needs a couple more cylinders and a quarter turn. Then that Pilot would be close to perfect once they added the 2 speed transfer case and locking rear.