Last summer we had the opportunity to test drive the 2023 Honda Pilot Trailsport. The plan was to take it camping and see how it managed with our family of 6. Sadly, due to circumstances beyond our control, our camping trip was canceled. That didn’t stop us from declaring that vehicle “The Nicest Car”. I kid you not, this is what our children started calling it. So when Honda reached out to us and asked if we wanted a redemption round and try out the 2025 Honda Pilot Trailsport we said yes without hesitation. We wanted to know if we could fit our whole family into the vehicle and all our camping gear.
2025 Honda Pilot Trailsport
THE LARGEST SUV FROM HONDA
The Honda Pilot is the largest SUV that Honda has to offer. Now, the Odyssey is a smidgen shorter in height, but it is longer by about 5 inches when compared to the Pilot. While a minivan may still be considered the ultimate people mover, many buyers have found a preference for getting an SUV. So here we are with an SUV that feels like a minivan without the sliding doors and no Magic Slide 2nd-Row Seats™.
Dear Honda, seriously, we’ve given this recommendation several times over now… PLEASE! We are begging you to please put the Magic Slide 2nd-Row Seats™ into the Pilot!
We noticed a difference in the amount of legroom for the 3rd row and the 2nd row. Everyone sat comfortably throughout the different rows and seats. However, it should be mentioned that if you have long legs sitting in the front passenger seat you may find your legs hitting the airbag.
READY…. GO!
ThePilot trim models all have 286 horsepower from a 3.5L V6 engine. What we tested had a 10 -speed automatic transmission. My husband notices the vehicle shifting through all of the gears, more than I do. It drives him crazy, but I don’t notice it at all. We both agreed that driving through the mountains the Pilot did not struggle at all, even with a full load. So the stutter through the gears is something that can be forgiven if over all it’s a smooth, powerful ride.
DRIVING FEATURES
There are all sorts of different features to the Honda Pilot Trailsport that we liked. One you cannot miss is the Panoramic Moonroof. Our youngest loved being able to look up and out the Moonroof and see everything above as we drove.
The TrailSport also has multiple drive modes (Normal, Econ, Snow, Sport, Tow, Sand, and Trail) that will help ensure that you can confidently drive anywhere. If you are using a cargo hitch like we did for camping, be sure to put the vehicle in Tow mode. The tow mode holds lower gears for better responsiveness, increases steering feel, and deactivates the rear parking sensors if equipped. That last part is key. If rear parking sensors are equipped, the vehicle will have all sorts of alarms sound and put the breaks on if you try to back up.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
So, did the 2025 Honda Pilot Trailsport work out for our camping trip? Yes and no. It wanted to say challenge accepted when we put it to the test for camping, but there were some hiccups. The Trailsport model has 7 seats, unlike the other options which have 8 and the second row has a removable middle seat. That middle seat would have been a game changer for packing and made a huge difference in how we configured car seats and what kid sat where. Parents of more than 2 kids understand the strategy that comes into play for road trips and who sits where.
This caused us to then have to get creative when it came to packing. The vehicle did have a hitch and we had access to a hitch rack. Being able to put a large portion of our camping gear in bings on the hitch rack meant our kids were not overly crowded by stuff in the car. If we were to purchase a Pilot new we would be looking into roof racks and getting a cargo box to go up there too. On a side note, for BC, it’s also important to note that you cannot have the vehicle license blocked by cargo racks, hitch racks, or bicycle racks. Make sure the license plate is visible!
We were able to fit sleeping backs, pillows, clothing, a pack-n-play, a paddle board, and more into the Pilot with our crew of 6. Coming home from camping, I told my husband that I was not looking forward to returning it because I found the seats to be much more comfortable than the family vehicle we owned.
