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Honda is back with a fully redesigned 2023 Honda Pilot, and this one is big news—literally. This fourth-generation Pilot is larger, boxier, and more family-focused than ever, and Honda is boldly calling it “The King of the Carpool Lane.”
- Removable Second-Row Middle Seat: Easily removes to create DIY captain’s chairs. Stores inside the trunk — no garage clogging. Perfect for families who need flexible seating configurations.
- Massive, Functional Interior Space: Class-leading passenger space with plenty of room in every row.
- Exceptional Second-Row Car-Seat Compatibility: Lower anchors + top tethers on every second-row seat
The Exterior
Exterior: Finally Cool Enough to Hang With the Competition
Confession time: I hated the look of the third-generation Pilot. This new one? Total redemption arc.
The 2023 Pilot leans into a boxy, muscular, off-road-inspired design that feels right at home next to SUVs like the Kia Telluride and Volkswagen Atlas. It’s simple but strong, sporty but not overdone.
Highlights include:
- Bold front grille with oversized Honda badge
- LED headlights with wraparound styling
- Two-tone 20-inch wheels on the Elite trim
- Roof rails for extra adventure vibes
- Rear black accent bar with spaced-out Pilot badging (a favorite detail)
First Row
Tech & Driver Area: Solid, With One Big Miss
The Pilot Elite features a fully digital gauge cluster, including seatbelt-status indicators for all eight seating positions—an underrated but very useful safety feature, especially for families using seatbelt-installed car seats.
Other highlights:
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Heated steering wheel
- Wireless Apple CarPlay & Android Auto
- Wireless charging pad
- Push-button shifter that doesn’t eat up space
The Miss:
The 9-inch center screen feels small and outdated for a $53K SUV. It’s not integrated into the dash and looks a bit like an afterthought. A larger screen—or a digital rearview mirror—would have gone a long way here, especially for a vehicle designed to haul kids in every row.
Second Row
Second Row: The True Star of the Show
This is where the Pilot starts earning its crown.
The Elite trim comes standard as an 8-passenger vehicle, and every second-row seating position has lower anchors and top tether anchors—a huge win for car-seat families.
The Genius Feature: Removable Middle Seat
The second-row middle seat is removable, allowing you to DIY captain’s chairs without losing seating flexibility.
And Honda nailed the execution:
- The seat stores inside the trunk, under the floor
- You don’t have to leave it in your garage
- You gain extra hidden storage when it’s removed
This is one of the most mom-friendly design choices I’ve seen.
To Remove the seat:
It's really SO easy! First, store the center seat belt and retract it into the holder on the ceiling. Then pull up on the strap to fold the seat. Next, pull the lock release strap under the seat cusion and lift from the rear or the seat using the grab handle. There you have it, now you have captain's chairs! Don't worry, when you put the seat back into place there's an indicator to show the seat is hooked in correctly at the base of the seat.
Other second-row perks:
- Heated outboard seats
- Sunshades
- USB-C ports
- Climate controls
- Tons of door storage
The Big Miss:
No ceiling vents. For a vehicle claiming to be the carpool king? That’s a letdown.
The Car Seat Set-Up:
The bench comes standard, though the removable center seat is only available standard on the Touring and Elite trims and available on the EX-L. If you want the flexibility of removing the middle seat, be sure to select the higher trims.
With or without the removable middle seat, the car seat set-up is amazing. Honda gave each seating position better dedicated lower anchors, so the weird overlap between the driver and center position's lower anchors is gone. The center seat's lower anchors also are centered for use with a (narrow) booster.
With a narrow car seat in the center you can also access the third row by tilting and sliding the outboard seat. If a wide car seat is installed here there won't be enough space for the seat to tilt without hitting that center car seat.
With nearly 58" of second row bench space you can really fit so many different car seats next to each other. Each second row head restraint is also removable for excellent car seat install flexibility.
Third Row
For a midsize SUV, the third row is genuinely impressive:
- Great headroom
- Comfortable legroom
- USB-C ports and cup holders
- Side vents (thank you, Honda)
However…
The Problem:
The middle third-row seat is basically unusable. It’s extremely narrow and not functional for kids or adults. While Honda advertises this as an 8-passenger SUV, it’s really a very good 7-passenger vehicle.
The outboard third-row seats, though? Solid—and one even includes lower anchors on the passenger side.
Trunk
Cargo Space: Bigger and More Functional
The 2023 Pilot is now 199 inches long, putting it closer to larger midsize SUVs like the Chevrolet Traverse (205 inches).
With the third row up, cargo space is respectable. With seats folded flat, you get a wide, usable load floor. The 2023 model year saw an increase in cargo capability.
There's now 22.4 cubic feet of space behind the third row and 60 cubic feet behind the second. For comparison, the Chevy Traverse offers 23 cubic feet behind the third row and 57.8 cubic feet behind the second.
Safety
I am so excited to share that the 2023 Honda Pilot is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+! The previous model years did not claim that title so I am so happy Honda made the necessary safety changes to secure the highest award from the IIHS.
One of those changes is the ACE body structure design, which is designed to minimize damage caused by size mismatch during a collision. The body structure spreads crash forces more evenly throughout the front of the vehicle. This change is one that helped the Pilot cinch the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award.
The Pilot also received an overall 5-Star safety rating from NHTSA.
The 2023 Pilot includes updated Honda Sensing as standard, with:
- Adaptive cruise control
- Lane-keep assist
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Traffic-jam assist
- Rear seat reminder (to help prevent children being left behind)
The upgraded backup camera offers a 90-degree field of view with 120-degree radar coverage, making parking and tight spaces much easier.
New for 2023 are seat belt pre-tensioners in both the first and second row outboard seats.
Pretensioners remove slack from the seat belt in the nanoseconds before a crash, dramatically reducing injury in frontal and near-frontal collisions. This feature has been standard in front seats for nearly two decades, but not the back seat. While this doesn’t affect children in harnessed car seats, it does affect other passengers.
This is a huge for second row passengers out of car seats and I'm excited to see that Honda added them!
Car Seat Compatibility & Third-Row Access
The Pilot offers a wide second-row bench, making it a strong contender for families with multiple car seats. You’ll find lower anchors in every second-row seating position and top tether anchors in every seat throughout the vehicle, which is a huge win for flexibility. There’s also one set of lower anchors in the third row (passenger side).
All second-row head restraints are removable, which helps significantly with car seat installation.
One important note for the second-row center seat: the lower anchors are offset from the seat belt, meaning a booster cannot use LATCH in this position. Additionally, the center and driver-side lower anchor bars overlap slightly, making it easy to confuse which anchors belong to which seat. You’ll want to pay close attention when installing with LATCH in these positions.
Fitting Multiple Car Seats
If you plan to keep the third row folded down for cargo space, you can comfortably fit up to three car seats across the second row with the right configuration.
However, if you need regular third-row access, things get trickier. The center car seat must be narrow to allow enough room for an outboard seat to tilt and slide forward.
And that leads to one of the Pilot’s biggest drawbacks…
Third-Row Access
Access to the third row is limited to the tilt-and-slide function of the outboard seats, which can become a challenge when car seats are installed. If you’re running multiple car seats across the second row, getting back there can be difficult—sometimes leaving kids to climb in from the trunk, which is far from ideal.
If you don’t need frequent third-row access, this may not be a dealbreaker. But for larger families, it’s definitely something to consider.
Real-Life Comfort
Here’s where the Pilot really shines: I was able to sit comfortably between two rear-facing car seats in the second row—fully buckled—with solid knee and headroom. That’s a big deal when you’re managing a newborn or helping toddlers on the go.
Third-Row Fit for Kids
The third-row bench sits quite low, which can lead to a less-than-ideal lap belt fit for many kids. Because of this, you should plan on using a booster seat in the third row for longer than you might expect.
The good news? There’s still excellent overall space and knee room back there.
The outboard head restraints in the third row are not removable, but they sit very flush and rarely interfere with car seat or booster installations.
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