As expected, the 2022 Honda Pilot model lines have been reworked resulting in two new trim levels (the Pilot Sport and Pilot TrailSport), two discontinued ones, and pricing that puts much-needed space between it and the two-row Passport.
When Pilot pricing emerged two months ago, Honda omitted figures for the entry-level LX trim and the EX above it, informing everyone that there’d be a “well-equipped new entry trim level aimed at younger buyers and active lifestyles, offsetting the no longer available LX and EX entry trim levels.” Then a tipster wrote to tell us that a new entry-level Pilot Sport trim would replace the LX and EX and be “very similar” to the base Passport Sport. That tipster didn’t lie. Honda went a touch further with standard equipment on the Pilot Sport, giving it a heated front seats and a power driver’s seat, which the Passport Sport doesn’t get.
The carmaker’s going to charge for its largesse, though, with the 2022 Pilot Sport starting at $38,055 after the $1,225 destination charge. Adding all-wheel drive to the 2022 Pilot takes MSRP up to $40,055. The front-wheel-drive model comes in at $4,280 more than the former entry-level 2021 Pilot LX, partly reflected in the new Pilot’s larger 20-inch wheels and larger eight-inch infotainment display. More important, it puts next year’s Pilot $4,040 above the Passport. In 2021, the base Passport started at $34,015, which was $240 more than the 2021 Pilot LX. In conjunction with the Passport’s new redesign that further separates it from the Pilot, buyers hopefully won’t need to stand on the dealership floor wondering why they shouldn’t just take the third row for less money.
Further up the trim chain, the new 2022 Pilot TrailSport will start at $44,785 after destination. This puts it smack-dab in the middle of the seven-strong lineup: the Sport, EX-L, and Special Edition below; Touring, Elite, and Black Edition above. The Pilot TrailSport, as the name suggests, is a quasi-rugged model that boasts standard all-wheel drive, an extra 0.6 inches of ground clearance, fender flares and 18-inch alloy wheels with tires “sporting a more rugged-design sidewall.” Oddly, Honda did not release images of the TrailSport or the Sport, for that matter, which is why they are not pictured here.
Honda hasn’t released pricing for the 2022 Passport TrailSport yet. If the automaker slots the two-row crossover into the middle of its lineup as with the Pilot, there’s a good chance it will maintain the roughly $4,000 separation from the Pilot.
You can find full pricing and model-line information in our 2022 Honda Pilot review.
Source: www.autoblog.com