Official: 2023 Honda Pilot One Of The Safest SUVs You Can Buy

Honda's all-new Pilot has received top honors from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), with the organization awarding the family vehicle with a Top Safety Pick+ rating, its highest accolade.

The three-row SUV scored particularly well in the Crash Avoidance & Mitigation evaluation in the daytime and nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian avoidance tests. The headlight performance was strong as well. This is particularly impressive, as the IIHS recently implemented more demanding criteria for crash evaluations.

The Pilot is fitted with myriad active and passive safety features, such as forward-collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and lane-keep assist, to name a few. One of the most impressive safety systems fitted to the Pilot is the award-winning three-chamber passenger airbag design.

Introduced on the Acura TLX in 2021, the airbag design comprises four components: a sail panel and three inflated compartments with two outward-projecting side chambers and a central chamber. Together, these parts spread the airbag surface across the passenger side of the dashboard, allowing for a controlled passenger-to-airbag impact in a collision.

Honda says the design prevents a passenger's head from rotating "severely at high velocity" and sliding off the airbag. When this happens, there's a potential for severe brain injuries. The Pilot is the seventh Honda to receive a Top Safety Pick award or better from the IIHS. The automaker also mentions that every MY2023 Honda evaluated by the NHTSA has received a five-star safety score.

The new Honda HR-V received the TSP+ accolade in November last year.

Other models that have obtained the TSP+ award include the Accord, CR-V, and Odyssey minivan. The Civic Sedan and Hatchback received the still-impressive TSP rating. This does not include the high-performance Type R model.

Honda's 'Safety for Everyone' campaign stems from the automaker's goal of achieving a collision-free society. With two crash-test facilities (one in Japan, another in America), the brand constantly strives to build safer cars for its customers. A few months ago, Honda introduced a new safety coaching app for inexperienced motorists, giving them tips on traveling safely and providing recommendations for better drivers.

Billed as the most potent Honda SUV ever, the new Pilot is powered by a 3.5-liter V6 engine with 285 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. There's an off-road-focused TrailSport trim level, which provides customers with the option of a more rugged variant.