- 2023 Honda Pilot arrives with new engine, more passenger room
- The 2023 Escape gains PHEV and hybrid status for 2023
- 2024 Chevrolet Trax priced under $25,000
- Driving the 2023 Honda CR-V and CR-V Hybrid Touring AWD
- Remember the sexist car ads of the 1950s?
Those who design the popular vehicles of today must consider more than just the driver’s experience. Because while many vehicles are still used to shuttle one or two adults into work day after day, they’re also called upon to transport the rest of the family, along with all of their belongings, to and from the plethora of after-school and weekend activities that make up modern life.
Here are the biggest and most recent family-vehicle stories, debuts, and reviews from the past month.
2023 Honda Pilot arrives with new engine, more passenger room
2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport Photo by Honda
It’s the biggest SUV ever made by Honda, and it’s available in the TrailSport trim the brand also claims makes it its most capable off-road SUV. But that’s not all the titles the 2023 Honda Pilot wears: Honda says it’s also its most powerful SUV. Horsepower figures from an all-new 3.5L V6 (yes, it’s sized the same as the outgoing model) get bumped up to 285 hp from 280, while torque remains the same at 262 lb-ft. And there’s now a ten-speed automatic transmission in place of the old nine-speed, working to pass power to the wheels via an upgraded all-wheel-drive system with torque vectoring.
The 2023 TrailSport trim adds actual off-road chops to the styling-forward TrailSport that debuted in 2022, including a specialized suspension with a 25-mm lift, unique stabilizer bars, 18-inch wheels with all-terrain tires, and skid plates. (More photos of the above blue TrailSport model in the gallery here.)
Honda also adjusted some of the visuals for the fourth-generation Pilot like the grille and fenders, and added a bunch of tech kit including a wide-view camera and radar. Pricing will follow closer to its sale date later this winter.
The 2023 Escape gains PHEV and hybrid status for 2023
2023 Ford Escape ST-Line Elite Photo by Ford
Ford didn’t hand out the full spec sheet when it unveiled the 2023 Escape late October, but it did dish a fair bit on powertrain and trim options. The SUV will be available in hybrid and plug-in-hybrid (PHEV) form, and as a sporty ST-Line. Hybrid options draw from a 2.5L four-cylinder with automatic continuously-variable transmission (CVT), the entry-level from a turbocharged 1.5L Ecoboost, and the two ST-Line options from a turbocharged 2.0L; horsepower ranges from 180 to 250.
The ST-Line pictured above features a flat-bottom steering wheel and black interior with red stitching, single-wing rear spoiler, black mesh grille, 18- or 19-inch wheels, and an available LED light bar that runs between the headlamps.
Regardless of setup or trim, the Escape should travel a minimum of 644 km per tank, according to Ford, while the hybrid with front-wheel-drive should push 885 km per tank. The automaker estimates the PHEV model will drive around 60 km in e-only and take 3.5 hours to charge on a Level 2 240-volt charger.
2024 Chevrolet Trax priced under $25,000
2024 Chevrolet Trax RS Photo by Chevrolet
It’s been over a year since Chevrolet has put down (a) fresh Trax, but the nameplate is now back for the 2024 model-year, with five trims all priced below the $25,000 mark. How’s that for family-friendly?
Sure, it’s a compact SUV, but the 2024 Chevrolet Trax is longer, lower, and wider than the last, giving it more legroom and 12 per cent more cargo space, giving you plenty of room for the kids. Inside, the interior has what Chevy calls a “lightweight feel,” which we’d describe as modest, uncomplicated, or exactly what you’d expect for $25k. Same under the hood, where the 1.2L turbocharged inline-three engine makes 137 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque, passing it to the front wheels only via a six-speed automatic transmission.
Available trims include LS, 1RS, LT, 2RS, and ACTIV. Pricing starts at $21,495, and sales open this spring.
Driving the 2023 Honda CR-V and CR-V Hybrid Touring AWD
2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid Touring AWD Photo by Nadine Filion
One popular Honda SUV, two popular setups. Which is better? Nadine Filion is pretty well-suited to answer that question, having driven both of them over the past month. Filion calls the 2023 Honda CR-V, which arrives in Canada this year after two years of dangling just out of sight in the U.S. market, “the most Canadian CR-V you’ll ever get” for its Ontario roots. But that’s not the only reason she fell for the machine while driving it through California’s Los Padres National Forest. Stalwart handling, sensible power, a comfortable cabin, and a general “Honda-ness”: these are some of the most evident winning attributes offered by the new-to-Canada SUV.
The hybrid model shares much of that winning combo with the gasser, obviously, but differs when it comes to mileage. Honda claims the hybrid’s fuel efficiency to be a combined 6.4 L/100 km (6.0 city, 6.9 highway), and we tested it around 7.2 L/100 km on mostly-freeway driving, which supports the estimate. Not good enough to top the Rav4 Hybrid, however, and that could be seen as something of a theme. The 2024 Honda CR-V Hybrid AWD, available in Canada exclusively in the top-of-the-line Touring trim, will start at $48,890—the comparable 2022 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Limited AWD, meanwhile, is priced at $44,650.
Remember the sexist car ads of the 1950s?
Studebaker ad in Reader’s Digest Photo by Lorraine Sommerfeld
A 1968 Reader’s Digest article entitled “Tips to Mothers Who Drive” started Columnist Lorraine Sommerfeld on her way to last month’s viral assessment of how women were addressed by car companies and the writers that covered them ’50s and ’60s. All of it – advertising and editorial – was, in short, pretty damn sexist, essentially boiling the female shopping experience down to one thing: paint choices. In the November 1957 piece titled “The Art of Buying a New Car,” for example, men are told that “if your wife shops with you…warn her not to rave over colour schemes, upholstery or gadgets. The salesman will figure she’s hooked, and that will be the end of price concessions.”
But as Sommerfeld puts it, “the truth is a car that’s good for a woman is a car that is good for anyone. Safety, reliability and value aren’t matters of gender.”
Keyword: Family Vehicle Roundup: Honda’s new Pilot, and Chevy’s new Trax