The 2023 Honda Pioneer 1000-6 is a Clever, Comfortable Workhorse

Smart details, bags of capability, and room for the whole crew.

The 2023 Honda Pioneer 1000-6 is a big, comfy, capable rig that’s more workhorse than trail toy.

Honda invited us to Bull Run Ranch in Cascade, Montana, to experience the 2023 Honda Pioneer 1000-6 Deluxe Crew, Big Red’s first six-person UTV. The story of this crew entry begins, as so many gratifying stories do, in the middle—specifically, the middle seat in the back row. Usually considered a penalty box that grown men will barter and bribe to avoid, that seat in Honda’s Pioneer 1000-6 is the best place to be in rig. It might be the best place to be in any utility rig. Browse our inventory of the mighty 2023 Pioneer 1000-6

With a six-speed DCT transmission, i-4WD, and a narrow, 63-inch-wide footprint, the big Honda acquitted itself well in soggy Montana terrain.

Designers staggered the seating areas across the bench, placing the middle seat a couple of inches ahead of the edge seats. Admittedly, in a rig that is just 63 inches wide, three Americans fed on the fat of the land will still rub shoulders. But the layout mostly eliminates arms and shoulders tangling like the infuriating tussle over an armrest in the cheap seats on a regional jet. It’s a more elegant and comfortable solution than the extra inch of width provided by the six-seat Can-Am Defender Max and far nicer than making do with a half-inch less width across the six-seat Polaris Ranger Crew. 

Leg room is even better, Honda saying the rear quarters provide 28 inches of knee space for the center-seater. Even at 5 feet, 11 inches I could stretch my legs all the way out and liberally wiggle my feet under the front bench, as if I’d splurged on a Premium Economy plane ticket. The occupants in the outside seats don’t have it so good, with structural elements eating up about a third of their footwell openings. Those riders can either stretch one leg or try to angle both legs toward the center of the vehicle…then look at the rider in the middle, envious.

Having established this den of repose for half the crew, Honda essentially built a strengthened Pioneer 1000-5 around it. In fact, many of the upgrades introduced for the 2022 model year Pioneer 1000 range were made with the six-seater in mind—notably the added power, larger cooling fan, higher tow rating, additional assistance from the electric power steering, and increased storage around the cab. Matt Taracko, the project lead for the new model, told us, “We added more power for 2022 because we were working on this heavier vehicle, and we wanted to make sure there was enough power. Then we figured, ‘Let’s give it to everyone.’” Browse our inventory of the mighty 2023 Pioneer 1000-6

The Pioneer 1000-6 has more than enough room out back for a weekend’s worth of camping gear.

Specific changes include items like the beefed-up frame, mostly built with slightly thicker tubing for three times the bending resistance at critical points, plus extra patching and crossbeams around the engine. Pickup points for chassis elements are the same as on the 1000-5, but stouter steering gear and A-arms, and stiffer suspension settings are set up to support increased loads.

One of the exclusive features is tow/haul mode. Whereas the three- and five-seaters get a sport mode for recreational duty after the workday, the crew is focused on the load. Like sport, but only available in low range, tow/haul holds gears longer to keep the 999-cc engine in the meat of the output bands during upshifts. Unlike sport, the cargo mode coaxes the transmission into more relaxed shifts, aiming to eliminate jolts during power delivery.

Otherwise, this is the five-seater. The engine carries over, fitted with a longer snorkel running to the front. The expanded gear ratios in the six-speed double-clutch automatic introduced this year provide lower first and reverse gears; a higher sixth gear takes advantage of the extra power to produce a higher top speed. The speed-dependent power steering can provide up to 44 pound-feet of turning assistance, the new return-to-center function removing another one of those incremental driving efforts. There’s 10.5 inches of front suspension travel, 0.1 inch less than the five-seater, and the same 10 inches of articulation in back. With the ability to carry freight and folk simultaneously behind the first row, that load-leveling rear suspension is an even greater boon.

Montana’s shoulder season means a weather lottery, and our ride day drew a ticket for a wet, overcast, and muddy mess. We hit 25 miles of doubletrack trail around the 15,000-acre Bull Run Ranch anyway, the 1000-6 happy to do its best impression of the 1000-5.

The six-seater’s wheelbase and length are 35 inches longer than the five-seater’s, so the crew needs a larger turning circle. It takes 37.4 feet to make a 180 instead of 27.6 feet (an 18.7-foot turning radius vs. a 13.8-foot turning radius). Can-Am doesn’t list a turning radius for the Defender Max, and the Polaris Ranger Crew 1000 that sits on a wheelbase 2 inches shorter than the Honda requires 34 feet for a U-turn.

We didn’t notice these figures on the trail. In our safety briefing before the ride, Honda warned us there’d be spots on a descent where we’d need to make three-point turns, the cautionary tone solemn enough to make us think we were tackling Colorado’s Black Bear Pass. As far as we saw among the train of red Pioneers, though, all of us made precisely one three-point turn. And if we’d known the trail or the 1000-6 a little better, we’d have easily made that corner in one go. Seeing that the 1000-6 was developed for the veteran SXS crowd of construction crews, farmers and ranchers, and outdoor enthusiasts, we don’t imagine owners having an issue getting around tight bends.

We lauded the Pioneer 1000-5 as being a workhorse during the week and a sure-footed billy goat on the weekends. It’s the same here, only more. The 1000-6 scrambled up muddy hills with good throttle modulation and engine-braked itself down to muddy dales, its 216 pounds of extra curb weight over the five-seater a nonfactor. The more responsive i-4WD system and differential lock engage quickly, and thankfully, activating the front diff doesn’t blow out the turning circle to Stonehenge proportions. We’re also fans of Honda’s geared transmission. A CVT eliminates potential herky-jerky during shifting, but the increased efficiency, more controllable rpm management, and robust engine braking of a dual-clutch make a difference during a long afternoon in changing conditions.

The stretched chassis in the 1000-6 means the engine lives farther back under the bed, resulting in a clear advantage over the 1000-5. Honda improved cabin sealing on the 2022 Pioneer 1000 lineup, but the seats in the 1000-5 still turn into either a stovetop or a steam table depending on the number of creeks in the day’s riding. There’s none of that in the crew. On our wet, 48-degree day, we could have kept our hands warm in the five-seat Pioneer by simply resting them on the bench. In the six-seater, occupants with blue fingers had to walk around to the back to use exhaust heat.

Truth be told, the rain provided the only mild challenge of the day. The rig comes on a set of 14-inch wheels wearing six-ply OTR Dirt Master tires. Mud and cow pies quickly turned the rolling stock into a quartet of slicks and loosey-goosey traction until the tread could be cleared out through a water crossing. It didn’t trouble the Pioneer, which here again knows when to be a billy goat and when to be a workhorse.

The 2023 Pioneer 1000-6 comes in three colors: Red and Olive, which start at $21,899, and Honda Phantom Camo, which starts at $22,699. Half-doors and nets are the only frills—getting more comfort means stopping by the accessories catalog that’s added 14 more mods exclusively for this model.

Honda has created the Honda of crew models, utility designed so well that neither good nor bad features get in the way, the owner able to focus on the work that needs done. Just make sure not to call “Shotgun!” if you’re going to be riding in one. Grab that middle seat in the second row and enjoy.

Browse our inventory of the mighty 2023 Pioneer 1000-6