I recently spent some time test driving the Honda Pilot while visiting in Toronto and driving to Niagara Falls and points in between as I visited some of the popular attractions, ate at some family friendly restaurants and more.

With the many times I have visited Toronto over the years one of the things I never did was visit the CN Tower, this was the start of this trip and this is surely one of the must visit spots in the city. From the top of the CN Tower the view was spectacular on the day we visited and the proximity from our hotel by car was fairly easy. Parking however was quite a challenge so make sure to allow a lot of time if you are going to visit.

Enjoyed dinner at Mercatto an Italian eatery located on the main level of CF Eaton Centre. They have an extensive menu of Italian focused food and drinks, I had the delicious Red Snapper with polenta along with their house Tiramisu for dessert.  

The next day had lunch at Aroma on Bay Street, it’s one of my favourite Middle Eastern cafes where they offer some great protein based bowls, salads, sandwiches and more! I had the Grilled chicken and hummus bowl and a Matcha oat latte.

The padded leather steering wheel is a great feature for the driver in this Pilot especially when on the road for a long drive.

In the afternoon we drove over to Ripley’s Aquarium and this was a very busy place with many families visiting as it was still the peak of the Summer, parking again was challenging. The aquarium was designed well with many educational exhibits. The kids loved each and every exhibit, kudos to the creators for keeping everyone educated about marine life and more.

For dinner we visited Eataly at their Bloor and Bay location, the international chain now features 3 locations in Toronto, and for us this one was the most central to the attractions and such we were visiting. The store is well layed out with it’s Italian food market and the many restaurants and food bars located throughout. I found the offerings to be quite similar to their other locations in North America. I had the Penne Norma and the Tuna pizza slice.

The next day it was off to College Street where I did some exploring and I stopped in to get a coffee at Three Dots Coffee Lab and to my surprise I discovered it was opening day for the cafe and it was buzzing, I got a Coldbrew coffee to go. 

Later in the day we had a delicious dinner at Limon in the Beaches neighbourhood with cousins where I had a refreshing Mint lemonade and their Chicken in a Pita. This is a popular Middle Eastern restaurant in Toronto with 2 locations, this one is on the Eastside of the city and it was a wonderful dining experience.

As we were about to head out of the city for the day the cargo space at the back of the vehicle provided enough space even with 6 of us.

The next day we were up early for the drive to Niagara Falls which took about 1-1/2 hours, it had been many years since my last visit and it was great to see this natural wonder again. With 6 of us in the Honda Pilot, it as a smooth ride as the seats are very comfortable and there is a good amount of legroom in each of three rows.

The next morning, we visited Casa Loma which was quite fascinating seeing all the rooms on the different floors. In the past I had only been to the outside grounds, when visiting inside after paying the admission you can benefit from their audio guide by following the qr codes throughout each of the rooms this provided for some interesting commentary.

Then in the afternoon we visited the Royal Ontario Museum which featured many interesting exhibits, we spent hours here. This was another museum that I had never been to in the past and it is a must visit spot. Parking again is difficult, it is best to park about 6 blocks away and then walk over to the museum.

For dinner we met up with friends at United Bakers Dairy Restaurant which turns out is a 3rd generation family owned restaurant that opened in 1912 and is still serving up great food to their long time devoted clientele. I had some favourite dishes from my childhood that I can rarely find on the west coast; I started off with the Beet borscht with potatoes and sour cream, Sweet gefilte fish and boiled Potato kreplach.

The next day we visited the very large Toronto Zoo which was located in the NE suburb of the city where we walked and walked checking out the various animal exhibits.

I enjoyed driving this TrailSport that features the TrailSport-exclusive orange stitching adds a sporty flair to the interior on the seats, steering wheel and other trim pieces.  A 10-way power driver’s seat is really cushiony and comfortable as are the headrests.

By: Richard Wolak

Disclosure: Honda Canada provided me with the Honda Pilot Trailsport 2025 suv  to test drive, and photograph. As always, all opinions and photos are my own.