A diesel particulate filter comprising a plugged, wall-flow honeycomb filter body composed of cordierite and having a plurality of parallel end-plugged cell channels traversing the body from a frontal inlet end to an outlet end thereof, wherein the filter exhibits a CTE (25–800° C.) of less than 13×10−7/° C., a bulk filter density of less than 0.60 g/cm3, a median pore diameter, d50, of less than 25 micrometers, a porosity and pore size distribution that satisfy the relationship Pm≦3.75, wherein Pm is equal to 10.2474{1/[(d50)2(% porosity/100)]}+0.0366183(d90)−0.00040119(d90)2+0.468815(100/% porosity)2+0.0297715(d50)+1.61639(d50−d10)/d50, wherein d10, and d90 are pore diameters at 10% and 90% of the pore size distribution on a volumetric basis, and d10<d50<d90. A method of making the same is also provided.