The Honda Passport TrailSport Isn’t Tough Enough

The big trend right now is taking otherwise incapable SUVs and trying to make them appear more rugged. Slap on some tougher tires, tweak the ride, give it a not-so-clever name—and voila, an “off-road capable” SUV.

The 2024 Honda Passport TrailSport is no exception to the rule. It gets new badging, a tire upgrade, and some suspension tweaks that make it more “capable” than a traditional Passport. But, it’s still not a vehicle you want to take regularly off the beaten path. Or, something you want to spend nearly $50,000 on.

Apart from its bright orange TrailSport badges, most upgrades to this Passport are hard to spot. Eighteen-inch General Grabber all-terrain tires replace the standard all-seasons. Passive dampers offer better compression for a softer ride on dirt roads. The spring rate drops by 15 percent up front and 10 percent in the rear. And Honda even ditched the hollow rear anti-roll bar for something more solid. The 8.1 inches of ground clearance is also pretty good.

The result? An SUV that is indeed more capable than a normal Passport, although, that’s not exactly a high bar. The all-terrain tires offer more grip in low-traction situations—dirt roads, rocky trails, etc.—and the softer ride means you can bounce over ruts without breaking your back. A small dirt road feels like just enough for the Passport TrailSport.

The same 3.5-liter V-6 that powers the standard Passport carries over here, and it’s… fine. The 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque move the Honda SUV out of its own way, but you’ll have to bury your foot at higher speeds or on hillier roads to get the most out of this engine—there isn’t a ton of torque at the ready. The nine-speed automatic is seamless, and all-wheel drive comes standard.

Otherwise, the Passport is perfectly anonymous while pedaling around town. The steering is light, the softer suspension yields more on-road comfort, and the cabin is mostly quiet. Only when you hammer that V-6 (which sounds pretty good, by the way) do you get any obvious noise intrusion.

The standard leather-trimmed seats are downright cushy. Both front chairs are heated and ventilated, they have 10-way power adjustability, and of course, there’s orange TrailSport stitching on the headrests. The back seat is roomy too, and since this is just a Pilot with one fewer row, there’s a ton of cargo space. The 41.2 cubic feet behind the second row and 77.7 cubes with the back seat folded flat are better than anything in the segment. There’s even a clever underfloor storage system with up to 50.5 cubic feet of room.

Honda

Honda

The Pilot is loaded with safety equipment as part of the brand’s Honda Sensing suite, which comes standard on all Passport models. That includes features like adaptive cruise control, a lane departure warning, forward collision monitoring, and automatic emergency braking. The big issue is that adaptive cruise control doesn’t come to a full stop; It only works at speeds of 19 miles per hour and above. And the lane-centering technology doesn’t work as well as some other modern systems. The car ping-pongs in the lane.

The 8.0-inch touchscreen and 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster aren’t the most modern setup. The graphics look outdated, the touch responsiveness is slow. You still need a cord for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Jeff Perez / Motor1

Maybe the Passport’s biggest ding is its fuel economy. The Passport only gets 19 miles per gallon city, 24 highway, and 21 combined with the now-standard all-wheel-drive system. Compare that to V-6, AWD alternatives like the Chevrolet Blazer (22/27/24) and the outdated Nissan Murano (20/28/23), and the Honda is easily the worst of the group.

But don’t worry, there’s a new Honda Passport on the way. Even though this 2024 model is nice to drive and looks good, it’s clearly a step behind the competition in a few key areas. It’s not nearly as tech-savvy nor as efficient as some of the alternatives, and for a “rugged” SUV, the upgrades are barely noticeable.

The 2024 Honda Passport isn’t a bad SUV if you’re paying the base price of $43,795. It’s comfortable and nice to drive. But the TrailSport is at least $46,395, and options will easily push that number close to $50,000. At that price, the Passport TrailSport isn’t the best option. Might be worth waiting for the new one to show up next year.