(By Tom Lohnes) – The Honda Passport Trailsport is here, and it’s no Wilderness.
The Trailsport name will later expand to other Honda models, but right now the passport is the only fully revealed model with the badge. Sporting a whole 0.4” wider track, the Trailsport has few tractable off-road upgrades besides the extra width.
Other than upgrades that makes it capable on the trail, this new Passport has some tweaked styling, such as the front-end styling of the Ridgeline truck, and some more black plastic body cladding. That’s about it for upgrades over the standard model. This new trim ushers in a refresh for the Passport, which should bring the slightly dated crossover up to 2021 standards, or at least close to them. Out of all Honda SUVs, the Passport is the smalled volume seller moving 40,000 units last year. It’s a shame, because the model itself is extremely practical, rugged-looking, and has a VTEC V6 under the hood which sounds great.
So, although not a significant upgrade, the Passport remains a solid buy, although not the best in the segment. If you want real capability in your crossover, let me direct you towards the Subaru Outback, especially the Wilderness trim.
Should put a smile on the faces of off road recovery people. Rugged looking is not rugged driving.