2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Tested: Built For the Trails, Ready for the Commute

Honda gives the Passport real off-road capability without compromising its everyday, on-road strengths.Alexander StoklosaWriterWilliam WalkerPhotographer

Sep 19, 2025

Pros

• Looks great
• Goes farther off-road than you’d expect
• Roomy, practical interior

Cons

• You’ll hear those tires
• New V-6 feels like old V-6
• Slower than before

Honda’s TrailSport off-road treatment has been popping up on ever more of the brand’s trucks and SUVs lately, but it first appeared on the last-generation Passport. That short-lived model was a stopgap of sorts, an appearance package that served as a preview of the more capable TrailSports to come. Well, here’s the latest, and so far, the greatest one—the all-new 2026 Honda Passport in TrailSport guise.

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Actually, there are several, with TrailSport variants making up more than half the Passport lineup. The specific Passport TrailSport we had in for testing was a range-topping Elite model. While every TrailSport gets the same mechanical upgrades, including retuned shocks and springs, a softer front anti-roll bar, 31-inch General Grabber all-terrain tires, underbody skidplates protecting the transmission and oil pan, orange-painted front recovery hooks, and a Class III trailer hitch with integrated recovery loops in back, only the Elite gets the TrailWatch 360-degree camera setup for maximum situational visibility when the going gets rough.

Other than adopting a buff new body that, for the first time, is visually distinct from the three-row Honda Pilot with which the Passport shares all of its mechanicals, the Passport also gets a new engine for 2026. You’d never know it from browsing the specs or sitting behind the wheel—it makes just 5 hp more than last year’s identically sized 3.5-liter V-6 (for 285 hp) and the same 262 lb-ft of torque. The new six behaves the same as the old one, making most of its power high up in the rev range, too. This, despite the major switch is from a single-overhead-cam design to a double-overhead-cam setup; Honda also replaces the old Passport’s nine-speed automatic transmission with a 10-speed.

First, the Disappointments

While a V-6 engine is relatively unique in the midsize SUV segment these days, the Passport’s turboless six feels less strained and sounds much better than the smaller-displacement turbocharged four-cylinder engines most of its competitors use. It also puts up solid towing figures—6,000 pounds in this case.

Still, the new six could use more low-end torque; as it is, the 10-speed automatic fires off a ton of shifts just for the Passport to reach city speeds without falling out of the engine’s powerband. Steeper grades and passing require firm stomps of the accelerator pedal to prod the transmission into downshifting because the V-6’s peak torque arrives at even higher engine speeds than before, now at 5,000 rpm versus 4,700 last year. Same goes for the engine’s peak horsepower, which now arrives 100 rpm later at 6,100 rpm.

Combine these stats with the Passport’s weight, a sturdy 4,706 pounds—nearly 500 pounds heavier than the last-gen Passport TrailSport and, bafflingly, only 2 pounds shy of the 8.5-inch-longer, three-row-equipped Pilot TrailSport—and the pokey 7.7-second 0–60-mph time makes a lot of sense. That’s 0.6 second slower than the Pilot TrailSport with the same engine, and 1.6 seconds slower than the old TrailSport with less power. It also trails the far heavier (but more powerful) Toyota 4Runner hybrid (7.4 seconds) as well as the similarly powerful Jeep Grand Cherokee V-6 (7.3 seconds).

Fuel economy is similarly unimpressive, though acceptable. During a week of around-town driving, we saw just 16 mpg. But when stretched out on the highway in more mixed use, that figure crept up to around 20 mpg, right on the mark for the Passport’s EPA-estimated combined figure.

And Now for the Good Stuff

Other than the TrailSport’s newfound sloth, the rest of the package is quite good. The 2026 Passport adopts a new slim and wide front-end graphic with the headlights integrated into the grille. It’s amber-colored daytime running lights look cool, as do the TrailSport-specific wheels and tires, roof rails, and various body cladding. Inside, TrailSports get orange contrast stitching and the TrailSport logo debossed on the front-seat headrests.

Temper your expectations—this isn’t a hardcore off-roader equipped with low-range gearing, locking differentials, and a huge suspension lift—and it’s surprisingly capable given its refined on-road behavior. In short, on pavement it drives like you’d expect a car-based Honda SUV to, with secure handling and a smooth ride.

The all-terrain tires are slightly more audible at highway speeds, but they offset that quality with a supple ride over broken pavement and uneven surfaces. The softened suspension allows for more body roll and fore-aft bobbing when abruptly stopping or accelerating, but again, for most buyers, we think the ride actually improves in real-world driving thanks to the TrailSport’s changes. After all, even if customers never set one of those all-terrain tires on any actual terrain, they’ll appreciate the way the Passport ambles comfortably over potholes, expansion joints, or the occasional parking curb.

Objective handling performance hardly suffers from the more aggro suspension and tires, either. It’s not nearly as drunken in its moves as the Pilot TrailSport with the same 8.3-inch ground clearance. The Passport TrailSport hangs on for 0.77 g of lateral grip (0.01 g better than the old TrailSport, which had entirely conventional tires and no real suspension alterations) and stops from 60 mph in a handy 125 feet, 1 feet shorter than before. Around our figure-eight handling course, the 2026 TrailSport wipes the floor with the old one, posting a 27.9-second lap at an average of 0.62 g, compared to 28.5 seconds at a lower 0.61 average g previously. Remember, the previous TrailSport weighed about 500 pounds less and wore street tires.

Oh, and It Really Can Go Off-Road

Despite Passport TrailSports having an identical 8.3-inch ground clearance as lesser versions and a longer wheelbase than before, most other off-road dimensions improve for 2026. What really counts, though, are the mechanical upgrades to the suspension and driveline.

The Honda i-VTM4 all-wheel-drive system’s twin-clutch rear end can receive up to 100 percent of engine torque, distributing up to 70 percent of that to a single rear tire as needed, helping the Passport scramble over taller obstacles even with only two or three tires on terra firma. The softened front anti-roll bar allows for greater articulation, too, and its ride over rocks, ruts, and other obstacles is impressively smooth for an independently suspended, car-based SUV. It’s no Ford Raptor product, so you’ll want to keep speeds in check, but the Passport can amble down trails above a crawl without slamming around.

Honda also imbues the latest TrailSport with several off-road drive modes that include Trail and Sand settings in addition to Econ, Snow, and Tow options. On a steep trail scattered with loose rocks and gravel, the Passport TrailSport had no problems even in Normal mode, but the Trail option’s traction control and throttle map adjustments made finer control possible on subsequent runs.

The Trail mode also calls up the TrailWatch camera feeds on the touchscreen, which will stay on until around 15 mph or so. You can select forward and overhead views, as well as a split screen showing closeups of each front wheel, making placing your tires or seeing over hill crests a snap. It’s a useful feature we wish weren’t restricted to the range-topping Elite trim, since the new Passport’s longer and flatter hood, though handsome, can make it difficult to see stuff immediately in front of the SUV.

A Good Deal?

For shoppers hot to trot for a butch-looking, two-row midsize SUV, the Honda Passport TrailSport is likely all the SUV they’ll need. It’s certainly the friendliest for everyday use—as mentioned, unlike most competing off-road variants, the TrailSport’s real-world comfort seems enhanced by its beefier hardware, not compromised by it. And the basic Passport is packed with utility, thanks to multiple cupholders for each occupant, tons of storage and stash space in the door pockets, center console, and trunk area, a commodious back seat, and a massive, squared-off cargo hold.

This Elite model is the best you can get, and it’s reasonable at $53,945 to start and $54,400 as tested. That’s right in the heart of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Toyota 4Runner lineups, and while both of those SUVs can be equipped for more off-road capability, the Jeep can be pricier while the 4Runner isn’t nearly as comfortable or spacious. And as a bonus, this is the most comprehensively upgraded and successful of Honda’s TrailSport models, some of which are still closer to the old Passport’s weak-sauce appearance kits like the CR-V and, to a lesser degree, the Ridgeline TrailSport.

2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Elite Specifications
BASE PRICE	$53,945
PRICE AS TESTED	$54,400
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door internal combustion SUV
POWERTRAIN	3.5L direct-injected DOHC 24-valve V-6
POWER	285 hp @ 6,100 rpm
TORQUE	262 lb-ft @ 5,000 rpm
TRANSMISSION	10-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	4,706 lb (58/42%)
WHEELBASE	113.6 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	191.5 x 79.4 x 73.1 in
TIRES	General Grabber A/T Sport 275/60R18 113T M+S
EPA FUEL ECONOMY, CITY/HWY/COMBINED	18/23/20 mpg
EPA RANGE	370 mi
ON SALE	Now
MotorTrend Test Results
0-60 MPH	7.7 sec
QUARTER MILE	15.9 sec @ 89.0 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	125 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.77 g
FIGURE-EIGHT LAP	27.9 sec @ 0.62 g (avg)