Honda Passport’s Strength in Practicality

2022 Honda Passport AWD TrailSport

By Isaac Bouchard

 

The Passport is Honda’s contender in the midsize crossover/SUV class, a crowded field of disparate players. Its strengths are its practicality and, in TrailSport guise, decent dirt-plugging skills. It is based on the same platform as the Pilot, Ridgeline pickup and Odyssey van. For ’22 its body was updated with chunkier bumpers, a bolder grill and more squared-off frontal aspect.

Power for the Passport comes from a smooth and punchy 3.5-liter V6, which runs harder than its 280 horses would suggest, and a 9-speed auto, which is adroit at shuffling ratios. This setup and a strong unibody allows the Passport to ably tow 5,000 pounds, meaning many smaller camp trailers can be placed on the menu.

TrailSports run unique, 18-inch wheels wrapped in all-terrain tires, and use a nicely calibrated torque management system to distribute power to the rubber that has traction. Ground clearance remains 8.1 inches, but the Honda has really well-tuned dampers and springs and the Passport tackles light off-roading much more capably than other, similar machines based on time spent on slippery and rocky dirt roads.

The Passport’s interior is old-school Honda: well laid-out controls and an uncluttered (if small) touchscreen, rendered in cheap materials. TrailSports have orange stitching that tries to distract you and some headrest badges. Front seats are supportive and sightlines are great. Like all Passorts, the TrailSport is super practical; its boxy shape translates to capacious cargo capacity: 41 cubic feet behind the supportive back seat, 78 cubes with it folded. Infotainment is easy to use but the graphics look low rent. The Passport now has a better suit of standard safety systems, though they lag the best in smooth and flexible response.

Honda’s updated Pilot has a slightly nicer version of this interior, in 7-passenger form, but don’t expect Honda to make any more significant changes to the Passport, based on its modest sales numbers. It is much better on road (aside from copious road noise) than a Toyota 4Runner, runs harder than a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk and is probably more reliable than other domestics. That blend of virtues mean it is a great choice for those who will really put its numerous assets to good use on a regular basis.

EPA Ratings: 19/24/21mpg

0-60mph: 6.0sec

Price as tested: $44,660

3 Stars

Here is what Honda has to say.

Automotive Editor Isaac Bouchard owns Denver-based Bespoke Autos ([email protected]; 303-475-1462). Read more of his automotive writing, reviews and recommendations on coloradoavidgolfer.com and bespokeautos.com.

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