Honda isn’t a brand you think of when it comes to off-roading. While loved by their owners, vehicles like the Ridgeline TrailSport aren’t often considered to be in the same league as TRD Toyotas. That’s why your first expectation of the 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport—a unibody crossover with all-wheel drive and not four-wheel drive—is that it’s a follower. A Subaru Wilderness copycat, cashing in on the lucrative off-road craze.
But that’s not how Honda is handling its new halo off-roader. Honda knows what you think about a TrailSport compared to a Jeep or TRD, and the next-gen Passport TrailSport is an effort to change that. Not by becoming a face in the crowd of crossovers with an extra inch of ground clearance, but by gunning straight for TRD Toyotas. Scoff you may, but having driven a prototype of the toughest TrailSport yet in Moab, I think Honda’s about to set a new standard for off-road crossovers.
It’s not trying to be the single most capable thing on the trail, but rather a balance of serious off-road potential and real streetability. Tougher than a Subaru Wilderness, but more livable than a TRD Toyota. Though my test miles and driving conditions were limited, my first impression of the new Passport TrailSport is that it’s a well-rounded off-road SUV, the breadth of whose performance envelope speaks for itself.
Off-Road Honda Halo
The next-gen Passport fits the same template as the current model. It’s a two-row, five-seat midsize crossover that you can liken to a more athletic Pilot, with a shorter body and fewer seats. Fully redesigned, its unibody has 72% more lateral rigidity and 50% greater torsional strength than the CUV it replaces. It was also designed from day one with the TrailSport version in mind—specifically, one to change how everyone thinks about the TrailSport badge itself. As one Honda engineer put it, the TrailSport team has “taken the gloves off.”
It’s all headed by an updated version of the 3.5-liter J-series V6, whose output wasn’t stated but was implied to mirror the new Pilot’s increased output. That’d give it 285 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque, which turn a 10-speed automatic transmission through a torque converter. It’s split between front and rear axles by Honda’s I-VTM4 AWD, a complex system that requires some explanation.
Comparable to Acura’s SH-AWD, I-VTM4 is the combination of an active center differential, rear-axle torque vectoring, and a dual-clutch rear “drive unit.” Not a differential, Honda says. It delivers up to 70% of the torque, all of which it can dump through a single one of the rear wheels. (It’s the same combo used in cars like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.) There’s no low-range of course, but Honda says the rear axle’s clutches engage progressively for smooth torque delivery.
This all meets the ground through tailor-made 31-inch 275/60R18 General Tire Grabber A/T tires, which have enough clearance to fit tire chains without chewing up the fender liners. (Or upsize to 32s without issue, an engineer said.) The TrailSport gets retuned MacPherson strut front suspension and multilink rear, all independent, with thin, articulation-friendly sway bars and fluid-filled bump stops. Trail technologies are up to modern expectations too; there are trail cameras with predicted tire paths, hill descent control, various terrain modes including a Trail setting, and an instrument cluster with a compass, inclinometer, and chart for elevation changes over the last 10 miles. (The load space also features MOLLE panels.)
Should any of those come up short, Honda has mounted extra-thick high-strength steel skid plates (and combination stainless-aluminum rock sliders) whose design was so thorough that they deserve a story of their own. But it’ll suffice to say here that they took years to develop, and can support the Passport’s entire weight. They’re said to offer protection that’s not just better than anything from Ford, Jeep, or Toyota, but the aftermarket too. Should you beach yourself on them, there are prominent recovery hooks front and rear. The fronts are strong under tension but snap off in compression for crash safety, while the rears are integrated into the tow hitch.
Unfortunately, most of the specs are still under wraps. But Honda told me the Passport TrailSport’s capabilities are “for sure above” those of any Subaru Wilderness model. It’s instead shooting closer to stuff like the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk and Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road. I don’t need to tell you how big of talk that is for a unibody crossover without 4WD or locking differentials. But there’s money where Honda’s mouth is, and having driven enough off-roaders at that performance level, I’m confident Honda’s about to make some hay.
Driving Experience
From what I can see behind the camo, the new Passport is a far bigger departure from the Pilot than the outgoing model. It’s squarer with a sterner, more aggressive front end like a Honda Element that chugs 24-ounce Monsters, and an attractive (if fake) hood scoop. I still see some Ford in its overall silhouette, namely the Bronco Sport with its short hood and forward-canted C-pillar, though the taillights no longer resemble the Explorer’s. The seven-spoke wheels look sorta like those from the Tesla Cybertruck but tastefully recessed so as not to chew through the sidewalls. There’s another fractal multi-spoke style of wheels I’ve only seen in photos that I like even more—both are unconventional, which suits the Passport TrailSport.
Our test took us along multiple popular trails around Moab, with a much greater emphasis on crawling than my previous drive here in the outgoing Passport. From the get-go, the shorter, squarer hood and trail cams made clear where the front wheels were and how best to maneuver them. The steering was light, quick, and communicated the texture of the terrain so you aren’t flying blind.
Its fully independent suspension noticeably damped the harshness of washboard roads, allowing them to be comfortably driven on at speeds that might make more softcore vehicles feel like they’re shaking apart. I didn’t experience its higher-speed handling behaviors or road manners, but they should be better than any solid-axle vehicle’s by default. It also more than proved its worth when it came to articulation.
Honda sent us over a variety of broken terrain without even airing down, from ankle-rolling rocks to steep steps and ditches that you cross diagonally. Upon pressing the throttle, I could feel the Passport find its footing and push forward like a climber, with traction comparable to solid-axle off-roaders. There seemed to be a slight lag before it did so at times, and Honda recommended staying on-throttle at times when I would have liked to take a slower pace. The pedals were also more sensitive up top than I would have liked, though other drivers had no complaints. YMMV.
That also meant my driving was clumsier than I’d have liked, and that I dropped the TrailSport on its skid plates and rock sliders more than a couple times. They were barely even scuffed when I inspected them at the end of the day—for perspective, I disfigured the ones on the GMC Hummer EV when I drove that. If I had to guess, these are in part to compensate for what appears to be a relatively shallow breakover angle compared to its approach and departure. Again, no hard numbers yet, but they look competitive to my eyes. Hill descent control was also easy to use, and could be freely adjusted using the throttle and brake. Honda doesn’t kill power when you apply both, so you can drag the brakes to maximize front-axle traction when needed.
We didn’t drive any obstacles that required outside spotters, though we did have a couple demonstrated for us to see suspension articulation in action. (It rarely if ever cocked a wheel.) Once I got past the idea of driving a unibody AWD crossover, I’d say capability was more or less on par with the Jeeps and TRDs that Honda wants to tussle with. I’d liken it to the current Tacoma TRD and Frontier Pro-4X, though it’s markedly more comfortable while crawling than the stiff Nissan.
Because of the fully independent suspension, rigid unibody, and performance AWD, I’d expect handling and road manners to trounce any ladder-chassis rival. It might be slightly less capable or graceful over extreme terrain, though some of the reasons for this (such as throttle response) could be blamed on its prototype status. Honda hinted its electrical architecture is capable of receiving OTA updates so software could feasibly be refined before production—or even after.
The Very Early Verdict
The 2026 Honda Passport Trailsport shows strong signs of leading the off-road market in a new direction. It’s surprisingly capable for what it is, and its ruggedness and design are promising. If there’s any meaningful gulf between its potential and that of its intended rivals, I suspect it’s more than made up for by the livability of fully independent suspension and a unibody. In addition to butting heads with Jeep and TRD, I would expect Honda’s tough new TrailSport to put makers of other off-road crossovers on high alert. It’s too early to say for sure, but we’re keen to get back in the driver’s seat before these hit dealers in early 2025. I suspect they won’t sit on the lots long, either.
Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com