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Honda told everyone that a next-gen Passport Trailsport prototype would run the upcoming Rebelle Rally, but I’m not sure anyone expected it to look this good. I mean, the Japanese automaker insisted it would be “the most rugged Honda SUV ever,” though that isn’t such a high bar to clear. Still, these photos posted to Instagram show a pretty muscular family hauler that ought to do just fine on the trail, especially compared to its unibody rivals like the Nissan Pathfinder.
We know a few details about the next-gen Passport. It’ll retain its 3.5-liter V6 engine while gaining more power, and also keep its 10-speed automatic transmission. The SUV’s torque-vectoring i-VTM4 all-wheel-drive system, which Honda calls best-in-class, will come standard. That’s a pretty solid bill of goods versus the competition, at a time when so many off-road SUVs are switching to turbo four-cylinders—heck, even the Toyota 4Runner has. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess what Honda has done underneath the vehicle’s fresh redesign.
Everything on this Rebelle competitor is stock besides the beefy Maxxis RAZR all-terrains, according to Honda. That’s kind of a shame about the tires, if you ask me. I’m sure that rubber is more aggressive than most customers want, but an SUV so-equipped from the factory would be more deserving of the nearly $47,000 starting MSRP the current-gen car already wears. Hopefully, that’s the first mod owners will make.
A few other details that stand out to me are the bright orange tow hooks up front, the maybe-functional hood scoop, and the relatively high-and-tight rear bumper for a respectable departure angle.
We’ll see how the next-gen Passport Trailsport prototype fares at the Rebelle Rally, a tough test for 4x4s and their drivers alike. It’s an all-women event that requires traditional map-reading and navigation skills, and often, trailside repairs. The 10-day event wraps up on Oct. 19 after the teams take off from Mammoth Mountain, California, to hit the 1,500-mile race course.
Correction Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, 1:30 p.m. ET: The original version of this article speculated as to the 2026 Honda Passport’s powertrain, when Honda had already confirmed that the SUV will utilize a 3.5-liter V6 and 10-speed automatic transmission. The story has been corrected to reflect this; The Drive regrets the error.
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