Yahoo Autos 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Prototype Shows Its Stuff in Moab
When it debuted in 2022, the Honda Passport TrailSport was little more than a fancy badge and some mountain-range emblems. The 2022 Passport looked like it had skid plates, but you wouldn't want to drop them on a rock, and TrailSport didn't offer any more ground clearance or additional torque management than the standard Passport. Successive years added some capability, but since the off-road elements were being added to a finished model, Honda could only take things so far.
For 2026, Honda is introducing a second-generation Passport, which presented an opportunity for a more credible TrailSport. As our drive was in a wrapped prototype with a camouflaged interior, we're not able to give you all the specs on the new model—those will come soon during the official launch—but we can share impressions on the off-road features. We gave them a solid workout, clambering over the red rocks of Moab's Chicken Corners trail and up the stone ledges near Merrimac Butte.
Honda says the 2026 Passport TrailSport has a more rigid body that is 72 percent stiffer laterally across the front of the truck and 50 percent stiffer torsionally across the rear compared with the outgoing model. The TrailSport gets a trim-specific suspension tune, with forged steel suspension arms and cast-iron knuckles that should be more durable banging through the wilderness.
The 2026 Passport switches to a double-overhead-cam 3.5-liter V-6 backed by a 10-speed transmission; the previous model also used a 3.5-liter V-6, but the 280-hp single-overhead-cam design, with a nine-speed gearbox. Honda won't yet offer power numbers for 2026, but in the 2025 Honda Pilot, this engine makes 285 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque, so we expect similar output here. We found the engine capable of smooth and quiet power delivery up and over obstacles, with unobtrusive shifts from the 10-speed. The second-generation i-VTM4 rear drive unit is said to deliver 40 percent more torque at launch and has a 30 percent faster response when moving power among the four driven wheels. Up to 70 percent of that power can be sent to the rear, and of that, 100 percent to the right or left wheel.
Our Passport was wrapped to disguise exterior details, but the front bumper is designed for a better approach angle and to better showcase its bright-orange recovery hooks. The rear is also redesigned to come down off a ledge with less damage. The exhaust tips are angled and tucked to the side. Perhaps the biggest underbody change is the addition of heavy-duty skid plates, one in the front over the oil pan, power takeoff, and transmission, and another in the rear protecting the fuel tank. Both plates can support the weight of the vehicle, so an unseen rock won't ruin your outing. An aluminum front scuff plate and side rock sliders are available, and both fortifications offer replaceable dress-up plates if they get truly beat-up and the owner wants to make things shiny again. We heard the clanging song of the skid plates during several maneuvers but ended our day with no more damage than a light scuff on the front cover.
Even the wheels are designed with survival and aesthetics in mind. The blocky 18-inch wheels are lightly dished to prevent scuffing, and the valve stems are recessed to keep air in the 275/60R-18 General Grabber A/T Sport all-terrain tires. TrailSport development engineer Pete Langseth added that the wheels were tested with several different air chucks to make sure the inset design wouldn't interfere with on-trail air-ups.
The team also tried to get in the mindset of a casual off-roader, thinking not just about how an expert driver approaches an obstacle but also about how a novice might drive and where technology could make that easier. A new Trail mode automatically starts the front camera in the center screen (at speeds up to 15 mph, at which point it turns off until the driver slows). Genuinely helpful tools include the tire-path predictions on the camera, which we found incredibly useful for precisely placing tires on rocks in both forward and reverse driving without needing a spotter. The pathways also highlight the outer edge of the vehicle, which assists in avoiding sidewall scrapes and brush striping.
Trail mode also switches the gauge cluster to showcase a compass, elevation updates, and pitch and roll measurements. It also changes the transmission mapping, adjusts the drive unit to send 100 percent of the torque across the axle in case of wheel lift, and increases rear torque bias.
We were also impressed that the Passport allows left-foot braking with a considerable amount of brake dragging, but only if you press the brake first and then add throttle. Even the cargo space has some off-road cred, with customizable steel storage grids that can replace the plain cargo-area side panels.
Design details of the rest of the interior are yet to be uncovered, as are specific numbers about power, fuel economy, and price, but we can answer one question in the positive. Is the 2026 Passport TrailSport capable of more than light-duty off-road work? Absolutely.
You Might Also Like
