2022 Honda Passport TrailSport First Test: Don’t Go Hunting for Bigfoot

• TrailSport: The Off-Road-Ready Trim That Isn’t
• At the Track
• Can the TrailSport Really Get Sporty on Dirt?

honda passport Full Overview

Pros

• Roomy interior
• Surprisingly fulfilling to drive
• TrailSport trim delivers no on-road compromises

 

Cons

• TrailSport package also adds no off-road abilities
• On-road tires and no skidplates raise risk of off-road trouble
• Soft, unpredictable brake pedal

The five-seat 2022 Honda Passport TrailSport is the first of the company’s SUVs to receive the TrailSport treatment, but in the context of actual off-roading, the effort is only half-hearted. But there is an upside to Honda’s approach: MotorTrend track testing showed no ill performance effects for the TrailSport trim that gives the SUV more rugged looks. Indeed, this new version goes down the road like any other Passport, and for the most part, that’s a good thing. How it goes down the trail, though, is another issue.

TrailSport: The Off-Road-Ready Trim That Isn’t

Quick backgrounder: Late last year, Honda announced the TrailSport trim as its answer to Subaru’s Wilderness and Toyota’s TRD Pro packages. The company showed a concept called the Passport TrailSport Rugged Roads to demonstrate what we could expect from TrailSport, including more ground clearance, off-road tires, recovery hooks, and skidplates. All good, except right around the same time the Rugged Roads was introduced, Honda announced the first Passport TrailSport—the one we’re writing about—would have none of those functional upgrades.

What’s left is a Passport that simply looks more aggressive. Like all 2022 Honda Passports, the TrailSport model has a new front fascia, power-bulge hood, and a revised instrument panel; the TrailSport trim, available exclusively with all-wheel drive, adds orange badging and orange stitching on the interior, mud-proof rubber floormats, and unique wheels that give it a slightly wider track than other versions. The tires are strictly street-oriented, though. Priced at $43,695, it sits in the middle of the Passport lineup between the EX-L and Elite models.

At the Track

Performance was predictable: The 280-hp, 3.5-liter engine (unchanged from the pre-face-lifted Passport) launched the Passport off the line with no wheelspin and drove it to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds, one-tenth quicker than the last all-wheel-drive Passport we tested (in 2019). The TrailSport’s quarter-mile run was a tenth of a second quicker, too, at 15.0 seconds, with a trap speed of 93.1 mph. With turbo four-cylinders now nearly ubiquitous, it was nice to treat ourselves to the V-6’s smooth, flat thrust, and one tester noted that feeling the VTEC variable valve-timing system’s changeover at 5,000 rpm was “almost nostalgic.”

Braking performance was also unaffected by the package, with the 2022 Honda Passport TrailSport stopping from 60 mph in 132 feet, about 3 feet shorter than our previous Passport test. Stops were drama-free with acceptable nose dive and only a little body sway under hard braking, but in our handling tests we found the brake pedal to be somewhat soft and not terribly predictable in its action.

On the skidpad, though, we found ourselves constantly fighting the nine-speed transmission, which always seemed to be one or two gears higher than desired. We had to manually select second gear to get a good result, which yielded lateral acceleration of 0.79 g, while the figure-eight run took 28.2 seconds at 0.59 g—again, all numbers within a hair’s width of our previous Passport tests. Body roll was significant, and we found that even with traction control off, we couldn’t get full power unless the steering wheel was straight.

There was one highlight, though: the steering itself, which offers remarkable precision and great feedback. We can thank those on-road tires. Stouter dirt-ready rubber would no doubt numb the steering feel as it does on the Wilderness version of Subaru’s Outback. Away from the track and out on the open road, we were amazed and rather pleased to discover what a job it was to hustle this relatively big SUV through challenging curves.

Can the TrailSport Really Get Sporty on Dirt?

But what about off-road performance? We took the 2022 Honda Passport TrailSport on a straightforward off-road drive in Big Bear, California, tackling a trail any decent SUV ought to be able to handle but a sedan like the Honda Civic wouldn’t. The Passport has adequate ground clearance, and its all-wheel-drive system does a good job of finding traction even with a wheel hanging in the air. The SUV performed well on the dirt, or at least it did until we got a flat tire and had to finish the trail—gingerly, gingerly!—on the Passport’s compact spare. It was a reminder that good off-road tires don’t just provide better traction; they also provide more durability.

Bring up this subject with Honda, or any automaker, and the most likely reply is a reminder that only one one-zillionth of SUV buyers actually go off-road. For those who don’t, the Passport TrailSport in its initial form here makes perfect sense. But there are plenty of buyers who do have a sense of adventure, and we imagine the number has only grown in a pandemic-affected world where travelers are increasingly looking to vacation in places with fewer people.

Had we tested a Passport EX-L AWD or Elite, we likely would have seen the same performance on- and off-road (and the same flat tire), and given the promises made for the TrailSport brand, we can’t help but feel a little disappointed for the time being. We like that the Passport TrailSport goes down the road as well as it does, but if Honda’s going to make TrailSport into an off-road brand, it needs to follow through with the hardware promised on the Rugged Roads concept if the brand is to have any true  worth. We can’t argue with the Passport TrailSport’s test results, though.

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