The original Honda Passport was introduced as a way for Honda to get into the SUV market in the United States.

Way back in 1994, Honda’s CR-V had only been introduced in the Japanese market, and it would be another couple years before it would make it to North America. Even still, the CR-V was a compact SUV, and Honda was looking for something in the hot new segment for a lucrative market as large as the USA.

They looked to Isuzu which was selling their mid-sized truck-based SUV, called the Rodeo, and saw it as a quick fix in order to get into the growing SUV market. Although the engine and drivetrain were reasonably smooth for the time, the underpinnings of the Passport/Rodeo were essentially an SUV body placed on an Isuzu pick-up truck body. 

Not surprisingly, handling was clumsy and the ride quality was not up to standards that you would find in one of Honda’s cars today or even for the era.

Nonetheless, the Honda-badged Isuzu carried on under the Passport name for several years until 2002 where it quietly disappeared off the market.

What’s new

It wasn’t until 2019 that Honda re-introduced the Passport, now as a stubbier version of Honda’s popular mid-sized three-row crossover SUV, the Pilot. Sharing the same platform, powertrain, and drivetrain as the Pilot, the Passport is essentially a shortened version of the Pilot without the third row seating.

Although Honda still sells a boatload of CR-Vs, the Passport is supposed to be a tweener, slotting between the smaller CR-V and the larger three-row Pilot.

New for model year 2022 is the Honda Passport TrailSport. With this model, Honda is taking its first plunge into the recent trend towards more adventure / rugged / off-road themed vehicles. Once again, the old adage of “the more things change, the more they stay the same” applies here. Incidentally, there is also a 2022 Honda Pilot TrailSport as well.

Just as Toyota has extended the TRD Pro line beyond its Tacoma model and how Subaru offers their Wilderness line, the TrailSport trim level is designed to appeal to the overlanding crazy crowd.

Call them active lifestyle seekers, weekend adventurers, these punters are willing to open up their wallets and spend big dough to support their instagrammable lifestyles.

Honda Canada says that they will be expanding future TrailSport models to be more capable, potentially including things such as off-road-tuned suspension, all-terrain tires, underbody protection, full-sized spare tires, and even a slightly different tuned i-VTM4 all-wheel-drive system.

For now, though, the Passport Trailsport mostly differentiates with a new hood, a different blockier front grille, unique orange accented TrailSport badging inside and out, orange TrailSport logos on the headrests and floormats, and orange stitching all throughout the interior.

The Passport TrailSport also offers some minor changes that make it slightly more capable to explore local trails, though unlike other manufacturers, these don’t go beyond a slightly wider 10mm track and more rugged looking all-season tires with new 18-inch Pewter painted machined wheels. The unique design of the 245/60R18 tires includes sidewall tread for a more rugged look, but they’re not all-terrain tires.

If you’re looking for skidplates or locking differentials you’ll be disappointed.as Honda is careful to note that the more aggressive front and rear bumpers come with “skid garnish designs prominently painted silver” versus a “skidplate”. 

Once again, think of this as a soft launch for Honda’s adventure-orientated line-up.

Inside Tech: Cabin bells and whistles

As the new mid-grade level within Honda’s updated Passport line-up, the 2022 Honda Passport TrailSport ticks of all of the right boxes.

The interior, largely borrowed from the Honda Pilot, is a wee bit dated now, though still a comfortable and cavernous place to spend time. There is loads of headroom, and the heated and powered front seats offer good support and bolstering for longer drives. The rear seats are comfortable though flat, and I appreciated the ability to slide fore and aft and recline the seat backs for more comfort.

While many of my automotive media peers have criticised Honda’s push button automatic transmission gear selector, I find it quite easy-to-use and logical. Pull back on the “R” for reverse, press P, N, or D to proceed otherwise.

New for 2022, but not exclusive to the Passport TrailSport, is the same new grey lighting with white needles as the rest of the 2022 Passport line-up. The TrailSport does have a unique grade-specific black chrome gauge surround, and the ambient lighting has been changed to amber in the footwells, overhead console, door handle pockets, door trays and cupholders.

On the infotainment front, Honda includes their standard 8-inch Display Audio touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. It’s nothing fancy, but  gets the job done with clear graphics, logical menu structures, and an actual audio knob

Although previous versions of the system have been a bit slow to respond, this latest iteration in my test vehicle seemed to be much improved.The standard audio system is a 215-watt, 7 speaker sound system with a subwoofer. Higher trim Honda Passport trims have an upgraded 540 watt system with 10 speakers.

Safety Tech

The 2022 Honda Passport TrailSport enjoys the same extensive level of safety and driver assistive technology enjoyed by other Passport trim levels. Honda calls this their “Honda Sensing” suite of safety and driver-assistive technology.

All Passports come with collision mitigation with forward collision warning, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning and assistance, and adaptive cruise control. The infotainment system can use your cellphone to automatically dial 911 in the event of a crash.

New for 2022 is a rear seat occupant reminder and a rear seatbelt reminder. Visual warnings show up in the gauge cluster to let the driver know if rear seat passengers have not fastened their seatbelts, and also to check the rear seating area when exiting the child.

The standard LED low beam headlamps are excellent at lighting the road at night straight ahead and to the sides. I was a bit disappointed that the Passport TrailSport came only with halogen high beams but they worked well enough. Higher trims of the Passport have LEDs for both the low and high beams.

There is an auto high beam feature that uses a forward facing sensor to swap between low and high beams as traffic and lighting conditions necessitate.

How does it ride and drive

Like other Passport models, the 2022 Honda Passport TrailSport seats five comfortably with a class-leading 1,430 litres of cargo space offering plenty of room for everyone and their gear.

The multiple under-floor storage compartments are good for an additional 71 litres of cargo room, and allow items to be stowed out of sight.

Under the Honda Passport’s hood is a 3.5-litre V6 engine producing a healthy 280 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. Power is fed to the wheels via a 9-speed automatic transmission and Honda’s i-VTM4 torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system. 0-100 km/hr sprints can be completed in a quick 6.5 seconds.

The clutch pack-based i-VTM4 all-wheel-drive system can send up to 70 per cent of the engine’s output to the rear wheels and is able to vector 100 per cent of that torque between the rear wheels based on the driving conditions at hand.

Honda’s Intelligent Traction Management system has four modes including sand, snow, mud, and paved roads. The Passport’s 205mm (8.07 inches) of ground clearance is acceptable for traversing over mild trails but without underbody protection, you’d probably not want to take it too far from the paved road. Towing capacity is rated at 2,268 kgs (5,000 lbs), impressive for this class.

I found the Honda Passport TrailSport’s independent front and rear suspension surprisingly stiff for some road conditions. Although it’s based on the larger Honda Pilot, there is a bit more rock and rolling over some road surfaces than expected.,The steering feels a bit vague at times. Overall, the Passport can be summed up as capable but not plush.

TechDriven’s verdict

While it might not be all that exciting to drive and not designed for hardcore off-roading, the 2022 Honda Passport TrailSport offers a good size package, a powerful engine, and a lot of desirable creature comfort and tech features particularly on the safety front. How far Honda Canada has come from the days of the rebadged Isuzu Rodeo.

Those waiting for more hardcore off-road features or accessories will have to wait a bit longer for Honda to drop its grander TrailSport parts or models. For now though, this vehicle marks just the beginning of Honda’s off-road aspirations.