Last year Honda gave the Ridgeline pickup a facelift to make it look more rugged and now Honda is continuing that theme with the updated 2022 Passport. The updated Passport has received an updated front fascia with a more imposing face, but more importantly the 2022 Passport debuts Honda’s new rugged trim level called “TrailSport” which you can think of as a rival to Subaru’s new Wilderness trim level or Ford’s Timberline lineup.
While Honda describes the Passport TrailSport as more rugged, but the truth is that it’s not really any more capable than the none-TrailSport models. That means that it has the same 8.1-inch ground clearance and it doesn’t get an off-road geared suspension, so if you’re in the market for a rugged midsize SUV, you’ll want to go with the Toyota 4Runner, although the Passport is a lot more refined on a paved road. The Passport TrailSport does have a slightly wider track to improve its stability.
The entire Passport lineup receives a facelift that includes everything being redesigned from the A-pillar forward. This includes a new hood, fenders, and a more upright and squared off face. On the outside the TrailSport stands out from the rest of the Passport lineup with a unique grille, more aggressive front and rear bumpers with silver skid garnish, and machined 18-inch wheels. If you were hoping for some more upgrades to make the Passport more capable, Honda has stated that the TrailSport will eventually get an off-road suspension and more aggressive tires.
Inside there’s orange contrast stitching on the steering wheel, door panels and seats. The TrailSport logo has been embroidered on the front seat headrests. The Passport’s interior is spacious and comfortable, although it does look a bit dated. It comes standard with an eight-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Under the hood there aren’t any changes, which means that the Passport TrailSport is powered by the same 3.5-liter V6 and nine-speed automatic transmission as the rest of the lineup. The V6 generates 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque, which gets the Passport moving down the road with ease. On the road the Passport is a solid midsize SUV, which does mostly everything right, but without much fanfare. The all-wheel drive system can also send up to 70 percent of the torque to the rear wheels and 100 percent of the power side to side. The Passport doesn’t have a locking differential, but it’s more than capable enough to tackle the trails with ease. It would be even better if the TrailSport came with tires with more tread on the sidewalls.
On the safety front, all Passport models come standard Honda Sensing suite of driver-assistance, which includes adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, lane-departure warning and automatic emergency braking.
The 2022 Passport is offered in three trim levels: EX-L, TrailSport and Elite. The pricing for the EX-L version starts at $39,595, while the Passport TrailSport starts at $44,195.
At the end of the day, the 2022 Passport is a good midsize crossover for buyers that want something slightly bigger and more rugged looking than the CR-V. The Passport TrailSport looks the part, similar to the Hyundai Santa Fe XRT, but we’re hoping that Honda ups the ante a bit in the future with an off-road geared suspension and additional off-road goodies.
