Honda Passport TrailSport Long-Term Test Finale: What I Learned Over 13,000 Miles

Back in April, I said goodbye to The Drive‘s 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport long-term tester. More specifically, it was my 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport, as I was the only one who drove it basically every single day for almost nine months. After 13,000 miles, it went back to the mothership to be auctioned off and find a new home.

I’ve been doing this job for a little over a decade now, and that’s, by far, the longest I’ve driven a press car, and also the most miles I’ve put on one. I lived with the Passport—I had lots of good times in it, but also lots of not-so-nice ones. Like I always say, life happens in cars, and the Pumpkin King was no exception. It took me on countless grocery runs, school drop-offs, and pick-ups; it took my son to his high school graduation; and eventually, it moved him out to his dorm at Purdue University. It also moved me and my belongings to a new home, where I started a new chapter of my life last year. Oh, and there were a couple of road trips, too, like a cross-country dash to a Billie Eilish concert for my daughter’s birthday. The Passport did it all, and so I learned everything about it: its good side, its quirks, and most of all, its cheery can-do attitude.

If you’re in the market for a Honda Passport, or maybe just a midsize, rugged SUV in general, here’s what you can expect.

Previous Installments

– Welcome Passport: Specs, Test Details, Ultimate Goal
– First Impressions
– 5,000-Mile Review
– The Honda Passport Wave Is a Thing
– Let’s Chat: I Answer All of Your Questions
– 10K Miles, Snow, and a Trip to the Dealer
– Here’s How It Did Off-Road
– Towing Test: Maxing It Out

Daily Duty

The Passport TrailSport is a boxy, rugged crossover that’s quite capable off-road, but more on that later. Like all mainstream crossovers out there, its main mission is to shuttle you and your family to wherever you need to go—and do it safely, comfortably, and without any headaches. On those fronts, the Passport more than meets the criteria and passes these tests with flying colors. In fact, it earns bonus points for its unique design that sets it apart from its many rivals. Frankly, that’s no easy feat in such a crowded segment.

What I enjoyed most about the Passport TrailSport was its versatility. It’s a super comfy daily driver, but its 3.5-liter V6 with 285 horsepower offered enough grunt when necessary. If you read my previous blogs, you’ll know how I feel about its suspension (very soft and springy), so don’t expect a sporty ride. If what you’re looking for is comfort for you and the fam on city roads and highways alike, it has you covered.

Likewise, there isn’t a bad seat in the house. I found the front and rear seats to be very comfortable, especially in the top-shelf TrailSport trim, as they were heated and ventilated up front, and heated in the rear. They offered plenty of cushion and support without feeling like a living-room recliner or, at the other end, way too sporty.

For my full road test and driving notes, you can read my 5,000-mile review.

Pros

Technology: Honda’s infotainment system with Google built in is pretty much my favorite to date. Sure, it’s the one I’ve experienced the longest, obviously, but it just makes sense. The Google interface is pretty much identical to what you’d find on your Chrome browser when navigating the internet, as well as Google Maps. You can log in with your Google credentials, so it remembers your recurring routes, destinations, and preferences, and it synchronizes notifications. It makes life easy. You can also have multiple users if you share the Passport with someone else. It’s very intuitive—so much so that I didn’t even use wireless Apple CarPlay all that much, mostly for Apple Music.

Breadth of Capability: When you buy a Suburban, you get a great highway vehicle for road trips and a phenomenal towing rig. In the city, it’s huge and clumsy, and its fuel economy sucks. When you buy a Toyota 4Runner, you get a plastics-galore interior, a mediocre four-banger, and a stiff, truck-like ride quality that, while capable on the trail, can be downright miserable during everyday driving. The Passport’s best quality is its versatility. It can do everything well—except spirited driving—and with utmost confidence.

Cons

These detractors were basically the same from Day 1 of my long-term test. First up, overly sensitive cruise control when traveling even slightly downhill. If you set your speed at 70 and you come across a slight incline that will increase your speed, rather than let you freely gain another two to three miles per hour, the Passport will abruptly tap the brakes to keep you from gaining speed. This is extremely annoying and inefficient. Then there’s the lane-keeping assist calibration, or lack thereof. The Passport spends most of its time ping-ponging between lanes and really struggles to maintain a clear trajectory through the slightest of corners.

With those big ones out of the way, there are also a couple of small details that really annoyed me throughout my test. One of them was that all auxiliary power shut off immediately after the engine was powered down. Ideally, I’d like the stereo to remain on for a minute or so, so I can finish the song I’m listening to without wasting gas. (Not, this wasn’t a setting.) Also, it’d be good for the blind-spot monitors to remain active in case they need to warn me of an incoming car or bicycle before I open the door. Lastly, I found the HVAC’s lowest fan speed to be too high for my liking. I could feel it blowing in my face just a bit more than I’d want it to.

Honorable Mention

It has to be the Passport TrailSport’s off-road chops. The stuff I put this thing through—the trail, the obstacles—and just how nonchalantly it breezed through them, mostly unscathed, was really eye-opening. From my off-road review:

Next thing I knew, I had the front left and rear right in the air, and the SUV was teeter-tottering over a rock formation. It felt unnerving from the inside, but the Passport never felt like it was being pushed beyond its limits. The brakes kept the tires intermittently clamped down, while I, little by little, made my way down to level ground. In fact, that was the takeaway of the day: despite being put through challenges no ordinary owner would ever do, it never lost its composure. It never lost that typical cool-as-a-cucumber Honda attitude.

No one, and I really mean no one, will put their Passport, bought with their hard-earned cash, through the kind of stuff I did. Not because people aren’t adventurous, but because 99.9% of these will be daily drivers, and the folks who want a trail-rated machine will buy something else. Still, it’s great to know just how capable it is with literally zero modifications.

Fuel Economy

I’ll say it: The Passport’s fuel mileage is not ideal. But then again, I’m used to driving fuel-efficient compact cars. Also, there are good reasons for the EPA’s rating of 18 mpg city, 23 mpg highway, and 20 mpg combined. The V6 packs a solid punch and can healthily tow up to 5,000 pounds. Also, it has a 5.25:1 first gear and a 4.17:1 final drive, which helps it off-road, but not so much on the road.

Most of my driving happened in the city, and yet, I typically averaged around 21 mpg, which is 1 mpg better than the combined estimate. However, I never really managed to hit the 23 mpg on the highway, even on extended drives.

Verdict

There’s little to dislike about the 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport. It’s not perfect, but it strikes an ideal balance between practicality, personality, comfort, and off-road skills. The latter, likely no one will explore, but they’re still there just in case. It was not cheap at all (my tester came in at $54,335, including a $1,450 destination charge), but you get a lot of crossover for the money. Plus, it’s a Honda, so its long-term value and reliability are a given.

2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Elite Specs

Email the author at jerry@thedrive.com

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