The 2024 Honda Passport is spacious and comfortable. Though the Passport has a slightly stiffer ride than the related Honda Pilot, its suspension controls large body motions and small bumps equally well. The front seats don’t offer much bolstering, but they’re wide and provide hours of comfort. The reclining rear seats are also quite comfortable.
Even this spiffy Black Edition fails to mitigate its losses against more modern and efficient alternatives. Honda’s own CR-V and Pilot have seen significant revamps recently, and even though the Passport neatly slots in-between them in terms of physical size, it still very much feels like a big, full-size vehicle on the road. To retain relevance and help warrant the sales success that the Passport has seen, this SUV is in need of a makeover of its own soon.
Granted, nobody who takes off-roading seriously will take the Passport seriously. But, people who want the rugged look of an SUV designed for exploring the great outdoors combined with a sophisticated all-wheel drive system, decent ground clearance, knobby all-terrain tires, and a huge interior with plenty of room for people, pets, and cargo, will find plenty to like in the 2024 Passport TrailSport.
This year, Honda made a few changes to the Passport:
- TrailSport models get all-terrain tires and off-road suspension tuning with improved ride, traction, and wheel articulation
- More dealer-installed accessories are available, including skid plates
- A new center console design enhances comfort and storage space
- The Passport Black Edition replaces the former Elite trim level
The Black Edition tops a three-trim lineup that includes the base EX-L and the TrailSport. Prices range from $43,295 for the Passport EX-L to $49,365 for the Passport Black Edition, including the destination charge.
Previously, J.D. Power reviewed the 2022 Honda Passport TrailSport. This review focuses on the Passport’s updates for 2024 and how they potentially impact its overall consumer appeal.
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To test the 2024 Honda Passport TrailSport’s hardware updates, I took it down a lumpy trail, blazed along on a winding gravel road with a washboard surface, and performed multiple acceleration runs through the mud. Unfortunately, it was unsafe to tackle more challenging terrain due to wet conditions in the Southern California mountains.
In each of these scenarios, the Passport felt right at home, and the new all-terrain tires make a noticeable difference in grip on slippery surfaces. It helps that outward visibility is outstanding, even if the Passport lacks fancy terrain-view cameras. In addition, I discovered the 2024 Honda Passport TrailSport can take speed bumps and speed humps without slowing, though sharper impacts can produce structural shuddering.
While the TrailSport’s new all-terrain tires improve traction and handling off-road, they introduce some noise and squish on pavement. On the freeway, the Passport is generally quiet except for the faint whir from the Generals. And when threading the SUV down a mountain road, they give up grip earlier than I remember.
However, the revised suspension does a better job of isolating occupants from broken pavement and rutted trails, soaking up all but the sharpest and most jarring of impacts. Overall, the ride quality is excellent.
At low city-driving speeds, modulating the brake pedal for smooth stops is easy. As the nine-speed automatic transmission downshifts from higher speeds, it adds engine braking, which requires the driver to modify pressure on the brake pedal. In turn, this leads to uneven braking. In addition, the brakes heated up and shuddered during mountain driving, a typical Honda problem. They did not fade, but the behavior dented my confidence in them.
As was true before, the refined 280-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 revs smoothly and delivers good acceleration. A torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive (AWD) system is standard, and Honda says it can put up to 70 percent of the engine’s power to one or the other of the rear wheels, aiding off-road traction.
However, this V6 isn’t very fuel efficient. I averaged 17.4 mpg in city driving and 19.1 mpg on the evaluation loop. That’s less than the official EPA rating of 19/24/21 in city/highway/combined driving.
