Honda Claims The 2026 Passport Trailsport Can Poach 4Runner Buyers, So We Tested It Out

Honda has completely overhauled the Passport SUV for the 2026 model year. Instead of a slightly different Pilot like the previous generation, the new Passport is a compact adventure-mobile with some pretty serious off-road specs to boot. The Passport in the Trailsport trim claims to be one of the beefiest rugged-est Hondas ever devised. To test these Trailsport-oriented claims, Honda sent me out to Puerto Rico to traipse around the many beaches, mountains, and rainforests the island has to offer.

Prior to the trip, I had never left the Continental United States, much less visited Puerto Rico, so I was pretty excited to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the island, all while goofing around in a brand new off-road SUV. I'm not going to lie: It's not a bad gig. Over the course of three full days in Puerto Rico, I was able to get a good feel of the 2026 Honda Passport Trailsport and what it has to offer on and off-road.

Before I can detail how well the Trailsport stomped around the rainforest, I need to go over the differences and similarities with the base model Passport, the RTL. To start, every Honda Passport is a unibody SUV, meaning it doesn't use a body-on-frame structure like a truck or something like a Jeep Wrangler. 

Every Passport is also powered by a 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 that generates 285 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. The new Passport also ditches the third row, allowing for 44 cubic feet of storage behind the second row (83.8 cubic feet with all of the seats folded down). All Passports are capable of towing up to 5,000 pounds.

Trailsport and Trailsport Elite, the two trims I tested, get a specialized and tuned suspension for off-roading, beefier tires, tow hooks, a panoramic sunroof, skid plates, and more off-road centric displays on the instrument cluster. The top trim Trailsport Elite gets the "TrailWatch" camera system, as Honda calls it, that shows wheel position and more camera angles through the infotainment system.

Upon arriving in Puerto Rico, I was greeted with an army of 2026 Honda Passport Trailsports for which to drive, not on the road though, but through the rainforest and up a mountain. Here's a fun fact about Puerto Rico. Since it's a territory of the United States, the rainforests around the island are the only proper rainforests managed and protected by the United States Department of Agriculture.

After acclimating to the abundant sunlight, beautiful vistas, and diverse wildlife of the interior mountains of the island, I can safely say the Passport Trailsport absolutely rules off-road. The Trailsport might not be as capable as something like a Wrangler which has more power, bigger tires, disconnecting sway bars, and places for a winch, but the Honda is way more usable and significantly less complicated. 

Alex Hevesy/SlashGear

You don't really have to think very hard about off-roading behind the wheel of the Trailsport. It's quiet, the 10-speed automatic transmission and front/rear power delivery through "Trail" mode removes a lot of the guess work, and it just works without much hassle. There's certainly a lot of fun in getting fiddly with off-road winches and the like, but it's sometimes enough to just flip it into Trail Mode and climb up the side of a muddy hill.

We went up and down considerable inclines with the hill descent system, and the onboard camera array gave me exactly what I needed to see and nothing unnecessary. All of the off-road features were available through a physical button press or two, completely (and thankfully) sidestepping the dance of touchscreen menus. 

Hondas are generally uncomplicated and the Passport–and by extension the Trailsport trim–follows that trend. As long as you bear in mind the Trailsport's 8.3 inches of ground clearance along with all those camera angles, it just works.

Alex Hevesy/SlashGear

On the road, the Trailsport behaved similarly. It's a nice Honda SUV with smooth power delivery and a well-appointed interior. It's as capable of trampling through the sand as it is driving serenely through the grocery store parking lot. Honda makes dual-sport motorcycles that are capable of acting as both a dirt bike and regular commuter bike. The Trailsport operates in a similar envelope. It can ramp up a sand dune and go to church in the same drive. Compared to something like the loud and brash Ford Bronco Heritage Edition I reviewed, the Trailsport is downright civilized.

The Trailsport is nothing short of excellent in a vacuum, but it, like all vehicles, doesn't exist in a vacuum. During the trip, I asked a few Honda employees about what vehicles the Trailsport is competing against, and the answer was "Toyota 4Runner" more often than not. It was the Trailsport's nemesis. and it's easy to see why. Both the Trailsport and the 4Runner are priced similarly towards the lower end of the trim bracket (in the $40,000-$50,000 range), both display serious off-road chops, both are from "Everyman" brands, and both are family SUVs when the need arises.

However, there are still a number of differences that the Trailsport counts on in order to slide, somewhat, into its own category. For instance, the Trailsport goes with a "Ain't broke, don't fix it" naturally aspirated V6 as its engine, while the 4Runner gets a turbocharged four-banger. The 4Runner is also available as a hybrid and rides on a more traditional body-on-frame architecture, as opposed to the Trailsport's unibody bones. 

If I were to compare the Trailsport to another vehicle, it shares a little bit with the similarly unibody Jeep Grand Cherokee, a vehicle that's absolutely no stranger to leaving pavement. However, the Jeep is available as a plug in hybrid and the price tag has no issue eclipsing $70,000 and nearing $80,000, so the comparison is only skin deep.

Price wise, the 2026 Honda Passport starts at $44,750 for the base model RTL model. The Trailsport starts at $48,450, and the Trailsport Elite will set you back $52,540. All trims are subject to a $1,450 destination charge as well. The 2026 Honda Passport is also made at Honda's plant in Alabama.

The 2026 Honda Passport Trailsport is a very compelling off-roader. I'm not sure how it will win over hardcore 4Runner fans or Jeep die-hards, but to new customers, Honda might have something special on its hands. I found its to be very capable off-road, uncomplicated and on its best behavior on pavement, and overall a welcome addition to Honda's already well-rounded lineup.

Over $50,000 for a car that will likely only leave the roads occasionally is a hefty chunk of change, considering the Honda CR-V starts at $31,100. An optional hybrid drivetrain would also be nice, as the combined 23 miles per gallon fuel economy isn't stellar. Still, the 2026 Honda Passport Trailsport was a worthy and faithful partner during my time in Puerto Rico.