The All-New 2025 Honda Passport Is A Pilot In A Rugged Flannel

The all-new Honda Passport is finally here and it’s dapper. Dressed up like a modern Land Rover, it basically answers the question: what would the Pilot be like if it were a little more rugged? Consider the Passport a more off-road-ready two-row Pilot. Basically, it could wear flannel and not look out of place.

Honda says it embraced the concept of “Born Wild” for this new Passport and even designed the SUV in California. “Our completely redesigned Passport redefines Honda’s rugged design and capability with tough new styling and substantially increased off-road performance for fun adventures without losing its everyday ride comfort,” said Jessika Laudermilk, assistant vice president of Honda National Auto Sales.

“We top that off with the new Passport TrailSport, a new halo off-road vehicle that is the ultimate validation of our TrailSport concept, created to fully express Honda’s rugged design and capability,” she continued. Let’s dig into the details of the new Passport and talk about everything from styling to substance on this all-new everyday off-roader.

What It Looks Like

Honda calls this new exterior design brawny and broad-shouldered. Personally, I think the front gives off Ford Explorer vibes with the C-shaped headlights. The front of the Passport sports a faux brush guard treatment (Honda calls this a “Skid Garnish”) that stands out against a black bumper. The fenders get dark-colored plastic cladding and a small notch at the front of the hood looks a bit like an air intake.

The main body of the SUV features what Honda calls a backpack design with a big thick C-pillar and a wraparound-esque rear window. From the rear three-quarter view, the Passport looks a little like a mix of an Explorer and a Chevrolet Tahoe too. The same silver faux guard shows up on the rear bumper the same way it did at the front.

“The new Passport is an inch wider with aggressively flared fenders covering trail-ready 18-inch wheels and tires for a stronger, more aggressive stance. A 2.75-inch longer wheelbase, pulled back A-pillars and long hood create a longer dash-to-axle ratio for a sportier profile,” says Honda.

Overall, the package looks good and the orange color on the press launch vehicle is especially great at getting the details to pop. For instance, the bottom of the rear hatch has the “Passport” wordmark stamped into it. Notably, the press vehicle is one of the Trailsport-trimmed examples of this model. Honda will sell two other trims, RTL beneath Trailsport and then an Elite version of the Trailsport as well.

The cabin continues the excellent work Honda designers have done in recent years by keeping things simple. The dash and door cards get elegantly straightforward clean lines and little fluff. The new 12.3-inch infotainment system with Google Built-In sits loud and proud above physical buttons and switches for climate control, media volume, and hazard lights. A 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster is also standard.

If you’ve enjoyed the interior of any recent Honda, it looks like the new Passport will continue that vibe. Every trim level gets leather upholstery and “Body Stabilizing” heated front seats. The second row gets an additional 1.3 inches of legroom compared to the previous Passport. In addition, it has more cargo space (83.5 cu-ft) than any of its predecessors.

What is Underneath

This isn’t just a two-row off-road-ready Pilot in terms of its looks, it features the same engine, gearbox, and platform, too. Every Passport gets a 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 that makes 285 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. It feeds that power to all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic gearbox. That makes sense considering that it’s on the same PF7 platform. Notably, the all-wheel drive system in play here is, again, the same one from the Pilot.

Dubbed the i-VTM4, it’s capable of handling “40% more torque and provides 30% faster response, optimizing available traction in all driving scenarios. Up to 70% of the engine’s torque can be sent to the rear axle, and 100% of that torque can be distributed to either the left or right rear wheel.” Honda added more than just a trick AWD system to the Passport though.

The Trailsport trims get an off-road-tuned suspension, all-terrain tires, steel skid plates, recovery hooks, and seven selectable drive modes. They include Normal, Sport, Econ, Snow, Sand, Tow and Trail. All of this enables the new Passport to tow up to 5,000 pounds. That figure matches the outgoing Passport so anyone hoping for more will have to make do with what they get.

That shouldn’t be all that shocking considering that the last-gen Passport used an almost identical V6 that made 280 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. It leveraged a nine-speed automatic and achieved up to 21 mpg in the city, 19 on the highway, and 24 combined. Honda doesn’t provide details on fuel economy for this new Passport but we expect it to be slightly better overall.

What To Expect At Launch

Honda says to expect the Passport at dealers early in 2025 with a price tag that kicks off in the “Mid-$40,000s.” That’s interesting considering that the Pilot starts in the low $40,000s. Granted, most versions of the three-row Passport (Just kidding Honda, these are very clearly very different cars), cost $48,000 or more. Notably, since Honda is only making three trims of the Passport, pricing will, in theory, be tighter than the roughly $15,000 price gap we see on the Pilot.