Our Long-Term 2026 Honda Passport Is Still a Hot Commodity
20,000-Mile Update
“I’ve finally won!” exclaims technical editor Austin Irwin in response to snagging our long-term 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport for the weekend. Typically, it’s sports cars, rolling palaces, or vehicles with a manual transmission that elicit that type of reaction during our weekly sign-out process, not mid-size two-row SUVs. But the Passport really does have that effect on folks around here.
While it’s nowhere near the most engaging vehicle at our office at any given time, our sunburnt Honda’s allure comes from its ability to effortlessly eat both cargo and miles in large sums. Depending on your weekend plans, that can be far more valuable than the Hattori Hanzō–sharp steering precision of a 911 or the rewarding snick of a Miata’s six-speed shifter.
Caleb Miller|Car and Driver
In the 10,000 miles since we last checked in, a handful of editors have taken full advantage of the Passport’s strengths. In just a few short months, it checked Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ohio off its regional-visitation checklist, with one sentiment echoed by the three staffers upon returning from their respective excursions: The Passport is a damn good road tripper.
“Taking the Passport on a trip through Ohio to Hocking Hills was very enjoyable,” said online production assistant Sarah Taylor, who specifically called out its smooth ride and competent handling on winding mountain roads. Senior social media editor Carter Fry also joined in on praising the Honda’s on-road demeanor, noting that the SUV “is so well balanced considering its size and all-terrain tires.” A plush ride and confidence-inspiring handling are important traits on long-distance trips, but the Passport’s comfortable and expansive interior is what really cements it as our resident road-trip hero.
“Cavernous,” “spacious,” and “generous” have all appeared in the Passport’s in-car logbook to describe its cargo accommodations, and it is indeed very roomy back there by mid-size-SUV standards. In our testing, we managed to stuff under its liftgate 16 carry-on suitcases with the rearmost seats in their upright position and 38 carry-ons with the rear bench folded down. That’s 13 and nine more than will fit in a Toyota 4Runner, respectively. Managing news editor Eric Stafford did his best to stretch the Passport’s people and stuff-hauling capabilities to their limit on a ski trip to northern Wisconsin and reported that there was more than enough room to comfortably accommodate three guys and all their gear. So far, no one has been able to find anything that doesn’t fit in the Passport’s cargo hold, but we’ll keep brainstorming.
As far as grievances are concerned, there haven’t been many. Several editors have reported software issues related to phone pairing, Google Maps connectivity, and Apple CarPlay glitches. On one occasion, the infotainment screen went blank but continued to play music from the grave. On another, the GPS display within the digital gauge cluster got confused and gave up despite that Android Auto was running with no connectivity issues. Both of those incidents were resolved with a simple restart. Aside from that, there’s an ambiguous logbook comment likening the Passport’s interior to “something you’d order out of an L.L. Bean catalog,” but it’s unclear whether that was meant as a compliment or a dig. Depends on how much you like cable-knit sweaters, we suppose.
There isn’t much to report from a service or repair standpoint, either. Since we took in the Passport for its 10,000-mile oil service, which was covered under Honda’s one-year, 12,000-mile complimentary maintenance coverage, the sole out-of-pocket expense we’ve incurred was for the Passport’s 20,000-mile service, which included an oil and filter change, a tire rotation, and an inspection, for a total of $184. The only change to the TrailSport’s hardware was a swap back to its original 275/60R-18 General Grabber A/T Sport tires after the shedding of its Continental VikingContact 8 winters, but we handled that ourselves.
While it’s uncommon for a family SUV to be a first-round pick in an office full of performance-pilled enthusiasts, it’s clear why our long-term Passport is so highly coveted. With its coddling seats, plush but poised ride quality, and seemingly boundless cargo hold, the Passport is a hard act to beat when you’re staring down a thousand-mile road trip. As long as C/D staffers remain adventurous, we’re sure that the Passport’s key fob will continue to be fought over in the 20,000 miles to come.
Months in Fleet: 13 months Current Mileage: 20,211 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 20 mpg
Fuel Tank Size: 18.5 gal Observed Fuel Range: 370 miles
Service: $184 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0
Damage and Destruction: $0
Specifications
Specifications
2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Elite
Vehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $53,900/$54,355
Options: Sunset Orange paint, $455
ENGINE
DOHC 24-valve V-6 aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 212 in3, 3471 cm3
Power: 285 hp @ 6100 rpm
Torque: 262 lb-ft @ 5000 rpm
TRANSMISSION
10-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/multilink
Brakes, F/R: 13.8-in vented disc/13.0-in disc
Tires: General Grabber A/T Sport
275/60R-18 113T M+S
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 113.6 in
Length: 191.5 in
Width: 79.4 in
Height: 73.1 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 58/58 ft3
Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 83/44 ft3
Curb Weight: 4702 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS: NEW
60 mph: 7.1 sec
1/4-Mile: 15.6 sec @ 90 mph
100 mph: 19.9 sec
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.4 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 7.4 sec
Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 4.1 sec
Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 5.5 sec
Top Speed (gov ltd): 110 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 177 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.84 g
Interior Sound
Idle: 41 dBA/3 sone
Full Throttle: 78 dBA
70-mph Cruising: 67 dBA/22 sone
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 19 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 20/18/23 mpg
WARRANTY
3 years/36,000 miles bumper to bumper
5 years/60,000 miles powertrain
5 years/unlimited miles corrosion protection
3 years/36,000 miles roadside assistance
1 years/12,000 miles scheduled maintenance
10,000-Mile Update
The first few months of a new job can be stressful, especially when you have more than 20 professional scrutinizers judging you at all times, constantly scheming new ways to push you until your wheels fall off. Some might call that a hostile work environment, but that’s daily life for the vehicles in the Car and Driver long-term test fleet. While some of our long-termers are progressively eased into their 40,000 miles of hard labor, our Honda Passport TrailSport Elite was afforded no such luxury. Soon after it got acquainted with its new handlers, we
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