Honda Passport Starts at $43,275 for 2024 Model Year, New Black Edition Grade Is $49,345

As the headline implies, all three cost a pretty cent. Including the $1,375 destination fee, Honda wants $43,275 for the EX-L. Rugged by design, the TrailSport off-road grade costs $2,600 more. As for the Black Edition, make that $49,345 before ticking any options. A bit pricey for a front-biased crossover from a mass-market brand, but on the other hand, the range-topping Black Edition comes with plenty of desirable goodies as standard.

For the EX-L, highlights include sand, mud, and snow modes for the traction management system, 20-inch alloys, a power tailgate, LED low beams, a dual exhaust, leather upholstery, a one-touch power moonroof, tri-zone automatic climate control, 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment, seven audio speakers, and plenty of safety features. Based on the EX-L rather than the TrailSport, the Black Edition sweetens the deal with plenty of black details, heated outboard rear seats, a hands-free access power tailgate, 10 audio speakers, and so on, and so forth.

Equipped with smaller wheels (18s instead of 20s), the TrailSport is the real star of the trio due to its all-terrain rubber, off-road suspension, and orange stitching for the leather-trimmed seats. The mid-range trim gets the very same Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System as the Black Edition.

Be that as it may, built-in sat nav isn’t as good as Google Maps. All trims get Android Auto, whereas those who prefer iOS are treated to Apple CarPlay. As far as the oily bits are concerned, the sole powerplant available is a free-breathing sixer.

Codenamed J35Y6, this engine is a single-overhead-cam affair with VTEC on the intake valves only. The naturally-aspirated lump flaunts direct fuel injection, though. The SAE net advertised output numbers are 280 ponies at 6,000 revolutions per minute and a respectable 262 pound-feet (355 Nm) of torque at 4,700 revolutions per minute.

Shared with the Ridgeline, this 3.5-liter V6 isn’t exactly the most frugal of its kind. The EPA says it returns 21 miles per gallon (11.2 liters per 100 kilometers) on the combined test cycle. You’ll rarely get close to 21 in the real world, though.

Not as practical as the double-overhead-camshaft Pilot three-row crossover, the Passport struggles in terms of sales. A grand total of 33,347 examples were delivered between January 2023 and September 2023 in the United States, while the Pilot clocked 82,397 during these first three quarters.

Being a front-biased unibody, the Passport competes with plenty of mid-size crossovers. The most obvious are the Ford Edge and Chevrolet Blazer, along with the Hyundai Santa Fe. You could also throw in the Subaru Outback in there, although the Outback is more of a wagon than a crossover.