The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
2019 HONDA PASSPORT
Mid-size model’s return fills company’s crossover gap
There’s been a hole in Honda’s lineup for a long time, and Honda is finally filling it.
The problem is with their line of crossovers.
Honda’s small CR-V sells extremely well, mostly to singles and small families. But when it’s time for something new, too many of the CR-V owners go to another brand, because they want a mid-sized, five-seat crossover with a little more size, a little more power and even a bit more pizzazz.
The Passport name has been around since it was introduced into the U.S. market in 1994. It was basically a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo, and sold well enough. This was three years before Honda introduced the CR-V, certainly before the age of crossovers.
But when the production agreement with Isuzu ended in 2002, so did the Passport. It was replaced with the first-generation Pilot. But while the CR-V remained the same entry-sized crossover the Pilot both grew and seemingly moved a bit upmarket.
But now the Passport is back to fill the gap in the lineup both in size and but mostly in appeal.
It is six inches shorter, a bit wider and an inch taller. The 2019 Passport shares Honda’s reinforced unibody midsize lighttruck platform with the Pilot and Ridgeline, and has a fullyboxed floor structure,
While sharing the same 111.0 in wheelbase with the Pilot, Passport is six inches shorter overall and the ride height in an inch higher. This gives is an off-road ready approach angle of 21.4 degrees, and a departure angle of 27.6 degrees on AWD models.
It is also styled differently, and really does have a different look on the road when passing a Pilot. It comes with standard 20-inch wheels, a distinctive black grille, and a taller and more aggressive stance compared to the three-row Pilot.
It has pretty much the same mechanicals. The powertrain is the same with a 3.5-liter SOHC direct-injected V6 engine and Honda’s second-generation ninespeed automatic transmission. With 280 hp. and 262 lb.- ft. of peak torque there is plenty of power, whether going to all the wheels or just the front two.
But the car’s management of the transmission takes getting used to, as it accelerates smoothly, but gently, unless you put your foot in it. Once you realize that, the process makes sense. Since most people do drive these calmly, the computer helps with smoothness and efficiency.
When you need the power it’s there, there’s actually enough to give the Passport’s all-wheel drive version a 5,000-lb. towing capacity. While this is all much like the Pilot, there are some differences. The engine may have the same performance, but the sound coming outs of it is a bit more aggressive.
Perhaps more noticeable is the suspension tuning. It is sportier and feels like it wants to do sport-uteish things. With a decent amount of ground clearance as well as its expanded approach- and departure-angles at the front and back, it can go offroad.
During the vehicle’s introduction in Moab we did some off-roading in it. While most of what we did was trail driving, there were sections which “exercised” the system enough to show its capability. This included sloshing through mud, snow, slush on those trails.
We also did a bit of crawling down rock-strewn sections where easing the Passport gently over protruding rocks and overly severe drops kept potential damage at bay and was representative of a capability offroad.
Granted this was more capability than will be used by very many buyers. But it shows the Passport does have that capability, so it earns its off-road chops honestly. It will certainly feature somewhat prominently in the car’s marketing.
That means it can do a great deal where the pavement isn’t, but mostly it’s an on-road vehicle. Honda is aiming this at those people who’ve had and enjoyed a smaller Honda but aren’t ready for a three-row family crossover. Passport fills that niche for couples and even singles who want all that Honda stands for in quality and dependability in a mid-sized vehicle.
That means there’s plenty of space for all those fun-filled weekends and filling the ever-increasing responsibilities of life. It is big enough to easily be a family vehicle, even if that family requires two car seats. The 41.2 cu.-ft. cargo area behind those rear seats is carpeted including the wheel wells and side walls giving it an upscale look. There’s even an additional 2.5 cu.-ft. of hidden storage under the floor.
You can put the second-row seats down with the push of a button for as much as 77.9 cu.-ft. of space
The Passport comes with plenty of standard active safety and driving assist features. This is called Honda Sensing. It includes forward collision warning, a collision mitigation braking system, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assistance system, road-departure mitigation and adaptive cruise control. There is also a multiangle rearview camera. Every Passport trim also includes automatic high beams.
When the Passport goes on sale in early February the starting prices will run from$31,990 for the Standard, $36,410 for the EX-L, $39,280 for the Touring and $43,680 for the top-of-theline Elite AWD.
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