The 2019 Honda Passport premiered last night in Southern California, a few hours before its reveal on the floor of the Los Angeles Auto Show. It’s mostly what we expected: a five-passenger, 280-hp, V6-powered, off-road capable SUV. It will slot in between the compact CR-V and three-row Pilot.
That single available powertrain will be mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission and Honda’s i-VTM4 all-wheel-drive system will be optional. That system uses active torque vectoring to send up to 70 percent of the torque to the rear axle and 100 percent of that torque to either the left or right wheel. That, along with Honda’s Intelligent Traction Management system, according to Honda, allows drivers to customize the powertrain for different weather and traction surfaces. The front-drive model can tow 3,500 pounds; the AWD version can pull 5,000.
The exterior of the Passport looks to be a rugged combination of Honda’s sedan and SUV styling and is highlighted by standard 20-inch wheels, a matte-black grille and bumper, blackout headlights and black wheels. Ride height is up by a half-inch or inch (depending on front- or all-wheel drive) over the Pilot, and the Passport's shorter length leads to better approach and departure angles. The Passport rides on Honda’s Global Light Truck platform and features unibody construction like the Ridgeline pickup.
The trims will run like the rest of the Hondas with Sport, EX-L with leather, touring and elite trims. The Passport has 41.2 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats up and almost 80 cubic feet with the second row folded. There are also cubbies and underfloor storage in back for smaller stuff.
On the tech side, we’re looking at Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a base six-speaker system and an upgraded 10-speaker system, a 7-inch TFT instrument cluster and an 8-inch central touchscreen display. Upgraded trims come with 4G LTE Wi-Fi and a free 90-day trial of AT&T data.
The Honda Sensing safety suite of technologies is standard including collision-mitigation braking system featuring forward collision warning, road-departure mitigation including lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assistance system and adaptive cruise control. Honda’s Multiangle Rearview Camera and bird’s-eye view camera are both standard.
The 2019 Honda Passport will be manufactured at the company’s Lincoln, Alabama, plant and goes on sale early next year.
Check out the rest of our LA Auto Show coverage here.
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