When Honda first announced their trail sport trim, I appreciated the effort and idea but the execution was merely off-road cosplay. You know what I mean - slightly chunky allterrain tires on a smaller diameter wheel, a brightly painted recovery point, and extra cladding around the fenders. It's a start, but not the sort of factory-built upgrades you'd hope for based on the sort of marketing that often accompanies a vehicle like this. You're not going to run Moab in a 2022 Passport Trail Sport, but it seems like you'll be able to do just that with the 2026 Passport Trail Sport.

The 2026 Honda Passport Trail Sport is currently being developed, and while we don't have the full picture on it yet, Honda has been slowly filtering out images and video from its testing and development sessions. It's definitely getting a new phase, much like we've known already because the auto maker teased that new look a few months back. The Amber daytime running lights are going to look pretty great out on the trail, and the hood scoop will help the engine breathe easy.

Furthermore, Honda is saying the Passport will get a 3.5L V6, but it's an updated and more powerful version of that familiar engine. Considering the current Passport makes 280 horsepower and 262 lb feet of torque, going up from there sounds pretty great. Are we looking at a potential 300 horsepower Passport here? Really though, getting that torque number higher will make for easier times on the trail.

One change Honda is making to the 2026 Passport Trail Sport is moving from a 9-speed to a 10-speed transmission. I'm less thrilled with this part because it really feels like eight has been the magic number for the ever-increasing gear count in modern transmissions, but it's not a CVT so we can all breathe easy on that respect. This trail sport also gets the second generation of Honda's I-VTM4 all-wheel drive system, which moves torque around from front to rear and on the rear axle from side to side. It can send up to 70% of the available torque Outback, and then of that torque, 100% can be sent left or right as needed.

The setup paired with various Drive modes will adjust the front-rear torque split, throttle response, and gear shift points. The trail sport will also adjust traction control for situations when you want a bit more wheel slip to keep on rolling through soft sand or mud. To improve on-road performance, it can also slightly overdrive the rear axle compared to the front for better turning.

Honda has been testing this updated Passport Trail Sport on Forest Trails up and over sand dunes and yes, in Moab. I really can't wait to hear more about what's going on with this machine. Honda is showing it doing some impressive stuff for its class of vehicle, and I want to hear about underbody protection, ground clearance, that updated power figure, and more.

It's been impressive to watch Honda continually push the trail sport branding to be more meaningful. The 2026 Honda Passport Trail Sport appears ready to level up, which means other trail sport models should receive the same treatment soon after this one is fully revealed.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhen Honda first announced their trail sport trim I appreciated the effort and idea but the execution was merely off-road cosplay you know what I mean slightly chunky alterrain tires on a smaller diameter wheel a brightly painted recovery point and extra clading around the fenders it's a start but not the sort of factory built upgrades you'd hope for based on the sort of marketing that often accompanies a vehicle like this you're not going to run Moab in a 2022 passport trail sport but the 2026 passport trail sport that's currently being developed now it seems like you'll be able to do just that we don't have the full picture on the 2026 passport trail sport just yet but Honda is slowly filtering out images and video from its testing and development sessions it's definitely getting a new phas that much we've known already because the auto maker teased that new look a few months back the Amber daytime running lights are going to look pretty great out on the trail and the hood scoop will help the engine breathe easy in fact Honda is saying the passport will get a 3.5 L V6 but it's an updated and more powerful version of that familiar engine considering the current passport makes 280 horsepower and 262 lb feet of torque going up from there sounds pretty great are we looking at a potential 300 horsepower passport here really though getting that torque number higher will make for easier times on the trail Honda is moving from a 9-speed to a 10-speed for the 2026 passport trail sport I'm less thrilled with that part because it really feels like eight has been the magic number for the ever increasing gear count in modern Transmissions still it's not a CVT so we can all breathe easy on that respect this trail sport also gets the second generation of Honda's I vtm4 all-wheel drive system the setup moves torque around from front to rear and on the rear axle from side to side in fact it can send up to 70% of the available torque Outback and then of that torque 100% can be sent left or right as needed paired with the various Drive modes the trail sport will adjust the front rear torque split throttle response and gear shift points it will also adjust traction control for situations when you want a bit more wheel slip to keep on rolling through soft sand or mud to improve onroad performance it can also slightly overdrive the rear axle compared to the front for better turning back to the actual capability off pavement Honda has been testing this updated passport trail sport on Forest Trails up and over sandunes and yes in Moab I really can't wait to hear more about what's going on with this machine Honda is showing it do some impressive stuff for its class of vehicle I want to hear about underbody protection ground clearance that updated power figure and more it's been impressive to watch Honda continually push the trail sport branding to be more meaningful the 2026 Honda Passport trail sport appears ready to level up which means other trail sport models should receive the same treatment soon after this one is fully revealedwhen Honda first announced their trail sport trim I appreciated the effort and idea but the execution was merely off-road cosplay you know what I mean slightly chunky alterrain tires on a smaller diameter wheel a brightly painted recovery point and extra clading around the fenders it's a start but not the sort of factory built upgrades you'd hope for based on the sort of marketing that often accompanies a vehicle like this you're not going to run Moab in a 2022 passport trail sport but the 2026 passport trail sport that's currently being developed now it seems like you'll be able to do just that we don't have the full picture on the 2026 passport trail sport just yet but Honda is slowly filtering out images and video from its testing and development sessions it's definitely getting a new phas that much we've known already because the auto maker teased that new look a few months back the Amber daytime running lights are going to look pretty great out on the trail and the hood scoop will help the engine breathe easy in fact Honda is saying the passport will get a 3.5 L V6 but it's an updated and more powerful version of that familiar engine considering the current passport makes 280 horsepower and 262 lb feet of torque going up from there sounds pretty great are we looking at a potential 300 horsepower passport here really though getting that torque number higher will make for easier times on the trail Honda is moving from a 9-speed to a 10-speed for the 2026 passport trail sport I'm less thrilled with that part because it really feels like eight has been the magic number for the ever increasing gear count in modern Transmissions still it's not a CVT so we can all breathe easy on that respect this trail sport also gets the second generation of Honda's I vtm4 all-wheel drive system the setup moves torque around from front to rear and on the rear axle from side to side in fact it can send up to 70% of the available torque Outback and then of that torque 100% can be sent left or right as needed paired with the various Drive modes the trail sport will adjust the front rear torque split throttle response and gear shift points it will also adjust traction control for situations when you want a bit more wheel slip to keep on rolling through soft sand or mud to improve onroad performance it can also slightly overdrive the rear axle compared to the front for better turning back to the actual capability off pavement Honda has been testing this updated passport trail sport on Forest Trails up and over sandunes and yes in Moab I really can't wait to hear more about what's going on with this machine Honda is showing it do some impressive stuff for its class of vehicle I want to hear about underbody protection ground clearance that updated power figure and more it's been impressive to watch Honda continually push the trail sport branding to be more meaningful the 2026 Honda Passport trail sport appears ready to level up which means other trail sport models should receive the same treatment soon after this one is fully revealed\n"