Zander Drives Cars

Is the $50,000 price worth it?

I have a thing for boxy off-road SUVs. If you went to go look at my recent CarGurus searches, you would find a plethora of Mitsubishi Monteros, Isuzu Troopers, and Honda Passports. The first passport was introduced to the US in 1993 as a re-badged Isuzu Trooper and was Honda’s “off-road” offering for the better part of a decade until the Passports demise in 2002 to make room for the more popular CR-V and Pilot models. I liked the old Passport. It was a chunky, go anywhere romp-around machine that perfectly encapsulated what an SUV originally was. In 2018 the Passport returned, once again, as Honda’s more “off-road” focused crossover slotted between the CR-V and Pilot. So, does this born-again crossover still make me as happy as the first-generation models? Let’s find out.

Styling-wise, it is a handsome car, albeit a bit bland. In 2022, you need to have something that stands out in a crowd of outrageously designed crossovers. For me, it looks like a smaller Pilot with a different rear hatch. The Touring model, which I drove, comes with some styling upgrades to make the car look more upscale. Features like 20-inch alloys, black roof rails as well as a black grill do make the car look a bit more upscale and the Obsidian Pear Blue does look good in the sun. Still, the Passport looks like every other medium-sized crossover.

Three paragraphs in and I think that it’s time to rip off the bandaid. The Honda Passport, in the Touring trim, with a few extras costs $50,000. That’s Acura territory. Granted, the Touring does come with a host of toys to make the driving experience better such as heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, full leather, front power seats with manual rear seat recline, a three-zone climate control system, power moon roof, hands-free tailgate, digital dash, and more. So, yes, it is well equipped, but the $50,000 price is still a lot of money. The materials inside the cabin are typical Honda with well-put-together trim pieces and sturdy plastics. Both front seats come with individual armrests due to a very low center console that mainly functions as storage space.

Honda’s center screen is easy to use, intuitive, and responsive. It’s easy to pair your Bluetooth, it’s easy to set your destination on the nav screen, and it’s easy to configure. Beneath the center screen is your climate controls which are equally easy to use and work as well as climate controls should. You have a wireless charging pad for your phone and easy to reach heated and cooled seated above it. There is also a semi-digital drivers display that can show all your typical readouts from navigation to exact speed. I need to stress, again, that while this is a very well-thought-out interior, it is not a $50,000 interior. I know I’m not being super descriptive here, but the price just throws me off.

The rear seats are nothing to write home about either. They’re comfortable, they’re heated, and flipping them forward for extra cargo space can be done with your pinky finger. There is good legroom, good headroom, and good nap room.

One massive plus that the Passport does have over its rivals is the transmission. No CVT here, just a smooth and quiet nine-speed automatic transmission. That transmission is connected to a 3.5 liter V6 making 280hp that can be sent to either the front wheels or all four wheels if the going gets rough. Basically, just think of it as the same system found in the Civic Type-R. The engine is quiet, the ride is smooth, and the cooled seats are brilliant. The Passport can handle the stop-and-go traffic of rush hour, and while I didn’t get a chance to take it on the highway, I am sure it can carry its weight.

This car would be great if it was 1/5th less expensive but the Acura price tag, mixed with a lack of premium feel doesn’t sit right with me. I understand that some p[oeple would pay this much for a Honda rather than an Acura because of the badge, and maybe that is who this car is for. I don’t want that to be my takeaway on the Passport, though. I still like this car in a vanilla ice cream way. If you want one of these cars, spend a little less and get the Trailsport model. It is still expensive, however, you do have nobbier tires, bumper cladding, and more ground clearance. My takeaway is this: If you want a Passport to go off-roading, buy the Trailsport. If you want a Passport with everything on it, buy an RDX.

I would like to give a very large thank you to Anderson Honda of Hunt Valley and especially John and Jim for letting me drive one of their cars. You can view their website here.