2022 Honda Passport Reviews, Pricing & Specs

If the 2022 Honda Passport's new styling looks familiar, your eyes do not deceive you. The Passport is now a dead-ringer for the Honda Ridgeline pickup truck forward of the doors and windshield. Except for a few minor differences, they're identical to one another.

How can this be? Well, the Passport and the Ridgeline share a vehicle platform that Honda also uses for the Odyssey minivan and the Pilot three-row SUV. In fact, the Passport is nothing more than a Pilot that is shorter in length, doesn't have a third-row seat, and features different styling.

As with the Ridgeline, Honda styled the Passport's new nose to give it extra attitude and a tougher look. Whether you think Honda's effort is successful is up to you.

Honda applies the updated design to all three trim levels available for 2022. In Canada, these include the base Sport, the TrailSport, and the upscale Touring, and all three have new wheel designs this year. The Honda Passport TrailSport trim is new, reflecting a concept that Honda plans to expand to other SUVs in the years ahead.

With TrailSport trim, the goal is to make the Passport more appealing to people who use SUVs to explore off-road and delve deeper into nature. For now, it's more about looks than actual capability. Still, the Passport TrailSport is more capable off the pavement than you might expect, thanks to 20.5 centimetres of ground clearance, and traction management driving modes designed for use in snowy, muddy, and sandy conditions.

TrailSport is the mid-level version of the 2022 Passport. This year, the Passport Sport is the new base model, and while that means the starting price is higher, the SUV also comes with plenty of standard equipment. The Touring trim remains at the top of the lineup, offering all of the bells and whistles.

Prices range from $45,570 to $52,170, not including a destination charge of $1,950. Our test vehicle had TrailSport trim and extra-cost Sonic Gray Pearl paint, which in Canada brings the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) to $49,270 before fees.

TrailSports have unique 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in all-season rubber that looks more like all-terrain tires. In addition, it has a purposeful-looking roof rack, simulated front and rear skid plates on the bumpers, and other minor design modifications that make it look more like an SUV and less like a kid-hauling, grocery-getting crossover.

Inside, the Passport boasts one of the largest interiors in the two-row midsize SUV segment. Most interior materials reflect quality, and the Passport is assembled with care. TrailSport trim adds orange contrast stitching, amber ambient lighting, and embroidered emblems on the front seat headrests.

Honda makes no changes to the 2022 Passport's powertrain. The SUV uses a 3.5-litre V6 engine making power specs of 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque, a nine-speed automatic transmission, and in Canada, standard all-wheel drive (AWD).

The V6 is excellent, a smooth revver that feels stronger than its power ratings suggest, and it partners well with the nine`-speed automatic. Natural Resources Canada rates the 2022 Passport to return 11.3 litres per 100 kilometres in combined driving. The TrailSport test vehicle averaged 11.0 L/100 km over hundreds of kilometres of driving in various situations.

The AWD system in the Passport is Honda's Intelligent Variable Torque Management Four (i-VTM4). The i-VTM4 system features mechanical torque vectoring, and it can deliver up to 70 percent of the engine's power to a single rear wheel when necessary.

Dare to drive a Passport with enthusiasm on a twisty road, and you can feel i-VTM4 in action. Off-road, it was less evident to me. Wheel articulation isn't the best, and one or the other of the Passport TrailSport's wheels was often aloft as I made my way down a short, moderately challenging trail. Still, the Honda kept chugging along, the i-VTM4 doing its thing to distribute the torque to the wheels with the most traction.

Though a Passport is more capable than expected in the dirt, you're not going to cross-shop this SUV with something like a Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler, or Toyota 4Runner. The upside is that a Passport is excellent to drive on the streets, roads, and freeways that you travel every day.

Aside from its satisfying acceleration, the Passport offers a firm, communicative ride and surprisingly athletic handling. The steering feels good in your hands, the expansive glass provides an excellent outward view, and the Passport can tackle curves and corners with an unexpected eagerness.

We took the Passport on a three-day road trip, and aside from some excessive wind and road noise, it was a terrific companion. However, it would've been nice to have a surround-view camera system to negotiate the hotel's cramped parking lot.

If there is a dynamic concern with the Passport, it relates to the SUV's brakes. When descending mountain grades, they can heat up and start to vibrate, a sensation you can feel through the brake pedal. They don't fade, but they also don't inspire confidence. Considering the Passport's 2,268-kilogram (5,000-pound) maximum towing capacity when properly equipped, they should not behave this way under low-load conditions.

Thanks to its large doors and relatively low step-in height, it's easy to get into and out of a Honda Passport. In front, you'll find large, comfortable seats with inboard adjustable armrests and bottom cushions angled to provide good thigh support. Leather upholstery and heated front seats and steering wheel are standard, and the Passport TrailSport features heated rear seats while the Passport Touring has ventilated front seats.

Everyone can enjoy the standard triple-zone automatic climate control system, but only the rear passengers in the Touring enjoy separate temperature and fan-speed controls for their environment. Passengers riding in the second row enjoy plenty of room for legs, heads, hips, and a slightly elevated seating position. Large side windows make the rear seating area feel wide, open, and airy. Our passengers, who usually hate road trips, reported that the Passport's accommodations helped ward off motion sickness.

There is plenty of storage inside this SUV, from the massive centre console storage bin with its handy rolltop cover that turns it into a tray to the shelving carved into the front door panels and the cupholders built into the rear door panels. So, you won't have trouble finding places to put things.

Open the power liftgate, and you’ll discover that cargo space is equally generous. It measures 1,430 litres of volume behind the rear seat and a maximum measurement of 2,854 litres with the back seat folded down.

In addition to the Passport's agreeable driving dynamics, this SUV's simple utility and undeniable comfort make it easy to live with—and can make your life easier.

Speaking of simplicity, the Passport's infotainment system meets the minimum modern standards but will soon need an upgrade. Every trim level includes an 8-inch touchscreen display, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto, while satellite radio requires the TrailSport trim. Touring includes a navigation system, a 10-speaker premium audio system, and HondaLink connected services, including access to a WiFi hotspot.

Along the left side of the display, Honda provides a shortcut button to the Home menu, a Back button to return to the next layer up in the menu structure, a screen brightness button, and a stereo volume and power knob. Unfortunately, there isn't a matching stereo tuning knob. While that would be nice, if you go ahead and set your favourite radio stations, it is easy enough to cycle through them using a control on the steering wheel.

During our road trip, we opted to run Apple CarPlay mainly to avoid using the Passport's clunky navigation system. To operate it on-the-fly, you need to follow specific voice command pathways suggested by the digital assistant's voice. Still, even when you do that, the technology doesn't always return the anticipated results. Using Apple CarPlay and Siri, no problem.

Thankfully, Honda makes wireless smartphone charging standard in all but the base Sport trim. Otherwise, the 2022 Passport is not what you'd call technologically advanced, and that's OK. In fact, for many people, it might even be a blessing.

Likewise, elements of the standard Honda Sensing collection of driver aids are less refined and pleasurable to use than what many competitors offer.

Honda Sensing is comprehensive, equipping the Passport with adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, and lane-centring assist. Additionally, the Passport includes blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and automatic high-beam headlights. Also, for 2022, the Passport now has a rear-seat reminder system that tells the driver to check the back seat before leaving the SUV and a seatbelt reminder system that shows which passengers aren't buckled up for safety.

Our complaint about Honda Sensing is that the lane-departure warning and lane-centring assist functions continually draw negative attention to themselves, inspiring the driver to turn them off and continue without them.

Specifically, the lane-departure warning system wobbles the entire steering wheel when it activates. We think a more subtle vibration felt in the steering wheel rim would be a better solution. Meanwhile, the lane-centring assist system, which Honda calls Lane Keeping Assist, continually adjusts steering input while driving and frequently in ways you don't want or expect. We shut these lane-maintenance functions off during our road trip, and the Passport was better to drive for it.

Furthermore, in heavier traffic, the adaptive cruise control is not particularly smooth or refined in maintaining following distances. As a result, when other vehicles cut into the gap ahead, the Passport can react with too much braking as it tries to put distance between itself and the new car it is following.

Lastly, the blind-spot monitoring warning light is located too far from the side mirror, where the driver is looking to see if it's safe to change lanes. Placing this light on the mirror housing or the mirror glass itself would be preferable.

Overall, the Passport's driver-assist tech effective. It just isn't smooth and refined, so a driver may prefer to travel without them.

If a collision proves unavoidable, the Passport does a good job of protecting its occupants. Still, it falls slightly short of doing the best that it can. In testing conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Passport gets five-star ratings in all but front passenger protection in a frontal-impact collision, which earns the SUV four stars. It also gets a four-star rating for rollover resistance, typical for SUVs.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gives the Passport top ratings in most respects. Still, the SUV notches an Acceptable rating for front-passenger protection in a small overlap collision.

Considering its robust and sophisticated drivetrain, roomy and comfortable cabin, impressive storage and cargo space, and a generous list of standard equipment, the new Honda Passport presents a strong value equation. Some rivals are less expensive, but they're also not as well equipped, have weaker powertrains, or are smaller inside. Therefore, in our opinion, the most significant challengers to the Passport in terms of value would be the Hyundai Santa Fe and Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport.

The Passport's main problem is the age of the platform on which Honda builds it. The component set first went on sale when the third-generation Acura MDX arrived for the 2014 model year. After that, it served as the basis for the Honda Pilot, the Ridgeline, the Odyssey, and the Passport. Now, cracks are forming in its ability to ace crash tests, and its infotainment and driving assist technologies increasingly come across as outdated and unrefined.

Having spent hundreds of kilometres driving the new 2022 Honda Passport, it is an undeniably appealing SUV chock full of simple utility. If you don't care about having the latest and greatest technology, the Passport's stumbles in these areas won't trouble you. But if you're seeking a high-tech vehicle to transport you to your outdoor adventures, there are other five-passenger midsize SUVs that better deliver.

Note: Images show a US model.