2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Surprises Its Owner by Powering Through Trails Where “Most People Have to Hike,” Completing a 1,093-Mile Journey Across Extreme Elevation Changes at 22.7 MPG

There is a particular kind of vehicle that earns its reputation not through spec-sheet bravado but through the quiet authority of real miles. The 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Elite belongs to that rare category. It carries itself like a confident traveler that has already studied every map and knows exactly what it can do. The crossover segment is full of machines engineered for comfort, yet the Passport is one of the few that still seems to hunger for distance. That became unmistakably clear when Reddit user u/Artien_Braum took a freshly purchased TrailSport Elite on a tour of the Eastern Sierras, a route that exposes vehicles to enormous elevation changes, unpredictable terrain, and the unvarnished truth of how a machine behaves when the pavement ends.

“Wife and I finally took Bim out on an adventure, and what an experience it was!

1,093 round-trip miles and 10's of thousands of feet of elevation change from San Diego up to June Lake (with several stops along the way beginning at Mt. Whitney). We traveled on road, dirt, gravel, and other types of terrain in comfort and confidence!

We bought the TSE (coming from a 21 Cadillac XT4), knowing this was going to be our new road trip and adventure vehicle, le and WOW! are we stoked about the purchase and the experiences that can be had along with it.

We've never owned a big off-road car like this, and I was seriously concerned about ride quality (road noise, MPG, and general smoothness, to name a few), but I had nothing to worry about. All the reviewers were spot on when describing the overall comfort and capability of this car!

Quick note... we met up with our friends at the base of Mt. Whitney, another couple who have experience in the area. They own a 26 RAV4 Woodlands, but we did all of the off-roading in the TSE (they were very impressed with the car).

I shared a few photos in this sub last week of our drive up to 10,000 ft. through Silver Canyon Rd. on White Mountain, and that was the first time I've ever done anything like that! Steep grades, loose gravel and rocks, tight corners (OMFG the cornering capabilities are nuts!), and the car made me feel like a pro. The clearance is great, but we did have a few smaller rocks ping off the shield, so we decided to play it safe and clear the way whenever we were uncertain about clearance.

But it wasn't until the next day that I was truly nervous about making the drive up to Lake Crowley. The first part of the trail is very simple, but most people stop there and hike the next mile or so because they can't make it past this one particular section. A steep grade (to me) with deep undulations makes it difficult for most cars to get through, but I wasn't going to stop there... we bought this car exactly for these experiences. From here, I'll let the video explain the rest...

From then on, whenever we had to do anything mildly off road related, wife and I would just look at each other and smile because we were in our comfy pod with the thermostat set to 67, open skies over our heads, cooled seats when we were in the sun and warm seats for the 30 degree mornings... we are VERY happy with our purchase!

The End.

Okay... I know I know... it's not "THE END" yet...It's not all perfect. Yes, we dropped well over $350 on gas (THANK YOU CALIFORNIA!... over $5 / gallon...), the overall trip MPG was 22.7 (43 MPG average speed and 25h 23m travel time), aaaaand the ACC is now permanently not "active" because it's FARRRR too aggressive. But other than that, I'll just put it this way... If we had the funds, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a second one for myself.

Now it's The End.”

What stands out in this account is not just enthusiasm but discovery. The owner arrived from a Cadillac XT4, a refined commuter, and found themselves suddenly navigating grades and switchbacks that many visitors simply hike. The Passport handled loose gravel, steep inclines, and tight mountain corners with the calm assurance of a vehicle engineered for more than grocery parking lots. Other community members reinforced this conclusion. One commenter, u/phorceofnature, noted that whenever they take a Passport into the mountains, there is always a surprised onlooker wondering how the Honda reached the summit. That kind of reaction has followed the Passport since its introduction and speaks to the vehicle’s ability to outperform its appearance without theatrics.

The Honda Passport Platform 

• Built on Honda’s Global Light Truck platform, giving it a rigid unibody structure designed to balance on-road stability with moderate off-road ability.
• Utilizes a 3.5-liter V6 with a naturally aspirated design, favoring predictable throttle response and long-term mechanical simplicity over forced-induction complexity.
• Features Honda’s i-VTM4 torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system, which can actively send power side-to-side at the rear axle to enhance traction on uneven surfaces.
• Designed with independent suspension at all four corners, tuned for confident highway manners while maintaining the wheel articulation needed for rough terrain.

Capability alone does not make an adventure vehicle. What transforms long miles into something memorable is the comfort that endures through fatigue and cold air at altitude. Here, the Passport excelled. The owner described a climate-controlled cabin set to 67 degrees, seats cooling in the sun and heating during early morning frost, and an overall feeling of being sheltered yet connected to the terrain outside. 

This balance between comfort and competence has been central to Honda’s design philosophy for years and echoes the spirit of classic road tests, where journalists praised cars that made distance feel effortless rather than punishing.

Fuel economy figures are rarely the glamorous part of an adventure story, yet they matter when a route includes thousands of feet of climbing. Averaging 22.7 miles per gallon across 1,093 miles of varying elevation is a respectable result, especially in a state where fuel prices regularly exceed five dollars per gallon. Another commenter, u/samchoi924, noted that while they ultimately purchased a Lexus GX460, they valued hearing real experiences from Passport owners precisely because the vehicle’s balance of price and capability is difficult to match.

That balance becomes more apparent when considering alternatives. The owner acknowledged that the GX460 is highly capable off-road, but also noted that keeping the budget under sixty thousand dollars was essential. The Passport offered enough performance to tackle everything they threw at it while providing a modern driving environment, intuitive technology, and everyday livability.

Even the small imperfections lend credibility. The owner found the Adaptive Cruise Control too aggressive and chose not to use it. This is the sort of detail that matters more than a hundred promotional brochures and highlights how a vehicle behaves in real travel rather than controlled testing. A system can be updated or refined, but confidence in difficult terrain and comfort over long distances comes from deeper engineering decisions that the Passport clearly gets right.

In the end, the most telling moment of the entire account is the owner’s admission that they would buy a second Passport if money allowed. That is not marketing language. It is the kind of endorsement that comes only from a vehicle that has proven itself on roads where many cars cannot go and on trails where, as the owner noted, most people choose to hike. The 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Elite does not try to dominate every specification or replace dedicated off-road icons. Instead, it delivers a rare combination of usability, composure, and quiet capability that encourages its drivers to travel farther than planned. And in the growing landscape of adventure vehicles, that makes it something special.

Image Sources: Honda Media Center

Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.