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I traded in the Xterra on the first 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport out the door at the Rapid City dealership. This new generation of Passport is Honda’s most offroad capable SUV ever, which really doesn’t mean much.

For me, this is a downgrade in offroad capability, but Honda really did something interesting with this new generation of Passport. The TrailSport package is no longer a butch cosmetic package. Honda has a real Grand Cherokee competitor here, but with Honda reliability instead of Jeep. They beefed up the exposed suspension components to protect them from damage. They put real weight-supporting skid plates under everything fragile. They softened the suspension and more importantly the antiroll bars. They increased suspension travel and articulation. They put in a 10-speed transmission that almost negates the advantages of a 2-speed transfer case (first gear on the Honda is almost exactly the same as second in low range on the Nissan which is really low). They put their best AWD technology in the drive train (downside is some added maintenance). This isn’t a hardcore rock crawler, but it should be good for the trails I typically am willing to drive up. It is one of the few independent suspension unibody vehicles on the market that legitimately can tackle some rough terrain.

This is a huge upgrade for on-road use. The handling, comfort, technology, quietness, and features make the Nissan look like an old crude truck. We did go for the top-of-the-line Elite package which gives me a few features I have never had before like ventilated seats, heated steering wheel, power tailgate, power folding mirrors, and surround camera views (including a forward-facing trail camera for offroad). Of course, it is a Honda, so the cleverness of storage bins everywhere is pretty awesome, particularly for an adventure vehicle.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going to the dealer. I was disappointed but I can’t say that I was surprised that their inventory was showing seven in stock, yet I arrived to find that they only had one. The other six were on the way, and three of those were already sold. To me, this is unacceptable practice for a Rapid City dealer since they are the only dealer in a vast region so many people like myself are driving more than an hour to get there only to find what they implied that they had wasn’t really there. Technically, the one they had, the one we bought, was not for sale. The sticker says “Demo Program – Do Not Sell”, but the demo program ends as soon as the first shipment arrives which on March 31 with the other vehicles on a truck somewhere, Honda was willing to say was close enough.

We had two choices in the Elite trim, the green one that they had (with 100 miles already rung up) or an orange one due in soon. We liked both colors. The green is more subdued while the orange is pretty vibrant. The orange one would have been a bit cheaper because of the way they ship with accessories, but the overpriced accessories are actually pretty nice and the green kept growing on us.

This wasn’t something that was urgent and I am not one to rush out to get the latest new model, but the Nissan’s age was starting to make me nervous in some of the places we go. It was sad to see it go. We have never owned a vehicle for that long before and we really had a lot of great adventures in it, but nothing lasts forever. I don’t need two classic vehicles, but I do need a reliable trail ready SUV.

Nice upgrade. Did you consider which color vehicles the bison are more or less likely to lick?

If this was April Fools Day a guy might wonder if this really happened.

I hadn't really thought about the April Fool's angle. I'll try to remember that next year. Here is what the truck looks like now.



It did great on its first easy loop that was nothing more difficult than dirt roads. It did give me a chance to try some things. The gearing and the various modes really do make a noticeable and useful difference. It does a better job of engine braking than I expected. I should be able to do mostly one-footed driving in the rough stuff until it gets really steep. It is the most isolating driving experience which was impressive on some washboard sections. I think it is a boring vehicle to drive with zero drama. The V6 starts to sound like something when the rpms get higher, but the drive is always pretty easy going which is actually good for its intended uses. Visibility is great, although it is taking me a little effort to get used to the additional width of the vehicle. It is going to be fantastic for car-based wildlife photography - much quieter than the Nissan, less juggling with window switches (one touch), and no clutch work in the mix.

We did encounter a lot of bison today. One gave me a look that had me worried, but I think they really go for the white cars like the Nissan and the VW. Wishful thinking. It is just a matter of time before I come back from a hike and find lick marks.

Looks good with a little mud on it. Third one today that turned out to be legit.

The Honda V6's haven't changed a huge amount in a LONG time, and they all sounded pretty sweet. Seems like a good upgrade for your current lifestyle. Probably wouldn't be a great jungle vehicle though...

-BP

Looking good, I wouldn't wash it, you would probably alienate your neighbors.

Today’s experiment was RTI measurement, the standard metric of suspension articulation for offroad vehicles. Ramp travel index is merely one metric of offroad vehicles. It is an overly complicated metric based on how far up a 20-degree ramp a vehicle can travel while still keeping all four wheels on the ground. That distance is then given as a percentage of wheelbase times 1000. A vehicle that reaches the ramp with its rear wheel would get a score of 1000. Thanks to the beauty of trigonometry, we don’t have to make measurements using a 20-degree ramp. Because of some weirdness in my property, there is a ramp up to my one-car garage that is adequate for getting a ballpark metric.



This metric is probably over-hyped. I have never put much stock in this metric, but it isn’t unreasonable because one would expect that a really long wheelbase vehicle could travel further up the ramp. The logic really is that shorter wheelbases with the same amount of suspension range are better for uneven ground. My personal interest was far more in how much vertical travel my suspension allows. Going up on three wheels in offroad conditions can be disconcerting. In some situations, it can be dangerous as slight movement can cause the vehicle to rock from one wheel to the diagonally opposite, generating enough momentum in that transfer to roll the vehicle. Any vehicle with normal antiroll bars is going to do relatively poorly in this metric. That is why many offroad-oriented vehicles have switched to electronically disconnecting the bars. Some old-school drivers will manually disconnect theirs when heading offroad. I had the Nissan up on three only a few times while navigating difficult terrain in Africa. In most situations, though, this isn’t dangerous nor unmanageable, provided the drivetrain can handle one wheel completely in the air (one wheel peel taken to the max, open diffs not good).

I wasn’t too surprised by the results, but I was quite relieved. I was able to hit almost exactly 12” of vertical climb before the rear wheel lifted. I never measured the Nissan myself, but the magazines did back in the day, and it couldn’t quite reach 14”. Below is a chart showing some comparisons based on published test results. Obviously, the Honda is a lightweight in the offroad arena, not just by this metric but by most any metric published. I obtained the published data from Motor Trend and Car & Driver. I didn’t include pickup trucks. Their longer wheelbases really put them in a different class of vehicles, climbing higher yet scoring lower.



(if you looked at this post shortly after I initially posted it, the chart was wrong - trig error in the spreadsheet TAN instead of SIN - this has been fixed)

I just noticed this is a 2026. Seems quite early in 2025 to be making next year's model. Any idea why Honda is doing this?

This is a new generation of Passport, a significant redesign. I suspect that they couldn’t get it ready to roll it out as a 25 last year and so they kept the previous generation as the 25 and then rolled this out as soon as they were ready. The rollout has been remarkable. They did a press event last fall to get people aware that this was coming, put out a clever video a few weeks ago, and then they did another press event just as these were hitting the dealerships. It was funny that when I got mine home, I noticed that it was the top story at Car & Driver and Motor Trend that day.

I haven’t really driven it much. I have been working really hard on some home improvement projects, but yesterday we took it to Custer State Park, hoping to replace our annual window sticker that I peeled off the Nissan (the office wasn’t open even though the website said it was). As we drove through the park, I decided to head up one of the dirt roads I haven’t been on before. It was beautiful and isolated, so of course the guy who bought a new vehicle because he was getting nervous about the old vehicle for situations like this found himself a few miles from the nearest meaningful road sitting in the wilderness waiting for the overheated vehicle to cool down. I had been driving really slowly, so I think the problem is that the cooling fans were not coming on. Once it cooled, I drove home a lot faster, and the temperature gauge held perfectly. I have an appointment next week to get that checked, and also for them to figure out this strange “update not available, contact dealer” message that keeps showing up.

Today, I towed for the first time. I had some yard debris to haul. The factory trailer wiring worked perfectly. The hitch height seems almost exactly the same as the Nissan, so the trailer was still headed slightly uphill with my 4” drop receiver. Towing was uneventful, but backing the trailer uphill into my hoarder building was such a joy compared to the manual transmission Nissan. The surround view cameras were a little weird as they make the tiny trailer look huge, but they help, too. I was able to back it right into the building without a spotter.

One minor project that I didn’t report from a few weeks ago was that I put a handle on the tongue of the trailer to help me move it around. That was also a big help in hooking up and putting the trailer back in its place.

We got our paperwork in the mail, so we were able to apply for title, register, and pay the sales tax (dealers in SD don’t provide any of that). Since we were at the Treasurer’s office, we renewed all our plates, so then we spent half an hour replacing stickers (Jag, VW, and trailer) and installing the plates on the Passport.

I had my first real trail run in the Honda yesterday. It was far less jarring than the Nissan used to be on that trail. Nothing on that trail is particularly challenging so it wasn’t much of a test, but certainly typical of the types of things I need a rugged vehicle for. The Honda did start to get warm on one extended rough section that required a low speed. The trail conditions improved before the temperature got too high and as soon as I hit 20mph, the temperature returned to normal. I was listening for the fans, but I didn’t hear anything. Hopefully the dealer will figure out what is going on as slow driving is a big part of my needs.



I installed a shelf in the cargo area. The Honda has a ledge that is exactly 48” across so the piece of wire shelf that I had hanging from the ceiling in the Nissan fit perfectly across. I was able to create a simple way of securing it so removal is quick and easy. The wire shelf is particularly useful for holding bungee cords, but also good for light gear like the pair of hiking sticks that we usually keep in the vehicle. The shelf isn’t as out of the way as it was in the Nissan. There it sat up high and was a perfect place to carry fishing rods, not that I go fishing much. I don’t think this installation eats into the cargo area too much as the cargo area is huge. It takes a while to figure out a new vehicle.



I also organized things in the back a little better. The sides panels above the wheel wells are MOLLE panels so my first aid kit attached easily. I have a few other hooks and straps I put on those panels for securing light cargo. There is a compartment under the floor where I have my tow rope and some ratchet straps. Honda has always been great at creating usable spaces, but that really comes in handy for an adventure mobile.

I also adjusted the garage door. The spring was not tight enough so the door wouldn’t stay high enough to clear a tall vehicle. When the Jaguar’s arrival forced the Nissan into this garage, I started just strapping the door up for entry and exit, but that is silly when there is an adjuster on the spring.

I think the overheating problem is fixed. The dealer confirmed my suspicion that the fan was not running. Their explanation was that the factory missed a fuse and that they have seen this before. I haven’t yet verified that the problem is solved, but at least they found something simple. This overheating problem got me good on Wednesday as I encountered a herd of bison blocking the road. When two of them started marching toward me, I backed up a hundred feet to discourage them. I then waited a minute or so until I saw a gap. I rolled through the herd slowly and surged forward a couple of times as I approached the last two that were blocking the road. That encouraged them to move off the road and as I drove by them, the temperature warning showed up. I was able to pull over a short distance ahead and I waited about 15 minutes for it to cool down. With the gauge looking cool, I started it up and began to drive away, only to find out it wasn’t actually cool yet. It vapor locked and stalled in the middle of the road. I sat there for over half an hour with no cell signal and no other cars passing by, hoping that it would eventually cool enough to restart. I tried every ten minutes, but it was pretty seriously vapor locked and I wasn’t sure how many tries the battery was going to support. I wasn’t completely lost in the wilderness as I do have a satellite communications device that would have allowed me to text for help. Luckily, it finally started. I drove away as fast as I could. The first mile was dirt road through a prairie dog town, and they were all over the road, so I am sure I terrorized a few of them, but I managed not to hit any. Once on pavement, I relaxed a little as the speeds were plenty high to keep the temperature gauge steady at its normal level.

The other problem the dealer looked at was an “update not available” message on the digital dash. I thought that was going to be the easy one, but they played around with it for quite a while before concluding that some communications module needed to be replaced. When that part comes in, I will have to return to Rapid City. By then, my roof rack should also be in so they can take care of both at the same time.

This is the twentieth new car I have purchased, and I have probably been lucky with initial quality. Our 1987 Mustang had the shifter disconnect requiring a warranty tow. My 1992 F-250 had a fuel injector stick open which also managed to destroy the catalytic converter. Those are the only real warranty claims I can remember. The 1999 Jaguar had an annoying door linkage rattle that the dealer addressed while doing the first oil change, so perhaps they charged an hour to warranty work. The 2004 Land Rover had a leaky windshield when it rained really hard, but I didn’t discover that until almost a year after I bought it, and then shortly after I noticed the problem, a rock hit the windshield. About a year later, I found out that the replacement windshield also leaked in heavy rain, so the problem was likely something other than the seal, but such things were to be expected from a Land Rover in those days. It is somewhat funny that a Honda has given me two initial quality problems, but I think I was statistically due, and this being a very early unit in a significant generational redesign increased the probability.

It’s part of our lives now that we’re reliant on computerization for
everything. It’s so good when it works the right way, but when a failure
comes along, it’s not a good thing. Obviously, a missing fuse is some
sort of quality control situation, but a bad module right off the rip is
a bit scary….. My work Colorado has an issue linking to my Apple Car Play
every so often and it makes me insane (because I rely on Waze so much).
Every so often, you can’t control the radio. These things have a way of
of fixing themselves, on their own time schedule - after a couple of reboots
of the system. It makes me wonder - if they had spent just a little more time
perfecting this, would I have this issue? I can tell you that, my radios in my
Oldsmobiles always worked - 60 years after they were made - by turning a
knob. Technology.

GM