2024 Honda Passport TrailSport Ventures Further from Mere Cosplay
Honda's TrailSport badge started as pure cowboy cosplay, adding visual flair but little else to the automaker's two-row mid-size SUV. In our test of a 2022 Passport TrailSport, we felt it fell short of the mark and could stand to pack some true off-road credentials. Honda decided to remedy that for 2024 with some hardware changes, namely to the suspension and tires, and the results show that Honda was able to make these changes without sullying the Passport's primary mission of reliable family drayage.
That 2022 Passport TrailSport we tested rode on 18-inch 245/60R-18 Firestone Destination LE2 all-season tires—fine shoes for mall-crawling, sure, but not exactly built for whipping down muddy ruts. Now, the TrailSport comes standard with same-sized General Grabber A/T Sport all-terrain tires, sporting some chunky treads. A brief foray into the dirt reveals plenty of traction, but how do they fare in more commonly occurring scenarios?
Quite well, actually. Our ears pick up some extra tire noise at low speeds, and we can hear a little extra slap over expansion joints and the like, but the Generals don't exhibit tramlining on grooved pavement, and the noise level at highway speeds sounds about even with the 2022 model. But you can't have it all, folks; when we get the Passport onto our 300-foot skidpad, we expect grip levels to decrease compared to the all-seasons. Something's gotta give.