- The original Honda Passport was sold between 1993 and 2002.
- The new Passport gets a rugger SUV body with a 3.5-litre V6 underneath.
- Although it’s based on the CR-V, it won’t come to India.
Honda has taken the opportunity at the 2018 Los Angeles Motor Show to bring back its rugged SUV moniker, the Passport. Although the older Passport sold in the ’90s was rebadged Isuzu Rodeo, the new Passport is all-new and is a rugged five-seater which will slot between the CR-V and three-row Pilot in Honda’s SUV lineup.
Appearance wise, the Passport looks like CR-V on steroids. It gets a rugged stance with the help of blacked-out grille, chrome-black alloy wheels and black coloured roof-rails. In profile, only the D-pillar distinguishes the Passport from the CR-V. Meanwhile, the taillamps which extend to the tailgate and D-pillar on the CR-V have been done away with; and whatever part of the taillight is remaining after that is what we see on the Passport. Adding to the rough appeal of the Passport is the cladding all around and bash plates both fore and aft.
Inside the cabin, the Passport is spacious with best-in-class volume. This is due to the dimension of the Pilot, but with only two rows inside, it frees up an ample amount of cargo space. The dash is thoroughly modern as seen on modern-day Hondas. The Japanese carmaker is also offering a host of active and passive safety features under the Honda Sensing safety and driver-assistive technology.
Under the hood is a 3.5-litre V6 which produces 280bhp and 355Nm transferred to i-VTM4 all-wheel-drive system via a nine-speed automatic transmission with different driving modes. It also gets torque vectoring for better off-roading credentials. The towing capacity of the Passport is more than 2,268 kilograms
Prices for the new Passport haven't been announced yet, but Honda has revealed that the brawny SUV will be sold across four variants in the American market. There’s no chance of the new Passport arriving in India, and even if it does, it will happen sometime in the next couple of years
