2019 Honda Passport - The Off-Road Pilot
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Date: 2019-05-30
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Comments and reviews: 10
Stephen Hendricks
I really like this emerging category of Goldilocks or Tweener SUVs with a length of 190 give or take an inch. Its size was one of major factors in our choice of a Kia Sorento (189) over the larger so-called midsize crossovers. By the same token this class is more versatile than compact suvs that average around 180 in length. The Passport looks like a strong entry in the category for those who dont want the option of an even occasional use third row of seats. (The third row in the Sorento was a major factor in our choice versus the Ford Edge) Trying to thread the needle between a comfortable on-road vehicle suitable as a daily driver and freeway cruiser and a vehicle with off-road chops is a challenge. Hondas compromises will satisfy many buyers, I think. Others will be disappointed that Honda paid so little attention to making a more distinctive interior to differentiate it from the Pilot. The interiors of the KIA Telluride versus Hyundais Palisade might be a better example of sending a message of adventure in one vehicle versus near-luxury in otherwise near identical vehicles. Of course, serious off-road enthusiasts will dismiss the Passport. But thats unlikely to bother Honda. The pool of buyers who want the image of a rugged SUV while facing the challenge of an unpaved road or a muddy trail is much, much larger than that of those who want to take their vehicle rock climbing.
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I really like this emerging category of Goldilocks or Tweener SUVs with a length of 190 give or take an inch. Its size was one of major factors in our choice of a Kia Sorento (189) over the larger so-called midsize crossovers. By the same token this class is more versatile than compact suvs that average around 180 in length. The Passport looks like a strong entry in the category for those who dont want the option of an even occasional use third row of seats. (The third row in the Sorento was a major factor in our choice versus the Ford Edge) Trying to thread the needle between a comfortable on-road vehicle suitable as a daily driver and freeway cruiser and a vehicle with off-road chops is a challenge. Hondas compromises will satisfy many buyers, I think. Others will be disappointed that Honda paid so little attention to making a more distinctive interior to differentiate it from the Pilot. The interiors of the KIA Telluride versus Hyundais Palisade might be a better example of sending a message of adventure in one vehicle versus near-luxury in otherwise near identical vehicles. Of course, serious off-road enthusiasts will dismiss the Passport. But thats unlikely to bother Honda. The pool of buyers who want the image of a rugged SUV while facing the challenge of an unpaved road or a muddy trail is much, much larger than that of those who want to take their vehicle rock climbing.
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Gary Brown
CONS - Not that great looking. The Murano and Sorento are much nicer looking with better proportions. Not sure that I am a fan of the push button shifter. Not a fan of the piano black trim on the dash and around the steering wheel buttons. Not sure if I like the digital speedometer. PROS - But this is a lot of content for the money in the Sport and EX-L AWD. (6 cylinder, regular shifting automatic, 20 inch rims, sunroof, great cargo room behind the 2nd row. Apples to apples, I prefer a 6 cylinder naturally aspirated engine. These Honda 6 cylinders will run forever. I currently drive a 6 cylinder Odyssey with 204, 000 miles on it. Also did anyone notice how strong the folding floor boards looks in the back? Looks like its made of very solid plastic material that can easiler support heavy items. The cubby storage areas underneath the rear floor are a nice touch. The fold down buttons in the cargo area are nice and the 2nd row seats appear to fold down quickly and completely flat. Overall, it seems like a pretty decent choice at the EX-L AWD trim level for 38K range if you dont mind the looks and push button shifter. It will most likely hold its value better than a Murano or Sorento. More cargo capacity than a Grand Cherokee. I think this will also take some buyers away from the Subaru Ascent especially those that dont like the CVT. This wasnt mentioned.
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CONS - Not that great looking. The Murano and Sorento are much nicer looking with better proportions. Not sure that I am a fan of the push button shifter. Not a fan of the piano black trim on the dash and around the steering wheel buttons. Not sure if I like the digital speedometer. PROS - But this is a lot of content for the money in the Sport and EX-L AWD. (6 cylinder, regular shifting automatic, 20 inch rims, sunroof, great cargo room behind the 2nd row. Apples to apples, I prefer a 6 cylinder naturally aspirated engine. These Honda 6 cylinders will run forever. I currently drive a 6 cylinder Odyssey with 204, 000 miles on it. Also did anyone notice how strong the folding floor boards looks in the back? Looks like its made of very solid plastic material that can easiler support heavy items. The cubby storage areas underneath the rear floor are a nice touch. The fold down buttons in the cargo area are nice and the 2nd row seats appear to fold down quickly and completely flat. Overall, it seems like a pretty decent choice at the EX-L AWD trim level for 38K range if you dont mind the looks and push button shifter. It will most likely hold its value better than a Murano or Sorento. More cargo capacity than a Grand Cherokee. I think this will also take some buyers away from the Subaru Ascent especially those that dont like the CVT. This wasnt mentioned.
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james oelschlager
I test drove a Honda Passport, it drove well my immediate complaint was the lack of a armrest in the center column, instead it has the armrests that flip down that feel flimsy. The other concern was the lane changing visual safety alert that another car is on your side is not in the mirror that you are behaviorally trained to look at Instead it is on the inside area near the mirror. I found it difficult to see and actually asked the salesmen if the car had that safety feature. The other issue was a stalling sensation when I came to a stop. The salesman thought the stalling growl was from the car just arriving and still being in a shipping or transport mode? Otherwise I liked the way the car sat up higher than the Honda Pilot I own and the inside instrumentation were modern looking but easy to use and understand
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I test drove a Honda Passport, it drove well my immediate complaint was the lack of a armrest in the center column, instead it has the armrests that flip down that feel flimsy. The other concern was the lane changing visual safety alert that another car is on your side is not in the mirror that you are behaviorally trained to look at Instead it is on the inside area near the mirror. I found it difficult to see and actually asked the salesmen if the car had that safety feature. The other issue was a stalling sensation when I came to a stop. The salesman thought the stalling growl was from the car just arriving and still being in a shipping or transport mode? Otherwise I liked the way the car sat up higher than the Honda Pilot I own and the inside instrumentation were modern looking but easy to use and understand
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Silent Refusal
This definitely feels like a rushed vehicle. There is zero personality inside cabin (compare it to Santa Fes interior and you will know what I mean, exterior is way too basic and generic and that unavailability of Android Auto/Car play in the lower trims is really a bummer considering its pricing. For now, if I really wanted an offroad capable good reliable SUV, I would just go with either the all new Subaru Forester or simply get the 2019 Rav-4 Adventure trim. If not too much offroading, even then I am perfectly fine with those 2 vehicles or I would simply get a 2019 Santa Fe, which to me looks much better thought out than this Passport. Lets hope, Honda really surprises us with the next Gen Passport, but that vehicle is at the very least 3-4 years away, so. RAV-4 or Forester or Santa Fe it is.
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This definitely feels like a rushed vehicle. There is zero personality inside cabin (compare it to Santa Fes interior and you will know what I mean, exterior is way too basic and generic and that unavailability of Android Auto/Car play in the lower trims is really a bummer considering its pricing. For now, if I really wanted an offroad capable good reliable SUV, I would just go with either the all new Subaru Forester or simply get the 2019 Rav-4 Adventure trim. If not too much offroading, even then I am perfectly fine with those 2 vehicles or I would simply get a 2019 Santa Fe, which to me looks much better thought out than this Passport. Lets hope, Honda really surprises us with the next Gen Passport, but that vehicle is at the very least 3-4 years away, so. RAV-4 or Forester or Santa Fe it is.
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N Pooch
I dont understand this vehicle. I was hoping for something unique, but instead we get a slightly shorter Pilot. Same width, same wheelbase (so presumably the same turning circle, same rear seat room. I dont often need 3-rows, but Id get the Pilot over this due to the added capability (cargo space, 3rd row. The off-road capability of Passport is not drastically improved enough (especially let down by the 4 of sidewall on those ridiculous tires/wheels) to offset the loss of practicality. They could have put the ride height increase and front airdam on the Pilot and called it the Pilot Adventure and been better off.
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I dont understand this vehicle. I was hoping for something unique, but instead we get a slightly shorter Pilot. Same width, same wheelbase (so presumably the same turning circle, same rear seat room. I dont often need 3-rows, but Id get the Pilot over this due to the added capability (cargo space, 3rd row. The off-road capability of Passport is not drastically improved enough (especially let down by the 4 of sidewall on those ridiculous tires/wheels) to offset the loss of practicality. They could have put the ride height increase and front airdam on the Pilot and called it the Pilot Adventure and been better off.
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Kevin Gibble
I was hoping this would be priced closer to the middle between the CRV and Pilot, so I am disappointed in the pricing. The Passport EX-L is only 1000 less than a Pilot EX-L. With current Pilot discounting and likely no Passport discounting for at least awhile, the Pilot is actually cheaper than the Passport. So will probably settle for a CR-V EX-L, which is currently discounted to 29000 plus TTL, no way the Passport is worth 8000 more. Or may go back to considering a Hyundai Santa Fe or NIssan Murano.
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I was hoping this would be priced closer to the middle between the CRV and Pilot, so I am disappointed in the pricing. The Passport EX-L is only 1000 less than a Pilot EX-L. With current Pilot discounting and likely no Passport discounting for at least awhile, the Pilot is actually cheaper than the Passport. So will probably settle for a CR-V EX-L, which is currently discounted to 29000 plus TTL, no way the Passport is worth 8000 more. Or may go back to considering a Hyundai Santa Fe or NIssan Murano.
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Eddie Baba
Alex, great review as usual. With increased maintenance costs, could you add a brief segment on the big ticket maintenance items in the first few years? Case in point is the 9 speed zf xmsn. My Honda dealership said this trans uses special oil that is very expensive. They recommend a drain/fill at 30k for about 350. But a full flush is over 700 at about 60k I think. If true, this cost would eat into any fuel saving this trans had over the regular 6-speed unit. Please look into it. Thanks.
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Alex, great review as usual. With increased maintenance costs, could you add a brief segment on the big ticket maintenance items in the first few years? Case in point is the 9 speed zf xmsn. My Honda dealership said this trans uses special oil that is very expensive. They recommend a drain/fill at 30k for about 350. But a full flush is over 700 at about 60k I think. If true, this cost would eat into any fuel saving this trans had over the regular 6-speed unit. Please look into it. Thanks.
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Bowling Brawn
Ive watched a lot of video reviews about the Passport. I sat in one today. I am surprised no one is mentioning that there is not much legroom in the front driver seat. My Honda Accord has more legroom than this Passport does, for the driver. Also, whats up with a manual parking break that sits right above the drivers shin? One large bump in the road or God forbid an accident and the drivers left leg will definitely hit up against the parking brakePoor design if you ask me.
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Ive watched a lot of video reviews about the Passport. I sat in one today. I am surprised no one is mentioning that there is not much legroom in the front driver seat. My Honda Accord has more legroom than this Passport does, for the driver. Also, whats up with a manual parking break that sits right above the drivers shin? One large bump in the road or God forbid an accident and the drivers left leg will definitely hit up against the parking brakePoor design if you ask me.
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Lief Bjelland
Consumers desperately need guidance on adaptive cruise /stop and go functionality in urban traffic. I am car shopping and have found minimal guidance from online forums. In discussions with multiple new car shoppers, this is more important to us than 99% of what I see in reviews because this affects 90% of our time behind the wheel - more so than seat cushion softness or ride firmness and definitely more than cargo capacity for the one time a year we take a road trip.
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Consumers desperately need guidance on adaptive cruise /stop and go functionality in urban traffic. I am car shopping and have found minimal guidance from online forums. In discussions with multiple new car shoppers, this is more important to us than 99% of what I see in reviews because this affects 90% of our time behind the wheel - more so than seat cushion softness or ride firmness and definitely more than cargo capacity for the one time a year we take a road trip.
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Orlando Lopez
I wish the Sport Trim was 28k, but 32k for the base trim is pricey. The Elite trim though sounds reasonable (in comparison to the 1994 Honda Passport EX-V6 price which I remember was 27k back then. which equates to 47k. Id love to get one, but I will wait at the end of the year or allow Honda do a better revision differentiating itself from the Pilot. Still sticking with the 3rd Gen (2008) Nissan Pathfinder (and thinking of finding a used V8 Pathfinder.
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I wish the Sport Trim was 28k, but 32k for the base trim is pricey. The Elite trim though sounds reasonable (in comparison to the 1994 Honda Passport EX-V6 price which I remember was 27k back then. which equates to 47k. Id love to get one, but I will wait at the end of the year or allow Honda do a better revision differentiating itself from the Pilot. Still sticking with the 3rd Gen (2008) Nissan Pathfinder (and thinking of finding a used V8 Pathfinder.
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