The 2019 Honda Passport is back after nearly 20 years off of the market and its here to, in Honda’s eyes at least, mix everyone’s current lust for cushy crossovers and SUVs with some off-road chops. There’s now a price on that vision, and it ranges from $31,990 to $43,680—depending on how rugged or cushy you want to get.
Of course, nothing with a $32,000 base price can realistically get too rugged. The rebirth of the Passport doesn’t come cheap.
Honda officially announced the 2019 Passport in November, after rumors earlier last year that it would come back onto the market and slot in between Honda’s smaller CR-V and three-row Pilot. That’s exactly what the Passport did, with the ability to carry five people and tow either 3,500 or 5,000 pounds, depending on whether it’s a front- or all-wheel-drive trim.
When it comes to trims, there are only four of them on the Passport: the Sport, EX-L, Touring and Elite. The three bottom trims come with the choice between the base FWD configuration and a $1,900 AWD add on, and the top Elite trim only comes with AWD. Here’s how the numbers shake out, via Honda:
Despite Honda’s touting of the new Passport’s particular off-road capabilities in addition to everyday comforts, its basic stats paint it as a mini Honda Pilot on the surface. The Pilot, which can seat seven or eight, comes with a 3.5-liter V6 rated at 280 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque, FWD and AWD trims with the same towing capacities as the Passport, and, on certain trims, 20-inch wheels and a nine-speed automatic transmission.
The five-seater Passport gets all of that, except with the 20-inch wheels and nine-speed automatic on every trim. It’s significantly cheaper in the top trim, too, if you don’t desperately need the extra seats in the Pilot.
Either way, the Honda Passport is back after two decades, and the automaker claims it can take five passengers both on and off road, should they choose. But, because it’s a crossover with all of that extra space and ride height people love these days, most probably won’t choose to make use of that latter option.
Ah, well.