LIKES
- Comfortable interior
- Refined on the road
- Decent off-road chops
- Good 8.0-inch touchscreen on some models
DISLIKES
- 9-speed automatic is a little confused
- Expensive in top models
- Not too adventurous in style
- Not as tough as some may need
BUYING TIP
When the Pilot’s too big and the CR-V is too small, the 2020 Honda Passport two-row crossover SUV is just the ticket.
If the CR-V is too small and the Pilot is too big, Honda’s punched your ticket with the 2020 Passport.
For 2020, the Honda Passport doesn’t stray far from the crossover that was new last year. In fact, nothing’s changed. It’s kind of a theme with the Passport—it’s closely related to the Pilot, minus a rear third row and with six inches lopped off the rear end. The Passport is kissing cousins with the Odyssey and Ridgeline pickup, too.
None of those are bad things, by the way. Even if the Passport feels familiar in just about every way, it’s still a solid two-row crossover that’s comfortable to drive. We give it a 5.8 overall, buoyed by excellent interior space and comfort. The base version drags the Passport down a little, but we recommend the step up anyway.
Like last year, the Passport is offered in Sport, EX-L, Touring and Elite trim levels. Base crossovers cost $33,085 and top trims tempt $45,000. Front-wheel drive is standard on the Passport, and all-wheel drive is a $2,000 extra except on the top Elite version, which is all-wheel drive only.
If you’ve seen a Pilot, you’ve probably seen a Passport: the two-row version just loses a little off the tail and adds some tougher-looking black cladding.
Under the hood, the Passport’s the same as the Pilot, too. A 280-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 shuttles through a 9-speed automatic in all models. The 9-speed’s a little confused at times, but aren’t we all? Tall 20-inch wheels hold the road well, and when equipped with all-wheel drive the Passport’s an adequate off-road performer, although it falls short of hardcore status without a low-range gearbox.
Crash testers have good things to say about the Passport, which earned a Top Safety Pick by the IIHS. Automatic emergency braking, active lane control, and adaptive cruise control are standard on all crossovers. Blind-spot monitors are equipped on EX-L trims and higher.
Base versions skimp on a touchscreen for infotainment, and don’t offer heated seats. We’d step up to the Passport EX-L that includes leather upholstery, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, heated front seats, a moonroof, blind-spot monitors, roof rails and a power liftgate for about $37,500 with front-wheel drive.
Styling
A little uptown but also anonymous, the 2020 Passport doesn’t stray too far from the path paved before it in the Pilot.
The 2020 Honda Passport doesn’t break any new ground stylistically, and it draws heavily from the Pilot from which it’s based.
There are a small handful of touches that keep it from losing points but it doesn’t venture into any new territory—despite its name. It’s a 5 for style.
The short of the long? The Passport is a Pilot with about six inches trimmed from its tail. The Passport measures 190 inches from bumper to bumper, which is long for a two-row crossover. Unlike the Pilot, the Passport has an unpainted chin that looks a little tougher compared to the soft Pilot, but we’re not sure it’s well-integrated into the overall look.
The big 20-inch wheels that are standard on all Passports fill out the wheel wells, but wouldn’t be our first pick for rocky, off-road terrain. (They’re just begging for big scratches.)
Inside, the Passport doesn’t venture far from the Pilot. The low dashboard and switches open up the SUV to as much available light as it can find, which is good because most of the interior panels are black and dark. A 5.0-inch audio display is standard on base Sport models, but an 8.0-inch touchscreen is equipped on EX-L trims and higher and it’s a better fit for the interior (and the price).
Performance
The 2020 Passport is a ticket to any trailhead, although it lacks serious off-road hardware.
The Passport’s powertrain traces its roots to the Pilot family crossover, Ridgeline pickup, and Odyssey minivan. What that means for owners is a smooth ride, with an emphasis on a quiet cabin and ease of use for drivers.
The Passport’s not particularly an off-road warrior, despite its name—blame the 20-inch tires with thin sidewalls.
Starting from an average score, the Passport gets a point added for a composed ride. It’s a 6.
Our gripes with the 9-speed start at our fingertips and don’t stop there. Honda uses a pushbutton gear selector that’s closer to BopIt! than the shifters we’re used to. It’s a short learning curve, we admit, but there’s no fixing the 9-speed’s hesitancy on the road to find the right gear. Other Honda vehicles have since dropped that 9-speed, but the Passport endures—at least for this year.
The Passport has Snow, Sand, Mud, and Normal settings that controls shift behavior, traction control, and throttle for each type of terrain. The Passport doesn’t have a low-range transfer case—hardcore bouldering and mountain climbing isn’t in the Passport’s wheelhouse. (Especially front-wheel drive models, which have a ground clearance lower by 0.6 inches compared to the 8.1 inch ground clearance in all-wheel-drive Passports.)
Front-wheel-drive Passports can tow up to 3,500 pounds when properly equipped; all-wheel-drive versions bump that rating up to 5,000 pounds.
The Passport’s best when it’s not overly taxed, loping from trail to trail on paved road. It drives well for a tall off-roader and EX-L and higher trim levels use quieter materials to isolate road noise. (Touring and Elite go further with acoustic front doors.)
Comfort & Quality
The 2020 Passport has plenty of room for cargo and people, but material quality is a step behind others.
The 2020 Honda Passport begs drivers to find friends, then find adventures.
(No friends? Try bowling leagues. We hear those are good places to start.)
The Passport is based on the Pilot family crossover, which is why we advise corralling a clan. The Passport is six inches shorter than the Pilot, without a third row, but every bit as comfortable.
The front seats on most Passports are power adjustable and shod in convincing leather. (Only the base Sport models get cloth upholstery and manually adjustable front seats.)
Driver and front passenger get good outward vision and plenty of head room and leg room.
Rear passengers get the benefit of the Passport’s shared skeleton with the Pilot. The rear doors open wide and accommodate nearly every body type. Rear seat riders get 39.6 inches of leg room that’s made better by the upright seating position, which means plenty of room for long legs.
Inside the Passport, soft-touch materials are reserved for front-seat passengers only; the second row and behind are filled with hard plastics. For the EX-L trim level that we recommend, those interior materials don’t impress compared to the Jeep Grand Cherokee or Ford Edge.
Safety
Good crash-test scores complement good standard safety features in the 2020 Passport.
Federal and independent testers have good things to say about the 2020 Passport.
Federal testers gave it a five-star overall rating and the IIHS gave it mostly top "Good" scores on its crash tests. Automatic emergency braking is standard on all models, which makes the 2020 Passport a 7 on our safety scale.
The IIHS rated the Passport’s automatic emergency braking system as “Superior” and said that it avoided a forward crash at 12 mpg and reduced the SUV’s speed by 12 mph in the 25-mph test. The Passport earned top “Good” scores on every crash test, except the passenger-side small overlap test, where it earned an “Acceptable” rating. The small overlap crash test simulates the Passport hitting an object at 40 mph with 25% of the SUV’s front width.
In addition to automatic emergency braking, every Passport is equipped with active lane control and adaptive cruise control. Blind-spot monitors, which are very helpful in the big Passport, are standard on EX-L trim levels and higher.
Features
Base Passports miss some of the good stuff, but one step up has everything we’d ask.
Base versions of the 2020 Passport aren’t well-equipped, but it’s a short throw to the good stuff.
The Passport gets an average score on our features scale for meager base versions (that still cost more than $30,000), but our recommended trim level does better. It’s a 5 for features.
This year, like last year, the Passport is available in Sport, EX-L, Touring, and Elite trim levels. Base, front-drive Passport Sports cost $33,085, including destination, and include 20-inch wheels, cloth upholstery, keyless ignition, active safety features (covered above), two USB ports, and a 5.0-inch display for audio with Bluetooth connectivity but no smartphone software.
All-wheel drive is a $2,000 upcharge on every trim level except Elite, where it’s standard equipment.
About those Elites: they’re a big ask at $44,875, including destination. They’re hardly poorly equipped, though. Passport Elites include a heated steering wheel, heated front and rear seats, cooled front seats, premium audio, a wireless smartphone charger, a household-style power plug, and navigation. They’re nice things, but they don’t feel like luxury vehicles for luxury money.
Fuel Economy
The 2020 Passport does OK for fuel economy, but there’s room for improvement.
With or without all-wheel drive, the 2020 Passport’s fuel-economy tale is relatively short.
The EPA rates the 2020 Honda Passport at 20 mpg city, 25 highway, 22 combined. That’s a 4 on our scale.
Those ratings don’t sink significantly with all-wheel drive. The EPA rates those Passports at 19/24/21 mpg.
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