Past to Present: The Honda Passport Through Time

Grab your Passports (get it?)

Last year, Honda reintroduced the automotive world to its first SUV nameplate from the '90s. The 2019 Honda Passport joins a crowded crossover segment with a mid-size version of the brand's second best-selling crossover, Pilot, sharing nothing but a name with its bony-on-frame ancestor. Let's journey back to where Honda's SUV story began, and how the Passport has evolved into the crossover it is today. 

Photos courtesy of Honda and Motor Trend

First-Generation (1994-1997)

When the SUV craze swept through the States during the '90s, Honda entered the ring with its first SUV, dubbed Passport. Although nothing more than a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo, the first-generation Passport proved to be an important stepping stone in Honda's move into the SUV space. While there wasn't much that differentiated Passport from Rodeo, it featured a unique grille and wheel design to distinguish itself. Isuzu EVEN allowed Honda to slap its own logo on it, in case you were wondering! 

Photos courtesy of Honda and Motor Trend

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Second-Generation (1998-2002)

Honda updated the Passport for the 1998 model year. Sitting on a slightly smaller wheelbase, Honda softened Passports harsh, truck-like appearance in favor of a more family hauler look. The roof-wrapped side rear windows were eliminated for a more streamlined roof-line and D-pillar. Unfortunately for Honda (and Isuzu), the second-generation Passport proved to be quite a headache. In 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered a recall of nearly 150,000 vehicles produced from 1998 to 2002 due to severe frame rust near the rear lower control arms. 

Photos courtesy of Honda and Motor Trend

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Third-Generation (2019-)

After a 17 year hiatus, the Passport debuted at the 2018 Los Angeles International Auto Show with revamped, well everything. The updated Passport ditches the old body-on-frame platform for a unibody crossover design. While Passport is a seemingly smaller version of its three-row big brother, Pilot, Honda has made efforts to ensure the crossover maintains a unique identity in the lineup. Honda says they designed Passport to differ from Pilot with features including a rugged yet modern exterior styling with standard 20-inch wheels, aggressive black grille and increased ride height for more athletic proportions and stance. Greater ground clearance and approach/departure angles give the 2019 Honda Passport an off-road advantage over the Pilot, but other than seating capacity and cargo space, the two crossovers are almost identical.

Photos courtesy of Honda and Motor Trend

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V6 vs. V6

With the advancements in engine design and power-boosting technology, the Passport has made great strides in the power department. For an apples-to-apples comparison, looking at the first-generation Passport's 3.2-liter V6 (ignoring the 2.6 I4) and the latest-generation Passport's 3.5-liter V6, the Passport has seen a horsepower increase from 175 hp and 188 lb-ft of torque to 280 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. This translates to a 60% increase in horsepower and a 39% increase in torque. 

Photos courtesy of Honda and Motor Trend

>>Join the conversation about the Honda Passport right here in the Honda-Tech Forum!

Capability Comparison

As far as capability goes, both past and current Passport were designed with off-road conditions in mind. The body-on-frame platform that Isuzu underpinned the Rodeo/Honda Passport came equipped with rear axles from General Motors or Dana, a 2-speed transfer case, gas-pressurized shocks and eventually, shift-on-the-fly four-wheel drive. The second-generation Passport was given a more robust frame and anti-lock braking system, rack and pinion steering, and a coil spring suspension system to improve ride quality. Notably, for its time, was the older Passport's towing capacity. Using an enhanced brake package, Passport was good for hauling as much as 4500 lbs. The 2019 Honda Passport, with its unibody platform, features the company's i-VTM4 torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system. Through its 9-speed automatic transmission, the system actively proportions torque to the wheel that most needs it. The new Passport uses a four-mode Intelligent Traction Management that works in conjunction with i-VTM4 on all-wheel-drive equipped models to maximize its on-road and off-road utility.   

Photos courtesy of Honda and Motor Trend

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Tech Advancements

In terms of tech, the 2019 Honda Passport is a quantum computer and the first-generation Passport is an Apple I. For example, it wasn't until the second model year of the first-generation Passport that the SUV came equipped with front airbags. Oh, have the times changed. Shift-on-the-fly four-wheel drive was added in 1996 as well as four-wheel antilock braking was available (previously only available on the rear brakes in two-wheel drive). The second-generation brought standard air conditioning, cruise control, heated mirrors and anti-lock braking system. Optional equipment included keyless entry, 16-inch aluminum wheels and power mirrors. As for the 2019 Honda Passport, drivers are treated to standard amenities including:  Forward Collis[i]on Warning (FCW), Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Assistance System, Road Departure Mitigation, Adaptive Cruise Control, Idle Stop, a 5-inch display monitor linked to a 152-watt, 7-speaker audio system with a subwoofer... just to name a few.  

Photos courtesy of Honda and Motor Trend

>>Join the conversation about the Honda Passport right here in the Honda-Tech Forum!

Past to Present to Future

Whether you have an interest in the Passport or not, it is cool to see how far the industry has come in just 10 to 20 years. The special edition, off-road renditions of the current-generation Passport Honda has shown off are intriguing to look at, but seem to miss reaching the level of satisfaction a traditional body-on-frame SUV has to offer. There are obvious pros and cons to the traditional model and the current unibody format, but I can't help but long for the tingly sensation in my fingertips as I maneuver fearlessly across raw earth when I get behind the wheel of a rugged, truck-based, rear-drive SUV. I'm sure the new Passport is nice, but nice doesn't always mean the best (ignoring prior-generation frame quality issues). Certainly hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and even full EV Passport models should be expected in the future. Will those models be able to take drivers as far off-road without breaking as we once trusted vehicles could? Only time will tell. One day we shall look back on the vehicles of our past fondly appreciating where things started and how far they've come. 

Photos courtesy of Honda and Motor Trend

>>Join the conversation about the Honda Passport right here in the Honda-Tech Forum!

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