Having a child changes your life. But there’s a point where the child becomes children, and you aren’t an adult play-acting as a parent anymore. Your family responsibility suffuses into your identity. You are Mom or Dad.
That is the time when you spring for a Honda Passport midsize crossover — and undoubtedly catch yourself crooning along to “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disney’s Encanto even while driving without kids in the car.
The Passport is spacious, comfortable and — in true Honda style — relentlessly competent. It’s the car almost every family needs. But it isn’t sexy. For 2022, Honda is trying to change that perception with an adventurous and trendy TrailSport trim.
Fancy badging and off-road flourishes don’t transform the Passport into a Jeep Wrangler rival. But the burly touches add some intrigue — I received bonafide inquiries and compliments on it from family members — and make a decidedly family-focused car that little bit cooler.
What the heck is the Passport TrailSport?
Tyler DuffyTrailSport is a Honda’s answer to Toyota’s TRD or Subaru’s Wilderness — a more rugged trim for trucks and SUVs. The Passport is the first SUV to get the trim, even though “Passport TrailSport” is a mouthful.
Performance upgrades will arrive for TrailSport models eventually, but for now, it’s limited to style and appearance upgrades like more aggressive bumpers, a trim-specific grille and sidewall tread on the all-season tires. Essentially, the SUV just looks cooler, which is the only thing the Passport needed.
