Honda Getting Serious About Trailsport, Plans More Actually Capable Off-Road Models
The company says it is committed to providing true off-road performance and not just worrying about how its vehicles look.
If you are a fan of Honda’s off-road TrailSport trim models, you'll be happy to hear the automaker wants to offer more of them.
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“We’re expanding this concept,” said Kazuhiro Takizawa, president and CEO of American Honda Motor Co., during a roundtable with media in Tokyo in conjunction with the Japan Mobility Show.
The off-road treatment first appeared on the last-generation Honda Passport and has been popping up on more of the brand’s trucks and SUVs. You can get a TrailSport version of the Honda Pilot three-row SUV, the 2026 CR-V compact SUV (the first hybrid version of the off-road trim level), and the Ridgline unibody pickup, as well as the two-row Passport.
While the first TrailSports were more of an appearance package, the latest version on the new 2026 Honda Passport adds true capability. It received mechanical upgrades including retuned shocks and springs, a softer front anti-roll bar, 31-inch General Grabber all-terrain tires, underbody skidplates, and orange front recovery hooks and a trailer hitch. Sure, it does not go totally hardcore with low-range gearing, locking differentials, or a huge suspension lift, but with its all-wheel-drive system and different off-road-drive modes, it is more than most Passport owners will ever need.
SEMA Concept Wilder
Honda also showed a raised Passport concept at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, taking the off-road notion even further. Honda Racing gave it a matte orange paint job with contrasting black roof, redesigned bumpers with improved approach and departure angles, cool lighting, more underbody protection, and an 8,000-pound winch and integrated air compressor for serious off-roading.
“The Trailsport trim is not just for [showing off at] SEMA," Takizawa said. “We’re trying to expand the TrailSport trim further.” Indeed, just like Honda has Type R for on-road performance, it now wants to enhance its off-road lineup's performance and not just its image.
“This off-road capability is not just the way it looks but we are [also] improving the ground clearance. We are improving the suspension. This is our new challenge,” Takizawa said.
Honda also used the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo to show a trio of electric vehicle concepts, none of which are for North America.
Alisa Priddle joined MotorTrend in 2016 as the Detroit Editor. A Canadian, she received her Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and has been a reporter for 40 years, most of it covering the auto industry because there is no more fascinating arena to cover. It has it all: the vehicles, the people, the plants, the competition, the drama. Alisa has had a wonderfully varied work history as a reporter for four daily newspapers including the Detroit Free Press where she was auto editor, and the Detroit News where she covered the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies, as well as auto trade publication Wards, and two enthusiast magazines: Car & Driver and now MotorTrend. At MotorTrend Alisa is a judge for the MotorTrend Car, Truck, SUV and Person of the Year. She loves seeing a new model for the first time, driving it for the first time, and grilling executives for the stories behind them. In her spare time, she loves to swim, boat, sauna, and then jump into a cold lake or pile of snow.
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