2026 Honda Passport Trailsport Announces Thicker Design and Off-Road Agility

The camouflaged fourth-generation SUV looks much more angular this time around, but retains the power of a 3.5-liter V6 engine

Honda’s all-new, fourth-generation Passport is going through its final paperwork checks ahead of its global debut this fall, but here’s a camouflaged prototype of the gravel-focused Trailsport version that gives us a taste of what’ll be available in Honda showrooms early next year.

Honda has released a series of photos and a video of the camouflaged Trailsport in action, showing the SUV conquering sandy and rocky trails, wading through deep water, and climbing and descending steep slopes.

Related: The 2026 Honda Passport Trailsport Looks Like a Real Off-Road Vehicle

While Honda didn’t reveal any technical details like ground clearance and approach, breakover, and departure angles, we can see that the prototype is at least wearing a proper set of General’s off-road boots. And it seems to handle the terrain well, considering that the Passport has traditionally been an on-road SUV, not a serious rival to tracked models like the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler.

The text accompanying the teaser video confirms the good news for those fed up with the downsizing. It tells us that the Passport still has a 3.5-liter V6 engine, but not whether that V6 will make more than the 280 hp (284 PS) delivered by today’s SUV, and it also reveals that the current nine-speed automatic transmission is being upgraded to a “heavy-duty” 10-speed unit.

As the video shows, power is sent to all four wheels via a second-generation i-VTM4 torque-splitting all-wheel-drive system.

Honda describes the new Passport Trailsport as “Honda’s most adventure-ready and capable SUV ever,” saying its engineers tested the SUV everywhere from the rocks of Moab to the muddy Appalachian trails to the sand dunes of western Michigan.

Meanwhile, the automaker’s designers are rediscovering their love of simple lines. The new Passport is the boxiest yet, even squarer than the 1993 original and its 1997 successor, whose raked C-pillars are adopted by the upcoming SUV.

And while the prototype doesn’t give away many design details, an earlier sketch showing the front of the 2026 SUV, including the visible “Passport” lettering, “Trailsport” badge, intriguing hood ornaments, and horseshoe-shaped daytime running lights, gives us a good idea of ​​what to expect.