2026 Honda Passport Trailsport previews heavier design and

The camouflaged fourth-generation SUV looks boxier this time, but retains the 3.5-liter V6 power

Honda’s all-new fourth-generation Passport is undergoing its final paperwork check before its global debut this fall, but here we are, with a camouflaged prototype of the off-road Trailsport variant, which gives us a glimpse of what’s to come to Honda dealerships early next year.

Honda released a series of images and a camouflaged Trailsport testing video showing how the SUV can traverse sandy and rocky trails, ford deep water, and climb up and down steep grades.

RELATED: The 2026 Honda Passport Trailsport Looks Like a Real Off-Roader

While Honda didn’t release technical details like ground clearance, approach, breakover, and departure angles, we can see that the prototype is at least wearing a suitable set of general-purpose off-road shoes. Considering that the Passport is traditionally a road-oriented SUV rather than a serious competitor to crawlers like the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler, it seems to be able to handle the terrain well.

The text accompanying the teaser video confirms good news for those tired of downsizing. It tells us the Passport continues to use a 3.5-liter V6 engine, though it doesn’t say if that V6 will make more than the 280 horsepower (284 PS) offered by today’s SUV, and reveals that the current nine-speed automatic transmission is being upgraded to a “high-strength” ten-speed unit.

According to the video, power is sent to all four corners via a second-generation i-VTM4 all-wheel-drive system with torque vectoring.

Honda describes the new Passport Trailsport as the “most adventure-ready, most capable Honda SUV ever,” and claims its engineers have tested the SUV everywhere from the rocks of Moab to the muddy trails of Appalachia to the sand dunes of West Michigan.

Meanwhile, the automaker’s designers have rediscovered their love of straight lines. The new Passport is the boxiest model yet, even boxier than the 1993 original and its 1997 successor, whose sloping C-pillars the outgoing SUV adopts.

Although the prototype doesn’t reveal many design details, an early teaser sketch shows the front end of the 2026 SUV, including prominent “Passport” lettering, “Trailsport” badges, interesting hood ornaments, and horseshoe-shaped DRLs, giving us an idea of ​​what to expect.