#trailsport

How do you make your citified large crossover seem a bit more rugged to appeal to consumers who either spend their weekends playing outdoors or those who plan to play outdoors but never actually do? You play a little dress-up.

Yesterday I ripped Honda a bit for producing a 2022 Honda Passport TrailSport that seems light on actual off-road chops.

Some time afterward, I received press materials about a Passport TrailSport project vehicle that is supposed to actually preview the TrailSport’s future off-road abilities.

We wrote recently about Honda’s new TrailSport trim. I theorized it would first go to Ridgeline and perhaps be a competitor for other brand’s off-road truck trims (Chevy’s ZR, Ford’s FX4, etc) and then perhaps go to Passport as a trim with some light off-roading features.

Turns out “light” is an overstatement.

Honda’s Ridgeline pickup is a really good truck.

It also has a bias towards on-road performance, unibody construction, and a reputation for being a truck for urban and suburban use.

In other words, it’s not rugged enough, despite a recent makeover that made the styling more macho.