Honda releases new taser images that confirm the 2026 Passport will arrive with a tougher personality and a chip on its shoulder as it prepares to reignite its attempt to take on a growing pool of rivals in the rugged off-road SUV segment.
Honda released more images of the 2026 Passport which is attempting to be more rugged and trail-ready.
Honda is moving full speed ahead with the development of the 2026 Honda Passport. The redesigned Passport promises to be a tougher and more rugged entry in the CUV segment with Honda giving the SUV a more assertive personality and better trail manners as it attempts to allow the Passport to reach its full potential in the eyes of customers.
Several new teaser images and a separate teaser video appear to confirm this while also showing that Honda is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to updating every aspect of the Passport both inside and out for the 2026 model year.
Passport’s boxier design is still under wraps
A boxier design is coming but we have to wait until the wrap comes off to see how much change is coming to the SUV.
The teaser video and images that Honda released show an SUV that adopts a boxier design with more rugged elements. While the exterior is still under copious layers of camouflage, it’s clear that the Passport is shedding some of its rotund angles in favor of a look that allows it to be more on par with other rivals like the Ford Bronco Sport which have also embraced a boxy shape to help them look more trail-ready in the eyes of customers.
It also appears that the model Honda showed in its latest teaser material is the beefier TrailSport model with some of the exterior changes possibly helping improve clearance and some of its other capabilities though we have to wait until Honda is ready to reveal more information to find out just how much improvement that 2026 model has managed to add to its arsenal of tricks when compared to the outgoing 2025 model.
A new transmission joins the Passport family
A new 10-speed transmission is coming as part of an attempt to improve fuel economy.
In addition to the reworked exterior styling, Honda also confirmed that the 2026 model will get a new 10-speed automatic transmission to replace the old nine-speed automatic. Honda is most likely doing this to help get more fuel economy out of the Passport’s V6 engine with the company confirming the model will continue to be powered by a 3.5-liter V6. This V6 makes 280 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque across the entire lineup but Honda says it will be a “powerful 3.5-liter V-6 engine” which could suggest that engineers have found a way to squeeze more power out of the powertrain for the new model year.
The Passport is also getting a second-generation version of the company’s I-VTM4 torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system with Honda putting the Passport through a wide variety of extreme testing including in the Moab Desert as well as some of the mighty sand dunes that dot Michigan’s coastlines. As such, expect the system to help the Passport be a highly capable rig especially if asked to conquer challenging terrain and other rugged obstacles on the road less traveled.
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When will we see the 2026 Honda Passport?
The 2026 Honda Passport will make its debut later this year.
The 2025 Honda Passport will be formally unveiled later this year with the TrailSport continuing to be joined in showrooms by other trim levels. It’s not known if Honda will choose to release the TrailSport first with the other trims coming shortly after or if it will release all of the models in one fell swoop. However, Honda is following a calculated gameplan with the 2026 model and it still has some cards left to play.
They include images of the interior which were not released in today’s latest image dump. When Honda gets around to showing us that side of the 2026 Passport, expect to see a cabin that comes with better infotainment technology and a reworked design that elevates it into the same playing field as many of its rivals while also eliminating some of the cheap trim and odd design choices that have helped it look and feel dated when compared to the rest of the competition.
Nobody connects Honda with Tough.