The 2020 Honda Passport is one of the best midsize SUVs currently on the market. A step above the compact Honda CR-V, the 2020 Honda Passport offers a roomy interior with comfortable seating for five, a stand-out powertrain that combines an old-school V6 engine with a state of the art transmission, and a wide array of standard features to improve both safety and comfort. If you have an active lifestyle and need to be able to haul and tow, or if you are looking for the most comfortable SUV that you can find without turning to the expensive luxury brands, then the 2020 Honda Passport is an excellent choice for you.
Space and Power – Heart of the Honda Passport
One of the most significant advantages of a midsize two-row SUV like the Honda Passport is that it offers a far more usable interior than a midsize three-row SUV. By taking out that usually cramped third row of seats, you get a vehicle with plenty of legroom for both rows as well as a large cargo area even when the rear seats are not folded. The 2020 Honda Passport is a perfect example of this rule, offering 39.6 inches of rear-seat legroom and 50.5 cubic feet of cargo space with the 60/40 folding rear seats in place. And if you are not carrying passengers, then folding the rear seats down will give you an incredible 100.8 cubic feet of cargo space. Altogether, this makes the 2020 Honda Passport one of the best options if you need a vehicle that can comfortably transport adult passengers in the rear seats, or that can accommodate large items for your work or hobbies.
However, if even that 100.8 cubic feet of cargo space is not enough for your needs, then the 2020 Honda Passport also has a small compartment under the rear floor near the spare tire. Plus, it is available with a wide variety of factory roof rack options to accommodate bikes, kayaks, surfboards, skis, or a 16 cubic foot roof box. Finally, the 2020 Honda Passport is also fully capable of pulling a trailer and offers a factory trailer hitch and 7-pin connector with a tow rating of 3500 pounds for the FWD version and 5000 pounds for the AWD version. When combined with its interior space, this makes the Honda Passport a viable pickup truck replacement if you find yourself needing more interior room than a truck can offer.
The good tow rating of the 2020 Honda Passport is the result of its V6 engine. This engine is no slouch as it produces 280 horsepower, even in a vehicle as large as the Honda Passport. And it will give you no complaints even in high-speed highway driving. Further improving the performance of the 2020 Honda Passport, this engine is coupled with a modern nine-speed automatic transmission. The extra gears of this configuration mean that the vehicle can have both a relatively high first gear and final drive ratios for exceptional low-end torque and a low overdrive top gear ratio for excellent fuel economy of 22 MPG combined. And to give you even better control of the vehicle, the transmission on the 2020 Honda Passport can be operated in a fully manual mode with either the buttons on the center console or the paddle shifters on the steering wheel. But if you do want to leave the transmission in automatic mode, then it also offers snow, sand, and mud modes to optimize automatic performance to the road conditions.
Advanced Safety no Matter the Trim
The 2020 Honda Passport is also a very safe vehicle and an IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) Top Safety Pick. This rigorous independent testing organization not only performs traditional crash testing on cars but also assesses their ability to avoid crashes by testing automatic safety features and headlight effectiveness. The 2020 Honda Passport performed well in these tests because all trims include LED lighting and a full suite of advanced safety technology standard.
Lighting on all trims of the 2020 Honda Passport includes LED daytime running lights, LED taillights, LED fog lights, and LED low beam headlights. These highly efficient lights help improve fuel economy and make changing bulbs on your vehicle, virtually a thing of the past. All trims also include fully automatic high beam headlights. However, the lower Sport and EX-L trims of the 2020 Honda Passport do still use halogen reflector beams for their high beam headlights, with only the top Touring and Elite trims receiving the full LED treatment.
But the standard active safety features of the 2020 Honda Passport are even more impressive than its modern lighting. The Honda Sensing suite includes forward collision alert, automatic emergency braking, lane departure alert and mitigation, lane-keep assist, and adaptive cruise control. Together these systems make highway driving a far more relaxing experience and will cover for momentary lapses in awareness to improve overall safety. And although not available on the base Sport Trim, the 2020 Honda Passport also offers blindspot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert to make lane changes easier and safer. Finally, the top Touring and Elite trims add front and rear parking sensors to keep you from accidentally driving into unseen obstructions.
Comforts and Features of the Honda Passport
The level of standard features available on all trims of the 2020 Honda Passport extends far beyond just advanced safety equipment. Even the base Sport trim comes with remote start, keyless entry, push-button start, tri-zone automatic climate control, and a seven-speaker sound system. While it seems the Sport trim is lacking when it comes to infotainment, with only a 5” screen for radio and Bluetooth, there is always the option to go to a higher trim for only a bit more money. However, if you are the type who only wants to listen to the radio, you will still be more than satisfied given its good speaker system and you can save a few bucks by choosing the lower trim.
But if you do want a modern infotainment system, then the higher trims of the 2020 Honda Passport will give you what you desire. All three of these trims come with an 8” touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, SiriusXM satellite radio, HD radio, and text messaging integration. The two top trims further enhance the infotainment with built-in navigation and voice recognition as well as a 10-speaker sound system. Of course, the higher trims also add a variety of other comfortable features such as heated power-adjustable front seats, a power sunroof, a power tailgate, additional USB ports, and noise-dampening acoustic glass (the windshield on EX-L trim, the windshield, and doors on the Touring and Elite trims). The top Elite trim takes some of these features a step further with a heated steering wheel and ventilated front seats.
With all of these features on top of its roomy interior and excellent powertrain, the 2020 Honda Passport makes for one of the best midsize SUVs on the market. Indeed, last year Car and Driver named the Honda Passport their top pick in its segment. No matter what your lifestyle requires from a vehicle, the 2020 Honda Passport will be up to the task.
