2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Tow Test: Maxing It Out

It’s time to tow! While most Honda Passport owners will likely pull something fun like a camper, a boat, or maybe some ATVs, I, unfortunately, didn’t have the opportunity to go on any sweet adventures with cool machinery. I had originally thought about taking a brief road trip with the family and towing a camper to see how the Passport handled it, but life and crappy weather (a.k.a. winter) got in the way.

Still, I couldn’t let my long-term Passport tester go back to the mothership without learning what it’s like at max towing capacity, so I rented a U-Haul car hauler and put my son’s manual Honda Civic Coupe on it. All in all, the combo weighed approximately 4,800 pounds, just below the SUV’s 5,000-pound limit. Once you factor in the passengers, we might have been a hair past its rating. Oops.

My day-long test consisted of highway and city driving to analyze handling characteristics, as well as some maneuvering, such as popping into a gas station, drive-thru, and other real-world scenarios. Considering I live in Indiana, where everything is pretty flat and boring, I can’t tell you how the Passport would handle a 7% incline in Colorado, but I can still give you an idea of what to expect if you plan to tow consistently at the limit.

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Towing Duty

As my colleague Joel Feder recently highlighted in a blog, Honda knows how to do a proper trailering setup. His experience was in a Ridgeline, but the one in the Passport is identical. The safety chain loops aren’t overly thick, hard to reach, or too small—they’re just right. The seven-pin connector for the lights is right next to the hitch, which, as he mentioned, isn’t quite as convenient as having it next to the license plate like in some pickups, but it also means the connector doesn’t need to reach as far and put too much tension on the cable itself.

Hooking up the U-Haul car trailer was pretty straightforward, and there’s a good chance you’ve done it a time or two before. Let the trailer drop on the hitch’s ball, lock the pin, hook up the chains, connect the lights, test the lights, and you’re on your way.

Right off the bat, I could feel the weight of the trailer and car behind me, more because of the suspension than because of any power loss. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, the 3.5-liter V6 is super strong, with 285 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque, which proves more than adequate for any driving scenario, including towing up to 5,000 pounds.

First up, a multi-hour jaunt north on I-69. For the first 50 miles or so, I tucked in behind traffic and kept it at around 60 mph just to see what the Passport felt like, monitoring road noise and other characteristics. Things felt stable and strong, with no surprises. At that speed, I could easily apply more power quickly to make a pass and get back in the right lane. I performed a couple of braking tests to see how the SUV would behave if it needed to suddenly and drastically slow down, and it maintained its composure.

Next, I kicked up the speed to around 75 mph, quickly touching 80 to pass other traffic. Again, no surprises. However, while exiting the highway to visit a gas station, I performed a near-panic stop braking test for the sake of writing this story, and that’s when I really felt the weight behind me. Still, things felt nowhere near out of control, but like any time you’re towing considerable weight behind you, I recommend leaving plenty of gap to the car in front.

The biggest takeaway of highway driving is really how unfazed the drivetrain felt with all that weight out back. And while I’m not an engineer, I’d imagine braking power and possibly transmission cooling are what keep the Passport from achieving a higher tow rating—maybe a couple of other things I don’t have a clue about. Navigating traffic, lane changes, and regular passing felt just fine, and I could see myself towing nearly this much weight on a long road trip.

Likewise, I’ve talked aplenty about the Passport’s unladen suspension’s bouncy and springy feel, and hooking up the trailer definitely helped with that. The rear felt more planted, though articulation between front and rear axles when going over bumps was definitely compromised. The ride wasn’t harsh, but you could certainly feel the effects of carrying all that weight.

I enjoyed feeling the trailer weight hunker down on the rear suspension, which, in turn, translated into a feeling of confidence while negotiating light turns on the highway at speed. The biggest thing to get used to was the length of the setup, as I had never towed anything longer than a six-foot open-top utility trailer with the Passport a few months earlier. It took me back to my karting days, when I towed a 20-foot trailer with a Silverado.

Besides the interstate, I also drove around town, which involved more stopping at red lights, constant acceleration to get going, and a bit more turning of the wheel. The Passport didn’t break a sweat, though how hard you accelerate from a red light will dictate your fuel economy. Spoiler alert: If you use all 285 hp to go from light to light quickly, you will pay the price.

Verdict

I didn’t leave the test with any huge takeaways. Really, it does what it says on the tin. All in all, I set out to learn what the Passport TrailSport felt like when towing at max capacity, and the answer is, “Pretty good.” Even if you go with a non-TrailSport model, things will be roughly the same, as ground clearance remains identical, though stabilizer bar specs and tires are slightly different. Obviously, I’d recommend that if you’re buying a camper or any sort of toy, you stay well below the SUV’s weight limit for the sake of flexibility and safety. Don’t forget you still have to carry people and a bunch of gear in the car when you’re heading out on an adventure.

Also, how good does the Passport and Civic Coupe combo look?

Email the author at jerry@thedrive.com