Honda has confirmed the all-new Passport for LA Auto Show, bringing back a familiar nameplate after 16 years of absence.
The new Honda Passport will be positioned between the CR-V and the Pilot when it launches in the US market early next year. The new SUV was designed and developed by Honda Americas and will be built at the company’s Alabama factory.
Honda’s latest SUV is expected to have a more adventurous and rugged character than its siblings, offering more off-road capabilities than ever. It will probably be based on the same platform as the Pilot and even use the same 3.5-liter V6 powertrain.
“The new Passport is a more personal, powerful and off-road-capable SUV that hits the sweet spot between daily driving comfort and weekend off-road, all-weather adventure capability,” said Henio Arcangeli, Jr., senior VP of American Honda Motor. “With customer demand for SUVs continuing to grow, the new adventure-ready Passport is going to further solidify our lineup, attracting new buyers and keeping existing customers in the Honda family.”
Honda expects the new Passport to further boost their SUV sales, which are on their way to top 700,000 vehicles for the third year in a row. SUVs account for more than half of Honda’s US sales so far this year.
The 2019 Honda Passport will debut on November 27 at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show.