Are you looking to push your Honda a little further and explore beyond city limits? Then, when you visit your local Honda dealer, ask about the TrailSport trim. The Japanese automobile manufacturer first announced the TrailSport in 2021, stating it would be an appearance package on trucks. Quickly, it became a trim for the Ridgeline, Passport, and Pilot. You’ll notice that the latter two models are not trucks. However, for the 2024 model year, they share the same powertrain and towing abilities as the Ridgeline. At their core, they are all highly capable, rugged vehicles, and giving them TrailSport versions made sense. If you’re shopping for a Honda Pilot, Passport, or Ridgeline, the TrailSport trim doesn’t look exactly the same across the three models. Below, we’ll go over some of the features you can expect from the TrailSport in each of these three models that sets them apart.
Ridgeline TrailSport: Pickup Truck Power
The Ridgeline is Honda’s midsize truck, offering a solid combination of drivable dimensions and capabilities. Under its hood, you find a 3.5L V6 engine paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission. The Ridgeline can tow 5,000 lbs, and if you want to utilize that to drag an ATV to a muddy locale, you can with the TrailSport trim. All Ridgelines have standard all-wheel drive. If you want a capable and adventure-ready pickup, here’s what you get in the Ridgeline Trailsport.
An Off-Road Tuned Suspension
Getting the foundation right from the start, Honda gave the Ridgeline TrailSport an off-road-tuned suspension. It boasts stabilizer bars, spring rates, and damping designed for rough roads. You can tackle bumpy roads without feeling like you’re enduring a mild earthquake inside the cabin with this beefy suspension.
All-Terrain Tires and a Skid Plate
While the starting Sport trim has all-season tires, the TrailSport has all-terrain tires. They have deep, heavy tread blocks made for channeling mud and dirt away from your vehicle. You’ll hear them coming down a paved road, but when you leave the grid, they keep your vehicle in command. The addition of the skid plate will also help you navigate rough roads with confidence, knowing rocks and debris won’t damage the undercarriage.
All-Season Floor Mats With TrailSport Logos
What’s the fun in traveling to great off-road destinations if you just stay in your vehicle? You’ll want to get out, hike, swim, play, and generally make a mess. That’s why the Ridgeline TrailSport has all-season floor mats boasting the TrailSport logo. So when you hop in with muddy boots or gear, you can protect your truck’s floors, no matter what the weather is like outside.
Orange Accents and a Unique Paint Color
Lending to the TrailSport’s youthful appeal are orange accents inside the cabin. These include orange stitching on the leather-trimmed seats and orange ambient lighting for an energizing look and feel. As for the outside, a Diffused Sky Blue Pearl paint job is exclusively available to the TrailSport.
Passport TrailSport: More Rugged Than Ever
The Passport is a midsize SUV that also utilizes the 3.5L V6 engine found in the Ridgeline, paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission. It also boasts 5,000 lbs of towing power and comes standard with all-wheel drive. The features in the TrailSport trim of the Passport are more targeted at road trippers and campers and less for those who tackle serious muddy trails and sand dunes. Here’s what you get in the Passport TrailSport:
Off-Road Tuned Suspension and All-Terrain Tires
The Passport TrailSport also benefits from an off-road-tuned suspension that’s ready to help your vehicle absorb some bumps in the road. Plus, the Passport TrailSport gets all-terrain tires, whereas the other trims sit atop all-season tires. This is a major upgrade for the 2024 model year, as earlier versions of the Passport TrailSport had a standard suspension and “rugged-style” all-season tires. The new tires are better equipped than all-season tires to channel mud, dirt, sand, and other non-pavement materials away from your tires to keep you from getting stuck.
All-Season Floor Mats and a Steering Wheel With TrailSport Details
The Passport TrailSport also gets all-weather floor mats to keep your cabin floors clean after long days of hiking and other adventures. Rugged and easy to clean, they’re ready for whatever your muddy boots drag in after days on trails. Plus, they get a cool-looking TrailSport logo. You’ll continue to find TrailSport details on the leather-wrapped steering wheel, which features TrailSport orange stitching.
More Interior Orange Accents
The front seats of the TrailSport are heated like all other trims. However, they get the enhancements of a leather trim and orange stitching. Just looking at them will put you in the mood for adventure. Additionally, the Passport gets ambient orange lighting, like the Ridgeline.
Pilot TrailSport: Family Adventure
The Pilot is a three-row SUV that shares its 3.5L V6 powertrain and nine-speed transmission with the Passport and the Ridgeline—along with its 5,000 lb towing ability. The Pilot comes in all-wheel drive or front-wheel drive configurations. The TrailSport model gets drivers:
Intelligent Variable Torque Management AWD
Intelligent Variable Torque Management AWD (i-VTM4) is a smart system that is able to send variable torque to each rear wheel for more precise command on rough or wet roads. It can also boost torque on the outside wheel when turning for more confidence when taking corners. Now, the i-VTM4 system is available on all Passport trims, but only the TrailSport adds Trail Torque Logic. Once in Trail Mode, this system can detect if a rear wheel has lost contact with the ground and will send the majority of remaining torque to the rear wheel still on the ground. It can do something similar with the front wheels, sending additional torque to the wheel still in contact with the ground. If you aren’t sure what sorts of terrain, twists, or turns are ahead on your trail, you’ll love having this system in place.
Skid Plates and All-Terrain Tires
You’ll find skid plates protecting the engine and fuel tank, so feel free to tackle that rock-littered road up ahead. The Pilot TrailSport gets all-terrain tires, like those found on the Ridgeline and Passport, speaking to its more genuine off-road-ready nature. Between these two features, you’re ready to dominate off-road environments.
A Height Boost
The Pilot TrailSport gets an additional inch of ground clearance compared to the other trims, making it the only TrailSport model to come with a factory lift. This gives it a total of 8.3 inches of ground clearance, exceeding the Ridgeline TrailSport at 7.64 inches and the Passport TrailSport at 8.1 inches. With this added height, you can drive over rock-littered roads and uneven terrain with less concern about debris hitting the underside of your vehicle. You can even drive through some deeper water than you can in the other trims.
Improved Clearance Angles
Whether you’re climbing up a steep hill or traveling down one, you can tackle more extreme slope changes thanks to the Pilot TrailSport’s improved approach, breakover, and departure angles. Going from a perfectly flat terrain to a steep slope can bring the risk of scraping your front or rear bumpers. These boosted angles on the TrailSport mean you can handle the terrain adjustment with more confidence.
A New Level of Capability for Honda
By adding the TrailSport trim to these popular models, Honda created more adventure possibilities for thrill-seekers. Still, at each of their cores, these models maintain the features drivers have always loved about each one. They just turn the rugged capabilities and energetic styling up a few notches, which is exactly what many drivers are looking for.
