A Smash Hit for Honda
When Honda reintroduced the Passport in late 2018, it practically banished memories of the old Isuzu-based model sold from 1994 to 2002. It was now a crossover, essentially being a shorter, five-seat version of the more family-oriented Pilot.
Since then, the Passport has been a smash hit and sold more than enough to merit a new generation model. It continues to build on the success of its predecessor, and it’s still a strong and steady seller for Honda. So far, it’s been proving itself as a reliable model, and it’s surprisingly capable off-road too. But for those still on the fence buying one, consider the fact that it was recently awarded the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) Top Safety Pick+ award.
Honda
One of the Safest Out There
The IIHS doesn’t give out awards lightly. After all, the organization kicked off some of the toughest tests for vehicle safety around, popularizing the offset crash tests, as well as checking if advanced driver assists really work as advertised.
A lot of cars get good ratings these days, but the Passport, under the new tougher scoring system of the IIHS, performed with flying colors. If you take a look at its scoresheet, all but one parameter was rated good, an impressive feat. Crashworthiness was rated highly, as well as its advanced driver assists.
Honda
The Passport’s Standard Safety Kit
In terms of safety, all Passport trims come with Honda Sensing that bundles a good chunk of advanced driver assists. It includes autonomous emergency braking, pedestrian detection, road departure mitigation, blind-spot monitoring, lane change assist, lane keep assist, and adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go function. Cross-traffic alert is also standard, plus rollover mitigation, a rear-view camera, and knee airbags
Honda didn’t scrimp on safety features for the Pilot, although some trims get a little extra. Trailsport and up models get rear camera washers, while Trailsport Elite and higher get a multi-view camera system plus Trailwatch.
Other Honda Top Safety Picks
The Passport isn’t the only Honda that received praise from the IIHS. Also receiving the Top Safety Pick+ nod is the HR-V. The subcompact crossover is also known as the ZR-V in other parts of the world, and it also consistently received high safety ratings abroad.
Two popular Honda models got the Top Safety Pick award, namely the Civic and the Accord. While it didn’t get the top prize, those two models are still incredibly safe cars. We could expect additional safety upgrades down the line to get that Top Safety Pick+ title.
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