Honda Rugged Roads project: A Passport for off-the-grid living
Built in collaboration with Jon Tuico, this Passport-based project vehicle is meant to create an overlanding sanctuary.
Honda has one more thing in store a day after revealing the 2022 Passport SUV and ushering in the TrailSport subbrand. This is the Rugged Roads project vehicle, a Passport-based prototype meant for fans of the overlanding lifestyle. It's clear Honda's ready to shift its trucks and SUVs into a more off-road-focused state of mind.
The Rugged Roads project started life as a new Passport TrailSport, but the brand worked with Jon Tuico, the face of the JonDZ Adventuring YouTube channel, to help bring a more adventurous Passport to life. An absolute laundry list of Honda Genuine Accessories, concept parts from the research and development department and a few aftermarket additions make for a very cool-looking SUV.
One of the biggest changes is a JSport suspension, which provides a 1.5-inch lift in the front and a 0.75-inch lift in the rear. The SUV's backpack, aka the spare tire mount, comes from Dirt Complex and Factor 55 donated its trailer hitch and a rear recovery point for the project. Otherwise, everything you see here comes from Honda. In the 2022 Passport's reveal, the brand was keen to convey that it had big ideas to come from the TrailSport brand; the Rugged Roads project is likely a very good precursor to gear owners will be able to buy.
The R&D department came up with custom skid plates for the fuel tank and oil pan, and also developed front recovery points to ensure that the Rugged Roads project won't be beached anywhere. Genuine accessories are bountiful and include 18-inch wheels, fender flares, a roof crossbar, a cargo tray and wheel lug nuts. Firestone all-terrain tires come along for the adventure, too, to provide the SUV with more capability.
The Passport's new looks already work, but the SUV undoubtedly looks pretty killer with the off-road gear attached. The SUV will make its in-person debut at the Overland Expo West in Arizona this weekend. There, Honda will also show off Ridgeline HPD Trail Tour Project Vehicle, too.
