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Hey there-
I finally had a chance to take the Passport on a decent tow. I was really impressed!
Some background-
Every vehicle I have ever towed with was body on frame. My previous vehicle was an F150 Powerboost with the Maxtow package. It honestly didn't even know my boat was back there- but at the time I also towed a 9000# camper so I needed it for that.
The unibody PP transmits noise and vibration into the cabin from the tow hitch much more than an isolated body on frame vehicle. I noticed that immediately on my first "test tow". I could hear hitch, clangs, bangs and even the ball turning in the socket. I did some research and purchased a silent hitch pin from Go Aero. Oh man what a difference! No noise or clunks. I also greased the ball (calm down there cowboy) and that took all THAT noise away.
My boat probably weighs in the neighborhood of 4000# loaded, so there was a decent amount of squat. I couldn't find an airbag kit made specifically for the Passport, so I purchased a universal kit from Airlift. Basically you measure the diameter inside the springs and the length and that's the kit you pick. I used kit number 60910. They say you should get a shorter airbag rather than a longer one, but I kind of wish I would have gotten 1 inch longer bags because I still have a little squat. However, they completely eliminated the porpoising and made it feel much more stable during my tow and it never bottomed out or felt harsh. In fact, it pretty much rode exactly like it does unloaded, believe it or not. I ran them with 35 pounds which is the max. Riding around town unloaded, I usually keep them at about 20 and it takes away some of the wallow that it has from the factory but honestly, they ride really nice. I'm very happy with them.
Pice of both items attached.
Now about that trip...
The good:
I towed the boat about 150 miles in 95 degree heat. Tow Mode is very well thought out. It automatically turns off the reverse sensors so they don't constantly beep at you. The shift algorithm is just spot on. No hunting, no excessive revving, no holding a lower gear too long- just crisp smooth shifts. Quick downshifts.
The first 3 gears are super low so the PP has no trouble at all getting moving from a stop or getting up to speed. The ride was very confidence inspiring- I was expecting much worse coming from 3 full sized trucks! I averaged an amazing 15mpg. That's exactly what I got towing the boat with my Powerboost.
The bad:
It would be nice to have a bigger tank, but honestly not many of us are towing very long distances with this thing regularly.
Like I said before, getting up to speed is not a problem. Maintaining 65 can be a bit of an exercise of how much do I want to dog this thing? It will happily rev away to keep you there on a hill though. Want to pass someone or change lanes in traffic- better plan ahead because you have just found the limits of 285 hp. It is what it is. Remember I am coming from a truck that had 570ft lbs of torque so I was a little spoiled, lol.
Slightly bigger mirrors would be great- but they did just fine.
Man did I want a transmission temp gauge. Would be nice if Honda had that pop up on the cluster in TowMode.
So, overall I was really impressed. This vehicle tows better than it has a right to IMO.
SOLID A !
I finally had a chance to take the Passport on a decent tow. I was really impressed!
Some background-
Every vehicle I have ever towed with was body on frame. My previous vehicle was an F150 Powerboost with the Maxtow package. It honestly didn't even know my boat was back there- but at the time I also towed a 9000# camper so I needed it for that.
The unibody PP transmits noise and vibration into the cabin from the tow hitch much more than an isolated body on frame vehicle. I noticed that immediately on my first "test tow". I could hear hitch, clangs, bangs and even the ball turning in the socket. I did some research and purchased a silent hitch pin from Go Aero. Oh man what a difference! No noise or clunks. I also greased the ball (calm down there cowboy) and that took all THAT noise away.
My boat probably weighs in the neighborhood of 4000# loaded, so there was a decent amount of squat. I couldn't find an airbag kit made specifically for the Passport, so I purchased a universal kit from Airlift. Basically you measure the diameter inside the springs and the length and that's the kit you pick. I used kit number 60910. They say you should get a shorter airbag rather than a longer one, but I kind of wish I would have gotten 1 inch longer bags because I still have a little squat. However, they completely eliminated the porpoising and made it feel much more stable during my tow and it never bottomed out or felt harsh. In fact, it pretty much rode exactly like it does unloaded, believe it or not. I ran them with 35 pounds which is the max. Riding around town unloaded, I usually keep them at about 20 and it takes away some of the wallow that it has from the factory but honestly, they ride really nice. I'm very happy with them.
Pice of both items attached.
Now about that trip...
The good:
I towed the boat about 150 miles in 95 degree heat. Tow Mode is very well thought out. It automatically turns off the reverse sensors so they don't constantly beep at you. The shift algorithm is just spot on. No hunting, no excessive revving, no holding a lower gear too long- just crisp smooth shifts. Quick downshifts.
The first 3 gears are super low so the PP has no trouble at all getting moving from a stop or getting up to speed. The ride was very confidence inspiring- I was expecting much worse coming from 3 full sized trucks! I averaged an amazing 15mpg. That's exactly what I got towing the boat with my Powerboost.
The bad:
It would be nice to have a bigger tank, but honestly not many of us are towing very long distances with this thing regularly.
Like I said before, getting up to speed is not a problem. Maintaining 65 can be a bit of an exercise of how much do I want to dog this thing? It will happily rev away to keep you there on a hill though. Want to pass someone or change lanes in traffic- better plan ahead because you have just found the limits of 285 hp. It is what it is. Remember I am coming from a truck that had 570ft lbs of torque so I was a little spoiled, lol.
Slightly bigger mirrors would be great- but they did just fine.
Man did I want a transmission temp gauge. Would be nice if Honda had that pop up on the cluster in TowMode.
So, overall I was really impressed. This vehicle tows better than it has a right to IMO.
SOLID A !
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