Honda TrailSport

Honda preps for greater off-road adventure with new TrailSport trims

When I drove the Honda Ridgeline HPD, I pondered what a more aggressive version might look like. I’d love to see chunkier tires, a different suspension setup, and some true underbody protection. Honda might want to see that too at some point because the automaker is rolling out a new light truck/SUV trim known as TrailSport.

Initially, it sounds like it’s an appearance upgrade with some very mild on-trail performance increases. By that, I mean that Honda will bolt on some revised front and rear fascias to aid in approach and departure angles. There will be more cladding applied to the body, and the interiors will get orange stitching to denote that this is a TrailSport model.

Honda TrailSport Badge Logo

That’s… actually not that exciting. What is potentially exciting though is the fact that Honda plans to push TrailSport model capability over the next few years. And it will do this through upgrades such as real all-terrain tires, more ground clearance, proper off-road suspension setups, under-body protection, and even greater tuning of the all-wheel-drive systems.

I reached out to Honda to see if perhaps it would be applying any of the knowledge gleaned from its various motorsports activities, such as Baja for example.

Honda is rooted in racing. The Baja Ridgeline and Rebelle Rally vehicles have inspired TrailSport. Honda has long offered weekend adventurers durable and capable SUVs for more than two decades, and now the addition of TrailSport’s more aggressive rugged design, inside and out, will further showcase the true off-road capability of the brand’s light trucks.

Jeremy Jenkins, American Honda Product Planning

So here’s to hoping we see some seriously pumped-up Honda adventure machines in the not-too-distant future.

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