For a few months we had all been excited for the release of the 2019 Honda Passport - a nameplate used 2 decades ago - to arrive at Canadian dealerships. The moment the truck arrived on our lot the driver was greeted by roughly half a dozen sales people ready to catch that first live glimpse. Once our allotment of 4 were off loaded, one immediately went into the shop for the pre-inspection, cleaned and licensed for the road. We all took the Passport around the block on our pre-planned test drive route we use with customers on a daily basis. As luck would have it, my demo was loaned to a client for the night on a Saturday - naturally my first thought was to take the Passport for the weekend.

The drive was a perfect harmony of our Pilot and Odyssey - if those two vehicles had a child, they would name it Passport.

Spacious drivers position with easy access to all controls, an 

excellent unimpeded front view and comfortable power seats up front. The kids were excited to see Dad's new car for the weekend and had to go for a drive - of course testing out the rear heated seat feature in March is a must. Driving across town in -12 weather produced an unexpected 8.8l/100km. I was very impressed given the environmental circumstance. We took it for about 50km's in total throughout the weekend, heated steering wheel on the entire time because, well - it's March. The agility it possesses turning corners and taking off ramps (quick hop on the 403 between King George Road and Wayne Gretzky Parkway) was pleasant and reassuring. Honda designed the Passport with the top-quality suspension and handling we have come to expect. Merging onto the highway was a breeze given the Passport is packed with a 3.5L V6 engine producing 280 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. After a stop at the grocery store then home for the day I checked the fuel efficiency and it had jumped to 10.9L/100km. A little idling in the parking lot will do that I suppose. Although it was a short time spent with the Passport, my initial impression was very positive. We waited a while for this vehicle to arrive in our showroom and I'm excited for our clients to enjoy the Passport as much or more than I did for many years to come.

Mike Anderson

General Sales Manager