The 2026 Honda Passport Is a Masterclass of Interior Design

• Honda gave the midsize Passport a complete overhaul recently.
• We added one to our One-Year Road Test fleet to live with in the real world.
• How much do I love the interior? Let me count the ways.

Physical buttons are a blessing

And while obviously it's not just the interior that makes the Passport one of my favorite new SUVs in a long time, it's a huge factor in its favor. Let's start with what the nerds call "the center stack." Basically, your big ole screen and all the buttons, CD players, tape decks, and other accoutrements that fall underneath it. The Passport is uniquely good among modern vehicles. 

The touchscreen is a good size, and it's easy to use. But that's the rule, not the exception. No, what makes the Passport great is its huge number of physical buttons that are, most crucially, clearly labeled and easy to access. The Ram 1500 has tons of physical buttons, but I often feel like I'm staring at a Formula 1 driver's wheel: overwhelmed, anxious, and like I'd have been better off without that second Red Bull. 

Not so with the Passport, which has clear labeling for its climate control buttons, including a physical button to activate the climate control system in the second row of the vehicle. If you have kids, you know why this is a godsend. Being able to change the temp and fan speed for small kids that can't reach (or don't know how to operate) the buttons and knobs back there is awesome. 

But come on, you know why it's really great if you have kids. If they're old enough to screw around with those buttons and knobs and then complain about the temperature, there's a button that allows you to lock the controls in the back. Ah, power back in the hands of the responsible and weary. 

Cupholders as far as the eye can see

And then we have cupholders. Yes folks, we're talking about cupholders. There are a lot of cupholders in the Honda Passport, with a whopping six each in the first and second rows, including the pair in the door pockets. 

The cupholders that run down the center of the vehicle are good, though nothing to write home about. I am, however, going to write home about the cupholders Honda cleverly integrated into the four doors of the vehicle. 

If you're keeping up with the latest in water bottle trends, you know the Hydro Flask is out and the Owala is in. The average Owala bottle is a little bit girthier than the classic Hydro Flask but still manages to fit perfectly in the standard cupholder. It's a reasonable width and it's deep enough that you can put a full water bottle inside without worrying about it toppling over while driving. 

Those extra cupholders come in handy during long road trips when you start to wonder if Starbucks cups are procreating in the cupholders (just me? Just me. OK.) If you drink as much coffee as I do (and I hope you do not), it's very clutch to have a place to store your empties before your next gas station stop. 

A very good interior

There are other, smaller things that make the Passport great. A textured wireless charger up front that keeps your phone from sliding around. A clear, well-designed visual language that's easy to engage with while driving. A varied use of materials and textures on our top-tier TrailSport Elite. 

The Passport is a very good vehicle, but it's the interior design that would make me want to put one in my covered outdoor parking space.