Hybrid tech coming for the big Hondas.

While the Honda Pilot and especially the Passport are fairly new, their V6 powertrain isn’t. It is still one of the smoothest engines around at any price, but gas mileage is a big issue. In my recent test drive of the new Honda Passport, I wasn’t able to get over 23MPG on the freeway. Which is 2025 is unacceptable. especially for a V6 engine, not a huge 6.2 Liter V8.

It looks like Honda is finally almost ready to introduce a fix. That fix will be a hybrid system for their larger vehicle. Basically, all the ones that are currently using the 3.5 Liter V6. Like The Passport, Pilot, Odysseya, and Ridgeline. This will obviously be a different system from the new one that will be used in the next-generation Honda Civic late next year. And the next Accord later. That system will use an improved 2-liter 4-cylinder system and will shave up to 200 pounds off this car’s weight.

The new large V6 system is probably using a version of Honda’s most recent 3.0 Liter V6 that is used in the Acura MDX T-Type. The electric motor and the battery pack will also be new. Acceleration is said to be improved by 10%. But the main goal of this is to improve the disastrous fuel economy by 30%. Which would bring the Passport to around 30MPG in real-life FWY driving. Noting earth-shattering, but a big improvement. (OF course, EPA numbers will be even higher). Unless that improvement is mostly around town. Which could mean going from the current 16MPG (observed in my test drive) to around 20MPG. Which is just OK.

To me, that all seems a lot of work for an improvement that might not be worth it. It seems people who buy these big SUVs, Minivans, and trucks don’t really care about MPG. Would 16MPG to 20 MPG really bring sales up? The big Pilot had one of its best years ever last year, with over 141,000 units sold. That’s obviously 1421,000 buyers who don’t care about fuel economy.

The new V6 hybrid powertrain is scheduled to be introduced for the 2027 model year. This will match a mid-cycle facelift for the Honda Pilot. The Passport could get it later. And who really knows what’s going on with the old Odyssey and Ridgeline? These are both long overdue for a new generation.

The illustration above shows what a new generation of the Honda Passport could look like. One with, of course, the new V6 Hybrid.