We drove 1,500 miles to Moab, Utah, and back to find out.
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Moab, Utah, is among the most famous off-roading location in the United States— the most famous, I’d argue. Situated between Canyonlands National Park to the southwest and the La Sal Mountains to the east, Moab sits near the winding Colorado River, surrounded by steep cliffs at the southern entrance to Arches National Park. The awe-inspiring red-rock scenery provides a stunning backdrop to some truly incredible off-road trails.
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With my deep love for road trips and having just proven our long-term 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Elite’s off-road chops alongside our 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser , a trip to Moab seemed like a perfect idea.
The roughly 12-hour, 750-mile drive from Los Angeles to Moab, Utah, is doable in a long day, but I decided to break it up into two and camp just south of St. George, Utah, in the Virgin River Gorge. My overnight camp was more about sleep than recreation, so I departed Los Angeles late in the afternoon with the hope of arriving at camp as close to a reasonable bedtime as possible.
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As I made my way north on Interstate 15 out of the greater Los Angeles area into the desert toward Las Vegas, the winds picked up significantly. By the time I reached my first fuel stop in Barstow, California, the sustained winds meant that I was driving with a constant couple of degrees of steering just to keep in my lane.
Dust and sand whipped skyward, mixed with the warm afternoon light causing the desert landscape to be partially obscured by an opaque pink layer of haze. I stopped near the exit for the alphabetically amusing Zzyzx, California, to take a few photos of the painterly scene.
Trying to counteract the incessant crosswind, I engaged the Passport’s lane keep assist . Activated through a button on the steering wheel, the system helps to keep the vehicle centered in its lane. Because it’s meant to be used as an assist and not as a hands-free system, it was of little use here, numbing steering feel past the point of my liking.
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Entering Las Vegas from the south, traffic slowed and finally congealed into a static mass. What I didn’t know then (and would find out nearly two and a half hours later) is that a huge music festival held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on the north end of Vegas had shut down two out of the four lanes of the highway, causing the mess. Exhausted, having spent much of the evening in bumper-to-bumper traffic in Las Vegas, I rolled into camp just shy of midnight—well past the reasonable 10 p.m. bedtime I’d hoped for in St. George.
With the Honda’s generous 83.8 cubic feet of cargo room and a flat floor when the seats are stowed, I decided to camp inside the Passport for the night anyway. After eight hours behind the wheel, my energy was quickly fading. Luckily, I had thought ahead and tried my simple camp setup in my driveway before leaving.
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At 6-foot-2, I need as much distance from the rear hatch as possible. With the driver’s seat pushed forward, I used my suitcase and a folded-up moving blanket to fill the gap between the driver’s seat back and the end of the folded second-row seat. I was making this trip solo, so width-wise, the 60-side of the 60/40 split provided plenty of room for my sleeping pad and sleeping bag. That left the second-row passenger seat to remain in place, which meant my gear could stay put.
One of my favorite features of our 2026 Passport is its large cubbies along the sides of the rear cargo area. Camping inside, those provided excellent storage spots for things like my phone, headlamp, shoes, and a water bottle while I slept. Another feature I found helpful was the rear sunshades, which provided a little extra privacy through the second-row windows. I wish I would have figured out a better solution to block out the other windows, as I was up with the first rays of light cresting the edges of the deep river valley.
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Headed north through St. George the next morning, the Pine Valley Mountains that loom large above the city were coated with a fresh dusting of snow. The farther I drove, the lower the snowline dropped. Just south of Cedar City, Utah, the roadway and snowline finally converged. With snow-dusted fields of grazing cattle set in front of rocky red bluffs, I exited and drove a little way up Utah State Route 14 to find a good photo opportunity. (I swear the fact that I knew about a great coffee spot in town had nothing to do with my decision to stop.)
Much of the remaining four-hour drive from Cedar City to Moab follows Interstate 70, which first cuts through the mountains of Fishlake National Forest before dropping into the otherworldly, arid desert north of Capitol Reef and Canyonlands National Parks. West of Green River, Utah, I-70 drops dramatically past rust-covered mesas and rocky spires as it flattens out along the river’s edge.
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The final push into Moab is accomplished by heading south on U.S. Highway 191. After passing the entrance to Arches National Park and crossing the bridge over the Colorado River, the highway turns into Main Street. Dwarfed by the surrounding red-rock cliffs, downtown Moab is a bustling place.
After two days and 750 miles, this is the part of the story where I would love to tell you about all of the cool off-road trails I tackled in the Passport while I was in Moab. Unfortunately, the evening of my arrival, I got violently ill with either the flu or food poisoning, and that first drive through town was the only time I left my rental house until visiting the local urgent care facility. After five days of recovery, I was finally feeling up to making the return trip home.
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With the trip up to this point being a total bust, I decided to spend an hour exploring on my way out of town. I have driven up Gemini Bridges Road on a previous trip to Moab. Climbing quickly away from the highway, the trail winds its way along the base of a red cliff wall before flattening out at the top, providing spectacular views of the valley toward town, the La Sal Mountains in the distance, and the surrounding rock formations. The trail isn’t especially difficult; it’s more of a rough dirt road broken up by slabs of silt-covered red rock. The Passport handled everything without a hiccup, and after snapping a few photos, with a heart full of disappointment for what could have been, I turned around and headed for home.
Aside from the obvious low points of the trip, I came away from my journey with a positive outlook on the Passport. Throughout my weeklong adventure, the Passport proved to be a comfortable road-trip companion. I averaged about 19 mpg over the 1,562 miles. While that falls short of Honda’s 23-mpg EPA highway rating, much of the drive in Utah features 80-mph speed limits, which surely affected my average. And while some improvements in my setup could definitely be made, I successfully and comfortably camped inside. While I can’t in good conscience call this trip a win, I’m going to count this as a draw. Or better yet, cause for a redo.
More on Our Long-Term 2026 Honda passport TrailSport Elite:
2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Elite Specifications
$54,145
$54,600
Ash Green Metallic paint, $455
Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door internal combustion SUV
3.5L direct-injected DOHC 24-valve V-6
285 hp @ 6,100 rpm
262 lb-ft @ 5,000 rpm
10-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)
4,682 lb (58/42%)
113.6 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT
191.5 x 79.4 x 73.1 in
General Grabber A/T Sport 275/60R18 113T M+S
EPA FUEL ECONOMY, CITY/HWY/COMBINED
18/23/20 mpg
370 mi
0-60 MPH
7.1 sec
15.5 sec @ 90.1 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH
124 ft
0.83 g
27.5 sec @ 0.63 g (avg)
6 mo/11,624 mi
18.5 mpg
ENERGY COST PER MILE
$0.31
DAYS OUT OF SERVICE
$112.74 (4/21: 1 st Service Oil Change, Tire Rotation, $112.74; 5/27: Resurface Front Rotors, $0)
Scuff on lower bumper from rock
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Like many of my coworkers, my love for cars was cemented at a young age, thanks in part to Hot Wheels, car magazines, and every car poster I could afford when the book fair set up shop in my elementary school library. While most kids went straight for Where’s Waldo? and Goosebumps, I was torn between the poster of the Lamborghini Countach and the ’32 Ford hot rod with airbrushed flames on the cowling.
In high school, I worked at Bergstrom's Antique Autos, a historic garage in Port Townsend, Washington. Surrounded by nearly a century of automotive history, I immersed myself in cleaning, sorting, and selling car parts and memorabilia. I also spent countless hours flipping through vintage car magazines and can comfortably say that I've looked through every Motor Trend, Car & Driver, Hot Rod, and Sports Car Graphic up until the early 1980s.
Around the same time, I picked up photography—naturally, with cars as my main subject. Despite my high school photography teacher's advice to branch out, I stuck to my passion and attended every car show I could find. This led me to the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California, where I earned a bachelor’s degree with a focus on automotive photography.
I began my career at Motor Trend as a photography intern. After freelancing for a few years, I joined the Motor Trend team full-time in late 2010. My passion for cars and photography continues to fuel my work, and I hope it shines through in every shot.