Honda engineer Pete Langseth once told a journalist not to winch off a nearby tree. Not because it was too small. Because it was a conifer, and conifers have shallow roots.
Deciduous trees, he explained, hold better. That kind of granularity tells you everything about where Honda’s head is right now when it comes to dirt.
The company has been quietly running hundreds of its employees through an internal off-road driver training program built around the standards of the International 4-Wheel Drive Trainers Association. Langseth, who is I4WDTA-certified himself, leads much of the instruction. The curriculum covers recovery physics, progressive throttle techniques, vehicle dynamics on loose surfaces, and environmental stewardship.
Honda says the goal is to eventually put every associate through the program. This is not a weekend Jeep club. The I4WDTA sets the professional standard for off-road instruction worldwide, certifying trainers against a rigorous benchmark that emphasizes repeatability, safety, and minimal environmental damage.
Honda’s adoption of that framework for its engineering and product teams signals a level of institutional seriousness that goes well beyond bolting skid plates onto a crossover and calling it adventure-ready.
Honda also partners with Overland Experts, one of the most respected off-road training operations in the country, using its trail networks in North Carolina, Utah, and Michigan. OEX provides additional instructors and real terrain for testing both vehicles and people. Tony Cerruto, OEX’s director of military training, was on hand during the recent 2027 Passport TrailSport media launch in North Carolina, reinforcing the same tactical, empirical approach to driving that Langseth preaches internally.
The 2027 Passport TrailSport itself drew strong reviews during its launch event. But the more interesting story is the infrastructure behind it. Honda is not just designing off-road-capable hardware.
It is building an internal culture where engineers understand the forces acting on a stuck vehicle, can calculate recovery loads mathematically, and know which species of tree can safely anchor a winch line.
This commitment extends beyond consumer products. Honda has been racing in SCORE International’s Trophy Truck class since 2023, first under a Ridgeline badge, then with a Passport-branded truck that earned pole position for the 2025 Baja 1000. A new trophy truck design is coming next.
Desert racing at that level costs real money and demands real engineering resources. Companies that treat off-road as a marketing exercise do not stay in Baja for three years running.
Honda’s off-road history predates the modern SUV era by decades. The original Odyssey and Pilot names appeared on single-seat dune buggies long before they ended up on family haulers. The three-wheeled All-Terrain Cycle was wilder still.
But the current approach is something different. It is structured, funded, and rooted in a philosophy that treats dirt driving as a discipline rather than a stunt.
The competitive landscape makes this relevant. Toyota’s TRD Pro line has owned the rugged-SUV conversation for years. Ford’s Bronco revival brought serious trail hardware back to showrooms.
Jeep still trades on decades of off-road credibility. Honda has never been the first name anyone associates with rock crawling or desert running. That is precisely why the training program matters.
You cannot fake institutional knowledge, and you cannot buy it overnight. You have to build it one engineer at a time.
Langseth and his team are still expanding the program. Honda has not disclosed exactly how many associates have completed training so far beyond saying “hundreds,” and the timeline for universal participation remains open-ended. The machinery is in motion, though, and the 2027 Passport is the first product where the results are fully visible.
Whether the buying public notices the difference between an SUV tuned by engineers who understand recovery angles and one tuned by people who read a spec sheet is another question entirely. Honda is betting they will.
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