Acura Is Working On A Passport-Based Off-Roader, An 8-Passenger SUV And A New V6 Hybrid

Honda makes great cars. Acura, its elevated luxury-oriented brand, also makes great cars, but they face off against a more intense competitive set. Acura has faded into the background a bit over the past several years, save for its sensational Integra Type S, but it appears change is on the horizon, with an announcement today that Acura is working on some exciting projects. Those projects include a "new adventure-ready SUV" that we're anticipating will be based off Honda's excellent Passport, a new eight-passenger SUV, and a new V6 hybrid powertrain that's planned for use in Acura's larger models.

The brand has been teasing the next generation of its compact RDX crossover for ages now, but the only update is that Acura still expects it to come to market in 2028, with an available hybrid powertrain. Honda posted a shocking $5.7 billion loss last year, and a big $1.7 billion hit on its half-hearted attempt at selling its electric Prologue and Acura ZDX that were based on GM's Ultium platform, so we're hoping the Japanese carmaker gets back on track with its next-generation models.

When Acura launched its Odyssey minivan–based MDX way back in 2001, it beat out every other luxury SUV on sale at the time in a Car and Driver comparison, including the BMW X5 and Lexus RX300. It was the first car-based three-row SUV, and over the years it has earned millions of sales, but times have changed. The latest trend in the U.S. market is toward oversized crossovers like the upcoming Audi Q9 and hot-selling Lexus TX, so Acura is going to see if it can cash in on that trend with an eight-passenger model larger than its seven-seater MDX.

Another industry trend is the popularity of off-roadified crossovers, and Honda's own Passport Trailsport is a perfect example of that. It's a rugged trim that's made up the vast majority of all Passport sales, so we're expecting Acura's upcoming "adventure-ready SUV" that's set to arrive in the first part of 2028 to be based on that already successful platform. (The teaser image at the top of this story is definitely of that model.)

As for its other models — the subcompact ADX, the MDX, and the Integra — Acura says they will "meet customer needs across a range of life stages," which doesn't actually tell anything about their updates or respective futures. There's a lot riding on the success of these new SUVs, so for Acura's sake, we hope they can convince buyers to ignore the ample competitive set and head to the Acura dealer instead.