2024 Honda Passport and 2023 Hyundai Sonata: Exploring Variety

The 2024 Honda Passport Trailsport adds a dash of rugged machismo to Honda’s two-row people mover. Powered by a 3.5-liter V6 that sends 280 hp through a nine-speed transmission, this all-wheel-drive Trailsport has enough oomph to handle tasks. Evolving the third-gen Passport is the Trailsport package, which adds all-terrain tires, revised suspension tuning, and Honda’s i-VVTM4 torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system. This Honda rides the wave of crossover popularity and adds a healthy dose of adventure-ready hardware.  On the other side of the automotive spectrum, the once-thriving mid-size sedan segment is thinning. Hyundai’s Sonata is seeing a similar reflection with its sales a fraction of its early 2010s peak. That said, this eighth-generation Sonata features a 1.6-liter turbocharged I4 that sends 180 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque through the front wheels by way of an eight-speed automatic transmission.  On this episode of Talking Cars with the Boss, Wesley Wren chats with Natalie Neff about two vehicles that couldn’t be further apart in reality but are sitting close on the sales charts. The pair talk about their experiences with these vehicles, the changing automotive landscape, and the proliferation of adventure-focused crossovers. Closing the show, the pair decide which one they’d add to their driveway.