Dive Brief:
- American Honda Motor Co. has launched a new app called the “Honda Trail Experience” for TrailSport customers to enhance their off-road adventures, the automaker announced in a press release.
- The app, which is now available as a free download from the Apple app store for TrailSport trims of the Honda Passport, Pilot and CR-V, utilizes customizable real-time vehicle data intended to boost driver confidence and safety on off-road trails, according to the release.
- “With the launch of the Honda Trail Experience app, we’re empowering TrailSport owners to get more from every off-road journey—delivering real-time vehicle data, intuitive navigation tools, and seamless video sharing to help them drive with confidence and celebrate every adventure,” said Omar Saleh, HTX Project Lead at Honda Development and Manufacturing of America, in a statement.
Dive Insight:
With the return of the full-size Bronco SUV and Bronco Sport in 2021, Ford Motor Co. found massive success with the off-roading community by tapping into their lifestyle.
Following the success of the Bronco, other automakers began to follow suit and launched more rugged, off-road versions of their popular SUV models marketed as lifestyle vehicles for the target demographic of off-road enthusiasts. Honda’s TrailSport SUVs feature more rugged hardware, all-terrain tires, an off-road-tuned suspension, underbody skid plates, recovery hooks and other equipment for off-road adventures.
These more rugged trims, like the Ford Bronco Sport Badlands, Toyota RAV4 Woodland, Subaru Outback Wilderness, GMC Yukon AT4 and Hyundai Palisade XRT PRO, are popular across the market. TrailSport versions of the Passport accounted for 80% of the model’s sales in the U.S. in 2025.
The HTX app was designed and engineered by 2026 Honda Passport development team members at the Honda North American Automotive Development Center in Raymond, Ohio. It’s designed to help TrailSport owners better navigate rugged terrain and create a complete record of an off-road adventure.
The app connects an iPhone to TrailSport models via Apple CarPlay in order to log 11 critical data points directly from the vehicle. The data includes elevation, pitch, roll, brake pressure, throttle position, speed, engine temperature, outside temperature and tire angle, as well as latitude and longitude.
Out on the trails, drivers can customize the display and view up to six vehicle data points on the infotainment screen simultaneously. The HTX app also offers interactive maps and data recording, so TrailSport owners can revisit a specific route in the future.
In January, the HTX development team hosted both beginners and experienced off-roaders at The Overland Company in North Carolina, to validate the real-world usability of the app on trails ahead of its launch. Honda’s app designers also added a “Share Feedback” feature allowing customers to share comments directly to the Honda development team.
The app records video and audio using an iPhone’s built-in camera and microphone. TrailSport owners can share adventure videos on social media, including map and performance data overlays — a unique feature across such apps, according to Honda.
The video capture process is controlled from the infotainment touchscreen, allowing owners to mount an iPhone anywhere on the vehicle, including on the outside in order to record more dynamic footage. The app also supports still photo capture.
Honda said it will continuously add new capabilities and features to the HTX app based on feedback from its customers and the off-road enthusiast community.
For now, the app is only available for iPhone users, but Honda said an Android version will be available in the future.
Honda is not the first OEM to launch a vehicle companion app. In 2023, Ford launched its “Bronco Trail App” that included around 1,200 professionally curated off-road trail maps in North America. The app allowed owners to record drives with waypoints, as well as capture photos and videos to share on social media. In March, Ford announced a new partnership with onX to integrate outdoor digital navigation in its vehicle infotainment systems.
