I think it's perfect for what most lifestyle users need. I have a GX470 currently, which is an absolute monster off road. But it's overkill. I camp, snowboard and mountain bike a lot, but I've gotten almost everywhere with a 2wd cargo van with a bit of weight in the back and halfway decent tires that I have in my Lexus. I watch a lot of TFL Truck videos where they take various vehicles up the Goldmine Hill trail. Almost everything that is AWD makes it up, even with stock highway tires. The ones that don't would usually make it if they switched to more aggressive tires. They even got a stock Pilot up that thing (search youtube for the video). The people who really do need more capability will be looking at 4Runners anyway. But there are a lot of trade-offs for day to day driving. Such as a ridiculous transmission strategy and no tech features at all. I think the Passport is going to be that perfect vehicle for me (and many others). More height for getting through snow and soft-roading. But not so focused that it loses some of the daily driving qualities that I appreciate.
It will get pandered on the internet all over for not being hardcore enough, but Honda doesn't really need to produce a niche vehicle like that. Plenty of sales to be had with this one. All just IMHO though. If it flops, they aren't out much in development costs so it's a good strategy.
