Compare the2023 Jeep Grand CherokeeVS 2023 Honda Passport

The Jeep Grand Cherokee has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Passport doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Grand Cherokee has standard ParkSense Rear Park Assist with Stop that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Passport doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Grand Cherokee Overland 4WD/Summit 4WD’s standard Hill-descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Passport doesn’t offer Hill-descent Control.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk/Overland/Summit helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Passport doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Grand Cherokee (except Laredo) offers an optional 360-degree camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Passport only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

The Grand Cherokee Summit’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Passport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Grand Cherokee and the Passport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Jeep Grand Cherokee is much safer than the Passport:

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Grand Cherokee its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 36 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Passport is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick.”

Jeep pays for scheduled maintenance (up to 3 visits) on the Grand Cherokee for 1 year and unlimited miles longer than Honda pays for maintenance for the Passport (3/unlimited vs. 2/24,000).

There are over 2 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Honda dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Grand Cherokee’s warranty.

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the Grand Cherokee’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the Passport’s camshafts. If the Passport’s belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Grand Cherokee has a standard 160-amp alternator (240-amp - Grand Cherokee optional). The Passport’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Jeep vehicles are more reliable than Honda With 29 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Jeep higher than Honda.

The Grand Cherokee’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 13 more horsepower (293 vs. 280) than the Passport’s 3.5 SOHC V6. The Grand Cherokee’s optional 5.7 V8 produces 77 more horsepower (357 vs. 280) and 128 lbs.-ft. more torque (390 vs. 262) than the Passport’s 3.5 SOHC V6. The Grand Cherokee 4xe’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 95 more horsepower (375 vs. 280) and 208 lbs.-ft. more torque (470 vs. 262) than the Passport’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the Grand Cherokee 4xe 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid is faster than the Honda Passport:

On the EPA test cycle the Grand Cherokee 4xe running on electricity gets better mileage than the Passport (57 city/56 hwy MPGe vs. 19 city/24 hwy).

On the EPA test cycle the Grand Cherokee running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Passport:

The Grand Cherokee 4xe can travel with zero emissions for 26 miles. The Passport can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Grand Cherokee 4xe’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Passport doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Grand Cherokee’s standard fuel tank has 3.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Passport (23 vs. 19.5 gallons).

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Jeep Grand Cherokee higher (5 to 7 out of 10) than the Honda Passport (3). This means the Grand Cherokee produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Passport every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Grand Cherokee’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Passport:

The Grand Cherokee’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Passport are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Grand Cherokee Summit’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Passport (275/45R21 vs. 265/45R20).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Grand Cherokee Summit offers optional 21-inch wheels. The Passport’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Grand Cherokee offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Passport; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

The Grand Cherokee has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Passport’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Grand Cherokee Trailhawk has active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Passport doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Grand Cherokee offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Passport’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Grand Cherokee offers an optional automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Grand Cherokee’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Passport doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Grand Cherokee’s wheelbase is 5.8 inches longer than on the Passport (116.7 inches vs. 110.9 inches).

The Grand Cherokee’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (52% to 48%) than the Passport’s (58.5% to 41.5%). This gives the Grand Cherokee more stable handling and braking.

The Grand Cherokee 4x4 handles at .79 G’s, while the Passport Elite pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Grand Cherokee Overland 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Passport Elite (27.7 seconds @ .6 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Grand Cherokee’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Passport AWD’s (38 feet vs. 39.3 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Grand Cherokee has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Passport (8.4 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the Grand Cherokee to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Grand Cherokee Trailhawk Air Suspension’s minimum ground clearance is 2.8 inches higher than on the Passport (10.9 vs. 8.1 inches).

The front grille of the Grand Cherokee uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Passport doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Grand Cherokee has .4 inches more front headroom and .4 inches more front legroom than the Passport.

Maximum trailer towing in the Honda Passport is limited to 5000 pounds. The Grand Cherokee 4x4 offers up to a 7200 lbs. towing capacity.

The Grand Cherokee 4WD with optional equipment can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Grand Cherokee can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Passport can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Grand Cherokee uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Passport uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The engine in the Grand Cherokee is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Passport. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because there are no rear spark plugs and the accessory belts are in front.

Unlike the driver-only memory seat and mirrors in the Passport, the Grand Cherokee 4xe/Limited/Trailhawk/Overland/Summit offers an optional passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster), outside mirror angle and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Grand Cherokee’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Passport does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Grand Cherokee Overland/Summit offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, certain gauge and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Passport doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Grand Cherokee’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Passport’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The power windows standard on both the Grand Cherokee and the Passport have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Grand Cherokee is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Passport prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Grand Cherokee Overland/Summit’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Passport’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Grand Cherokee’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Passport’s power mirror controls are on the dash where they are possibly hidden by the steering wheel and are awkward to manipulate.

Optional air conditioned front and rear seats keep the Grand Cherokee’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The Passport doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats in the rear.

The Grand Cherokee Overland Lux Tech/Summit has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Passport.

The Grand Cherokee Summit’s Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Passport doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Grand Cherokee is available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Passport doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee outsold the Honda Passport by over five to one during 2022.