Compare the2023 Honda AccordVS 2022 Volkswagen Passat

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Accord have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Volkswagen Passat doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Accord are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Passat doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Honda Accord has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Passat doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Accord’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 Passat doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Accord and the Passat have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, 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, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

Honda’s powertrain warranty covers the Accord 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Passat. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Passat ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Accord’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Passat’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are over 67 percent more Honda dealers than there are Volkswagen dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Accord’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. With 47 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Honda higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 18 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

The Accord’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 18 more horsepower (192 vs. 174) than the Passat’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The Accord Hybrid’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 30 more horsepower (204 vs. 174) than the Passat’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Accord gets better mileage than the Passat:

Regenerative brakes improve the Accord Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Passat doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Accord’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. The Passat doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Accord has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Passat doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Accord has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Passat doesn’t offer a CVT.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Accord is 1.1 inches wider in the front and 2.9 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Passat.

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

The Accord uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Passat doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Accord a Large car, while the Passat is rated a Mid-size.

The Accord has 4.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Passat (105.7 vs. 101).

The Accord has 1.2 inches more front headroom, .8 inches more front hip room, 1 inch more front shoulder room, 1.7 inches more rear legroom and .6 inches more rear hip room than the Passat.

The Accord has a larger trunk than the Passat (16.7 vs. 15.9 cubic feet).

The Accord uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Passat 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 Accord Sport-L/EX-L/Touring’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Passat doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Accord Touring has a standard heads-up display that projects speed 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 Passat doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Accord’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Passat has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

On a hot day the Accord’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance with the keyless remote or at the outside door handle. The driver of the Passat can’t use the remote to operate the windows.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Accord Touring keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Passat doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Honda Accord Touring has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Passat doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Honda Accord outsold the Volkswagen Passat by almost 64 to one during 2022.