Compare the2023 Audi Q3VS 2023 Honda Passport

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The Q3’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Passport doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Q3 and Passport have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q3 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Passport’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Audi Q3 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 Passport doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Q3 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Passport doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Q3’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Passport doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

The Q3 Premium Plus has a standard Top View Camera System 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.

Both the Q3 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, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Audi Q3 is safer than the Honda Passport:

	Q3	Passport
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	35%	35%
Leg Forces (l/r)	261/249 lbs.	478/436 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi Q3 is safer than the Honda Passport:

	Q3	Passport
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	88	109
Abdominal Force	95 lbs.	101 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	159	233
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	15 inches
Hip Force	485 lbs.	838 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

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 Audi Q3 is safer than the Passport:

	Q3	Passport
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Structure	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	190	206
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Tension	112 lbs.	178 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Torso Max Deflection	1.73 in	2.05 in
Torso Deflection Rate	11 MPH	12 MPH
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard front crash prevention system, and its headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Q3 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 134 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Passport is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.

Warranty

The Q3 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Passport’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The Q3’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Passport’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

The Audi Q3’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Passport’s engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the Q3’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 Q3 has a standard 140-amp alternator. The Passport’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Q3 45 TFSI gets better fuel mileage than the Passport (21 city/28 hwy vs. 19 city/24 hwy).

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi Q3 higher (7 out of 10) than the Honda Passport (3). This means the Q3 produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Passport every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Q3’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Passport:

	Q3	Passport
Front Rotors	13.4 inches	12.6 inches

The Q3’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.

The Q3 stops much shorter than the Passport:

	Q3	Passport
70 to 0 MPH	160 feet	181 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	125 feet	135 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	135 feet	143 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Q3’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Passport TrailSport’s standard 60 series tires. The Q3’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Passport EX-L/Elite’s 45 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Q3 handles at .91 G’s, while the Passport Elite pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Q3’s turning circle is .9 feet tighter than the Passport AWD’s (38.4 feet vs. 39.3 feet).

Chassis

The Audi Q3 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 350 pounds less than the Honda Passport.

The Q3 is 1 foot shorter than the Passport, making the Q3 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Q3 is 5.8 inches narrower than the Passport, making the Q3 easier to handle and maneuver in traffic.

The Q3 is 9.3 inches shorter in height than the Passport, making the Q3 much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Q3 easier. The Q3’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 27.8 inches, while the Passport’s liftover is 32 inches.

Servicing Ease

The Q3 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.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Honda. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 30% lower rating, Honda is ranked 25th.

Ergonomics

The Q3’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 Q3 and the Passport have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Q3 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 Q3’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 Q3’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Passport’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Q3’s available headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Passport’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Q3 Premium Plus has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Passport doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Q3’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.

Economic Advantages

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Audi Q3 will be $2993 to $4401 less than for the Honda Passport.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Audi Q3 and the Honda Passport, based on reliability, safety and performance.