Compare the2023 Mercedes GLC CoupeVS 2023 Honda Passport

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

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes GLC Coupe have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Honda Passport doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The GLC Coupe’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.

The Mercedes GLC Coupe 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.

The GLC Coupe has standard NECK-PRO front head restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the NECK-PRO front head restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Passport doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The GLC Coupe offers an optional Post Collision Brake, 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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The GLC Coupe has a standard Maneuvering Brake Function 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.

The GLC Coupe has a standard Surround View 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 GLC Coupe and Passport have rear cross-traffic warning, but the GLC Coupe has Active Brake Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Passport’s Cross Traffic Monitor doesn’t automatically brake.

The GLC Coupe’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 GLC Coupe and the Passport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available lane departure warning systems.

Warranty

The GLC Coupe 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.

Reliability

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the GLC Coupe’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 GLC Coupe has a standard 150-amp alternator. 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 Mercedes vehicles are more reliable than Honda With 35 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Mercedes higher than Honda.

Engine

The GLC Coupe’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (273 vs. 262) than the Passport’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the GLC 300 Coupe gets better fuel mileage than the Passport (20 city/26 hwy vs. 19 city/24 hwy).

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Mercedes GLC Coupe higher (6 out of 10) than the Honda Passport (3). This means the GLC Coupe produces up to 23.4 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Passport every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	GLC Coupe	Passport
Front Rotors	13.5 inches	12.6 inches

The GLC Coupe’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.

Tires and Wheels

The GLC Coupe’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 GLC Coupe’s optional 285/40R20 rear tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Passport EX-L/Elite’s 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the GLC Coupe has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Passport TrailSport.

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires standard on the GLC Coupe can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The Passport doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

Suspension and Handling

The GLC Coupe 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 GLC Coupe’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Passport doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the GLC Coupe’s wheelbase is 2.2 inches longer than on the Passport (113.1 inches vs. 110.9 inches).

The GLC 300 Coupe handles at .79 G’s, while the Passport Elite pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The GLC 300 Coupe executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Passport Elite (27.6 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the GLC 300 Coupe’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Passport AWD’s (38.7 feet vs. 39.3 feet).

Chassis

The Mercedes GLC Coupe may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 250 to 300 pounds less than the Honda Passport.

The GLC Coupe is 5.8 inches shorter than the Passport, making the GLC Coupe easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The GLC Coupe is 8.3 inches shorter in height than the Passport, making the GLC Coupe much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Servicing Ease

The GLC Coupe 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 GLC Coupe 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.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory seat and mirrors in the Passport, the GLC Coupe offers an optional passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The GLC Coupe offers an optional 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 Passport doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The GLC Coupe’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 GLC Coupe and the Passport have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the GLC Coupe 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 GLC Coupe’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 GLC Coupe’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.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the GLC Coupe to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Passport doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the GLC Coupe offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Passport doesn’t offer cornering lights. The GLC Coupe also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The GLC Coupe’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.

The GLC Coupe’s Active Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting and stopping automatically, with the driver only responsible for switching from reverse to drive. The Passport doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

Motor Trend selected the GLC Coupe as their 2017 Sport Utility of the Year. The Passport has never been chosen.

The Mercedes GLC outsold the Honda Passport by 59% during 2022.