Compare the2024 Cadillac XT5VS 2023 Honda Passport

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Recommendations

Safety

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The XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional 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 Cadillac XT5 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 XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport offers optional Reverse Automatic Braking 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.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport 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 XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport offers an optional Surround Vision 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 XT5 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, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems 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 Cadillac XT5 is safer than the Honda Passport:

	XT5	Passport
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	147	149
Neck Injury Risk	24%	28%
Neck Stress	188 lbs.	189 lbs.
Neck Compression	11 lbs.	36 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.6 inches
Neck Compression	53 lbs.	69 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	22/17 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 Cadillac XT5 is safer than the Honda Passport:

	XT5	Passport
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	184 lbs.	269 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	183	233
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	15 inches
HIC	399	406
Spine Acceleration	39 G’s	45 G’s
Hip Force	799 lbs.	838 lbs.

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

Warranty

The XT5 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Passport’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the XT5 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Honda covers the Passport. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Passport ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The XT5’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Passport’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the XT5’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 XT5 has a standard 170-amp alternator (155-amp - XT5 V6 without Towing Package). The Passport’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the XT5 third among midsize premium suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Passport isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in initial quality. With 20 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is rated lower.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in long-term dependability. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Honda is rated below average.

Engine

The XT5’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 30 more horsepower (310 vs. 280) and 9 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 262) than the Passport’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Cadillac XT5 V6 is faster than the Honda Passport:

	XT5	Passport
Zero to 60 MPH	6.4 sec	6.6 sec
Quarter Mile	15 sec	15.1 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91.4 MPH	89.2 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the XT5 gets better mileage than the Passport:

			MPG
XT5
	FWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/26 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/27 hwy
Passport
	AWD	3.5 SOHC V6	19 city/24 hwy

The XT5 AWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Passport (21.7 vs. 19.5 gallons).

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Cadillac XT5 higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Honda Passport (3). This means the XT5 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 XT5’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Passport:

	XT5	Passport
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	12.6 inches

The XT5’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 XT5 stops much shorter than the Passport:

	XT5	Passport
70 to 0 MPH	174 feet	181 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	111 feet	135 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Cadillac XT5’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Honda Passport only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

Suspension and Handling

The XT5 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.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the XT5’s wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer than on the Passport (112.5 inches vs. 110.9 inches).

The XT5 AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Passport Elite pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The XT5 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the Passport Elite (27 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the XT5’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Passport AWD’s (38.7 feet vs. 39.3 feet). The XT5 w/20” wheels’ turning circle is .3 feet tighter than the Passport AWD’s (39 feet vs. 39.3 feet).

Chassis

The Cadillac XT5 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 300 pounds less than the Honda Passport.

The front grille of the XT5 2.0 Turbo 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.

Passenger Space

The XT5 has .2 inches more front headroom and .3 inches more front legroom than the Passport.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the XT5 easier. The XT5’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 30.9 inches, while the Passport’s liftover is 32 inches.

Servicing Ease

The XT5 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 Cadillac service is better than Honda. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac second in service department satisfaction. With a 45% lower rating, Honda is ranked 25th.

Ergonomics

The XT5’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 XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, warning 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 XT5’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 XT5 and the Passport have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the XT5 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 XT5’s front and rear power windows all lower with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Passport’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the XT5 has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Passport doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The XT5’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 XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional Automatic Park 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.

Model Availability

The XT5 is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Passport doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Cadillac XT5 and the Honda Passport, based on reliability, safety and performance.