Compare the2024 Honda PassportVS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Passport deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Passport’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Santa Fe’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Passport. But it costs extra on the Santa Fe.

Both the Passport and the Santa Fe 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 and rear cross-path warning.

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, results indicate that the Honda Passport is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe:

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

There are over 29 percent more Honda dealers than there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Passport’s warranty.

The engine in the Passport has a single overhead cam for simplicity. The engines in the Santa Fe have dual overhead cams, which add to the number of moving parts and the complexity of the cylinder heads.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Passport’s reliability 16 points higher than the Santa Fe.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 8 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

The Passport’s 3.5 SOHC V6 produces 89 more horsepower (280 vs. 191) and 81 lbs.-ft. more torque (262 vs. 181) than the Santa Fe’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Honda Passport is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe 4 cyl.:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Passport’s fuel efficiency. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Passport 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 Santa Fe doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Honda Passport, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Santa Fe.

For better traction, the Passport has larger standard tires than the Santa Fe (245/60R18 vs. 235/60R18). The Passport EX-L/Elite’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Santa Fe (265/45R20 vs. 255/45R20).

The Passport has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Passport has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Passport’s wheelbase is 2 inches longer than on the Santa Fe (110.9 inches vs. 108.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Passport is 2.3 inches wider in the front and 1.9 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Santa Fe.

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

The Passport has 3.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Santa Fe (114.9 vs. 111.5).

The Passport has 1.6 inches more front hip room, 2.9 inches more front shoulder room, 1 inch more rear headroom, 1 inch more rear hip room and 3.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Santa Fe.

The Passport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Santa Fe with its rear seat up (41.2 vs. 36.4 cubic feet). The Passport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Santa Fe with its rear seat folded (77.7 vs. 72.1 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Passport. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Passport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Santa Fe’s (5000 vs. 2000 pounds).

The Passport’s front power windows 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 Santa Fe’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Passport the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Santa Fe can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Passport’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Santa Fe SE/XRT/SEL’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the Passport’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Santa Fe’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

The Passport’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Hyundai only offers heated mirrors on the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy.

The Passport’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Santa Fe offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Passport has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Honda Passport has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy offers wireless charging.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Honda Passport and the Hyundai Santa Fe, based on reliability, safety and performance.