The Q5’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 Q5 and Passport have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q5 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 Q5 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.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Q5 has a standard backup collision prevention system 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.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Q5’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Passport doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The Q5 Premium Plus/Prestige 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 Q5 and Passport have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Q5 has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Passport’s Cross Traffic Monitor doesn’t automatically brake.
Both the Q5 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 Q5 is safer than the Honda Passport:
|
Q5 |
Passport |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
22% |
28% |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
80/49 lbs. |
46/243 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
187 |
216 |
Neck Injury Risk |
34% |
35% |
Neck Compression |
30 lbs. |
69 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
90/55 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 Q5 is safer than the Honda Passport:
|
Q5 |
Passport |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
60 |
109 |
Chest Movement |
.6 inches |
.6 inches |
Abdominal Force |
98 lbs. |
101 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
185 |
233 |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
15 inches |
15 inches |
HIC |
219 |
406 |
Spine Acceleration |
35 G’s |
45 G’s |
Hip Force |
600 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 Q5 is safer than the Passport:
|
Q5 |
Passport |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
96 |
206 |
Neck Tension |
245 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Torso Max Deflection |
.98 in |
1.22 in |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
1116 lbs. |
1339 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Torso |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.54 in |
2.05 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
11 MPH |
12 MPH |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Q5 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 98 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Passport last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.