Compare the2024 Honda PassportVS 2024 Mercedes GLC

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Passport are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The GLC doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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 GLC’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 GLC.

The Passport’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLC.

Both the Passport and the GLC 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, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.

Honda’s powertrain warranty covers the Passport 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the GLC. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the GLC ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the Passport for 2 years or 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the GLC.

There are almost 3 times as many Honda dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Passport’s warranty.

The engine in the Passport has a single overhead cam for simplicity. The engine in the GLC has 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 31 points higher than the GLC.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 11 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 24 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

The Passport’s 3.5 SOHC V6 produces 25 more horsepower (280 vs. 255) than the GLC’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Honda Passport is faster than the Mercedes GLC:

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Honda Passport uses regular unleaded gasoline. The GLC requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Passport has 2.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLC (19.5 vs. 17.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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 GLC doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better traction, the Passport has larger standard tires than the GLC (245/60R18 vs. 235/60R18). The Passport EX-L/Elite’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the GLC (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 GLC doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Passport is 2.8 inches wider in the front and 2.3 inches wider in the rear than the track on the GLC.

To almost totally eliminate engine vibration in the passenger area, the Passport has an electronically controlled liquid-filled main engine mount. A computer-controlled electric current in the liquid changes its viscosity, allowing the mount to dampen the engine completely at all RPMs. The GLC uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

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

The Passport has .2 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more front hip room, 4.7 inches more front shoulder room, .3 inches more rear headroom, 2.2 inches more rear legroom and 5.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLC.

The Passport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the GLC with its rear seat up (41.2 vs. 21.9 cubic feet). The Passport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the GLC with its rear seat folded (77.7 vs. 56.3 cubic feet).

The Passport’s cargo area is larger than the GLC’s in every dimension:

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Passport has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the GLC only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

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

Consumer Reports® recommends the Honda Passport, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Mercedes GLC isn't recommended.

The Honda Passport outsold the Mercedes GLC by 8% during 2023.