Compare the2025 Honda PassportVS 2025 Subaru Forester

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 Forester’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The Passport has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Forester’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Passport has standard Cross Traffic Monitor, helping the driver avoid collisions. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Forester and its not available on the Base.

Compared to metal, the Passport’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Subaru Forester has a metal gas tank.

Both the Passport and the Forester 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 and rearview cameras.

The Honda Passport weighs 565 to 752 pounds more than the Subaru Forester. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the Passport for 2 years and 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. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Forester.

There are over 67 percent more Honda dealers than there are Subaru 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 Forester has dual overhead cams, which add to the number of moving parts and the complexity of the cylinder heads.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 2 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 1 place higher in reliability than Subaru.

The Passport’s 3.5 SOHC V6 produces 100 more horsepower (280 vs. 180) and 84 lbs.-ft. more torque (262 vs. 178) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Honda Passport is faster than the Subaru Forester:

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

The Passport has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Forester (19.5 vs. 16.6 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 Forester doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

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

For better traction, the Passport has larger standard tires than the Forester (245/60R18 vs. 225/60R17). The Passport EX-L/Black Edition’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Forester (265/45R20 vs. 235/50R19).

The Passport EX-L/Black Edition’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Forester Sport/Touring’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Passport TrailSport has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Forester. The Passport EX-L/Black Edition’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Forester Sport/Touring.

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 Forester 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 Forester doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Passport’s wheelbase is 5.8 inches longer than on the Forester (110.9 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Passport is 5.2 inches wider in the front and 5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Forester.

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

The Passport has 4.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Forester (114.9 vs. 110.8).

The Passport has 4.4 inches more front hip room, 4.3 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom, .2 inches more rear legroom, 3.6 inches more rear hip room and 5.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Forester.

The Passport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Forester with its rear seat up (41.2 vs. 29.6 cubic feet). The Passport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Forester with its rear seat folded (77.7 vs. 74.4 cubic feet).

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

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

The Passport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Forester’s (5000 vs. 1500 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 Forester’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. The Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring’s rear windows don’t 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 Forester can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Passport has standard Push Button Start and Smart Entry that allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring offers a Keyless Access and Start.

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 Forester’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The Passport Black Edition’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

The Passport’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring.

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 Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring offers wireless charging.

The Passport TrailSport/Black Edition has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Forester doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

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