Compare the2025 Mazda CX-50VS 2025 Honda Passport

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-50 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Honda Passport doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Mazda CX-50 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help 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.

The CX-50 has standard Secondary Collision Reduction System, which automatically apply 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 CX-50 Turbo Premium Plus has standard Smart Brake Support-Reverse that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Passport doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The CX-50 Turbo Premium Plus has a standard 360° Monitor 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 CX-50 and Passport have rear cross-traffic warning, but the CX-50 Turbo Premium Plus has Rear Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Passport’s Cross Traffic Monitor doesn’t automatically brake.

The CX-50’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Passport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the CX-50 and the Passport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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.

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 Mazda CX-50 is much safer than the Passport:

	CX-50	Passport
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	MARGINAL
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	114	206
Neck Tension	268 lbs.	335 lbs.
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Pelvis Force	982 lbs.	1339 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	47	206
Neck Tension	67 lbs.	178 lbs.
Neck Compression	45 lbs.	67 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	.87 in	.94 in
Shoulder Force	201 lbs.	335 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.71 in	2.05 in
Torso Deflection Rate	8 MPH	12 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	491 lbs.	759 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

The Mazda CX-50 has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and an “Acceptable” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Passport is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

Reliability

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 CX-50’s reliability 17 points higher than the Passport.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Mazda above average in long-term dependability. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Honda is rated below average.

Engine

The CX-50’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 58 lbs.-ft. more torque (320 vs. 262) than the Passport’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the CX-50 gets better mileage than the Passport:

			MPG
CX-50
	AWD	2.5 4-cyl. Hybrid	39 city/37 hwy
		2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/31 hwy
		2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/29 hwy
Passport
	AWD	3.5 SOHC V6	19 city/24 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the CX-50 Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Passport doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Mazda CX-50 higher (5 to 7 out of 10) than the Honda Passport (3). This means the CX-50 produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Passport every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

The CX-50 has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Passport doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the CX-50’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Passport:

	CX-50	Passport
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	12.6 inches

The CX-50 stops much shorter than the Passport:

	CX-50	Passport
70 to 0 MPH	161 feet	181 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	117 feet	135 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	142 feet	143 feet	Consumer Reports

Suspension and Handling

The CX-50 handles at .87 G’s, while the Passport Black Edition pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The CX-50 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.3 seconds quicker than the Passport Black Edition (26.8 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the CX-50 Hybrid’s turning circle is 3.9 feet tighter than the Passport AWD’s (35.4 feet vs. 39.3 feet). The CX-50’s turning circle is 3.3 feet tighter than the Passport AWD’s (36 feet vs. 39.3 feet).

For greater off-road capability the CX-50 2.5 S Premium Plus has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Passport (8.6 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the CX-50 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Mazda CX-50 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 250 to 500 pounds less than the Honda Passport.

The CX-50 is 3.3 inches shorter than the Passport, making the CX-50 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The CX-50 is 5.7 inches narrower than the Passport, making the CX-50 easier to handle and maneuver in traffic.

The CX-50 4x4 is 8.7 inches shorter in height than the Passport, making the CX-50 much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

As tested by Car and Driver while at idle, the interior of the CX-50 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus is quieter than the Passport Black Edition (38 vs. 39 dB).

Passenger Space

The CX-50 has .8 inches more front legroom and .2 inches more rear legroom than the Passport.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the CX-50 easier. The CX-50’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 28.4 inches, while the Passport’s liftover is 32 inches.

The CX-50’s cargo area is larger than the Passport’s in almost every dimension:

	CX-50	Passport
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	42.6”/75.4”	42.5”/76”
Max Width	55.6”	52”
Min Width	40.2”	45.5”
Height	30.2”	30”

Servicing Ease

The CX-50 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.

Ergonomics

The CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo Premium has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, 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 CX-50’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 CX-50’s front and rear power windows all 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 Passport’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The CX-50’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Passport’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the CX-50 Turbo has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Passport doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The CX-50’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.

Economic Advantages

The CX-50 will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the CX-50 will retain 53.88% to 56.04% of its original price after five years, while the Passport only retains 52.97% to 53.54%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Mazda CX-50 will be $2073 to $12204 less than for the Honda Passport.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Mazda CX-50 and the Honda Passport, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Mazda CX-50 outsold the Honda Passport by 1093 units during 2023.

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