Compare the2025 Kia SorentoVS 2025 Honda Passport

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Kia Sorento 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.

Both the Sorento and Passport have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Sorento S/EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line 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 Kia Sorento has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps 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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Sorento Prestige has standard Parking Collision Avoidance-Rear 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 Sorento’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Passport doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.

The Sorento SX has a standard Surround View 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 Sorento and Passport have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Sorento has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Passport’s Cross Traffic Monitor doesn’t automatically brake.

The Sorento’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 Sorento and the Passport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Kia Sorento is safer than the Honda Passport:

	Sorento	Passport
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	81/191 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 post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Kia Sorento is safer than the Honda Passport:

	Sorento	Passport
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	15 inches	15 inches
HIC	280	406
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	45 G’s

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 Kia Sorento is much safer than the Passport:

	Sorento	Passport
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	MARGINAL
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	64	206
Neck Tension	178 lbs.	335 lbs.
Neck Compression	-89 lbs.	0 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Torso Max Deflection	1.14 in	1.22 in
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Pelvis Force	959 lbs.	1339 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	68	206
Neck Tension	89 lbs.	178 lbs.
Neck Compression	-67 lbs.	67 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	.55 in	.94 in
Shoulder Force	134 lbs.	335 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.18 in	2.05 in
Torso Deflection Rate	4 MPH	12 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	580 lbs.	759 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

The Kia Sorento achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Passport is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

Warranty

The Sorento comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Passport’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Sorento 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Honda covers the Passport. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Passport ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Sorento has a standard 150-amp alternator. The Passport’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 10th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in long-term dependability. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Honda is rated below average.

Engine

The Sorento EX/SX’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 1 more horsepower (281 vs. 280) and 49 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 262) than the Passport’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Sorento EX/SX 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Honda Passport:

	Sorento	Passport
Zero to 60 MPH	6.3 sec	6.6 sec
Quarter Mile	14.8 sec	15.1 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	97 MPH	89.2 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Sorento gets better mileage than the Passport:

			MPG
Sorento
	FWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/31 hwy
		2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/29 hwy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/28 hwy
		2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/27 hwy
Passport
	AWD	3.5 SOHC V6	19 city/24 hwy

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Kia Sorento higher (6 out of 10) than the Honda Passport (4). This means the Sorento produces up to 12.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Passport every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

The Sorento offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Passport doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Sorento	Passport
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	12.6 inches

The Sorento stops much shorter than the Passport:

	Sorento	Passport
60 to 0 MPH	115 feet	135 feet	Motor Trend

Suspension and Handling

The Sorento X-Line SX Prestige handles at .85 G’s, while the Passport Black Edition pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Sorento X-Line SX Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.6 seconds quicker than the Passport Black Edition (26.5 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Sorento’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the Passport AWD’s (37.9 feet vs. 39.3 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Sorento X-Line/X-Pro has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Passport (8.2 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the Sorento to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Kia Sorento may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 50 to 400 pounds less than the Honda Passport.

Passenger Space

The Sorento has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Passport can only carry 5.

The Sorento has .8 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more front legroom and 2.1 inches more rear legroom than the Passport.

Cargo Capacity

The Sorento’s cargo area provides more volume than the Passport.

	Sorento	Passport
Third Seat Removed	45 cubic feet	41.2 cubic feet

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

	Sorento	Passport
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	15.5”/42.5”/76.5”	n.a./42.5”/76”
Max Width	54”	52”
Min Width	42.4”	45.5”
Height	33”	30”

Ergonomics

The Sorento’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 power windows standard on both the Sorento and the Passport have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Sorento is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Passport prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Sorento Prestige’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 Sorento’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.

Model Availability

The Sorento is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Passport doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Recommendations

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

The Kia Sorento outsold the Honda Passport by over two to one during 2023.

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