Compare the2025 Nissan MuranoVS 2025 Honda Passport

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Murano 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 Nissan Murano 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 Murano Platinum has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Passport doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Murano has standard Rear Automatic Braking 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.

The Murano SL/Platinum has a standard Around 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.

The Murano’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 Murano 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.

Nissan pays for scheduled maintenance (up to 3 visits) on the Murano for 1 year and 12000 miles longer than Honda pays for maintenance for the Passport (2/24,000 vs. 1/12000).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 15 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is rated lower.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Honda With 7 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Nissan higher than Honda.

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

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

The Murano’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Passport are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Murano has larger tires than the Passport (255/55R20 vs. 245/60R18).

The Murano’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Passport TrailSport’s standard 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Murano has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Passport TrailSport.

For greater off-road capability the Murano has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Passport (8.3 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the Murano to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Murano has 1.6 inches more front headroom and 3.4 inches more front legroom than the Passport.

The Murano Platinum has a standard heads-up display that projects speed 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 Murano’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 Murano’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.

The Murano Platinum has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Passport.

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