Compare the2025 Subaru ForesterVS 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
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Forester 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 Subaru Forester 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.

The Forester has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Passport doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Forester (except Base/Premium) offers optional Reverse 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.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Passport doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

The Forester Touring has a standard 360-Degree 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.

The Forester Touring’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 Forester 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, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems 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 Subaru Forester is much safer than the Passport:

	Forester	Passport
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	103	206
Neck Tension	201 lbs.	335 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Torso Max Deflection	1.02 in	1.22 in
Pelvis	GOOD	MARGINAL
Pelvis Force	892 lbs.	1339 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	193	206
Neck Tension	89 lbs.	178 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	MARGINAL
Torso Max Deflection	1.34 in	2.05 in
Torso Deflection Rate	5 MPH	12 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	580 lbs.	759 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

The Subaru Forester 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 an “Acceptable” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Passport is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Honda With 8 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Subaru higher than Honda.

Engine

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Forester lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability without compromising ground clearance. The Passport doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

		MPG
Forester
	2.5 DOHC flat-4	26 city/33 hwy
	Sport/Touring 2.5 DOHC flat-4	25 city/32 hwy
Passport
	3.5 SOHC V6	19 city/24 hwy

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Subaru Forester higher (7 out of 10) than the Honda Passport (4). This means the Forester produces up to 13.2 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Passport every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

The Forester 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

The Forester’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.

The Forester stops shorter than the Passport:

	Forester	Passport
70 to 0 MPH	172 feet	181 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	131 feet	135 feet	Motor Trend

Suspension and Handling

The Forester’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (57% to 43%) than the Passport’s (58.5% to 41.5%). This gives the Forester more stable handling and braking.

The Forester Sport handles at .82 G’s, while the Passport Black Edition pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Forester Sport executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Passport Black Edition (27.6 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Forester’s turning circle is 3.9 feet tighter than the Passport AWD’s (35.4 feet vs. 39.3 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Forester has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Passport (8.7 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the Forester to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Subaru Forester may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 600 to 700 pounds less than the Honda Passport.

The Forester is 5.8 inches shorter than the Passport, making the Forester easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Forester is 6.6 inches narrower than the Passport, making the Forester easier to handle and maneuver in traffic.

The front grille of the Forester uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Passport doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Forester has 1.7 inches more front headroom and 2.4 inches more front legroom than the Passport.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Forester easier. The Forester’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 28.9 inches, while the Passport’s liftover is 32 inches.

Servicing Ease

The engine in the Forester is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Passport. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because there are no rear spark plugs and the accessory belts are in front.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Subaru service is better than Honda. J.D. Power ranks Subaru 7th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 14% lower rating, Honda is ranked 12th.

Ergonomics

The Forester’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.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Forester 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 Forester’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.

Recommendations

The Subaru Forester outsold the Honda Passport by almost four to one during 2023.

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