Compare the2026 Honda PassportVS 2025 Land Rover Defender

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Honda Passport are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Land Rover Defender doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Passport are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Defender doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Honda Passport 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 Defender doesn’t offer knee airbags.

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

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Passport has a standard Low-Speed Braking Control that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Defender doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

Both the Passport and the Defender have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

Honda’s powertrain warranty covers the Passport 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Defender. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Defender ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 5 times as many Honda dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Passport’s warranty.

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 Passport’s reliability 25 points higher than the Defender.

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 Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 33 more problems per 100 vehicles, Land Rover is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover With 62 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Honda higher than Land Rover.

On the EPA test cycle the Passport gets better mileage than the Defender 110/130:

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Honda Passport uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Defender requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

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 Defender doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Honda Passport, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Defender.

For better traction, the Passport has larger standard tires than the Defender (265/60R18 vs. 255/65R19).

The Passport’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Defender’s standard 65 series tires.

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 Defender doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Passport is 5.4 inches shorter than the Defender 110, making the Passport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

For excellent aerodynamics, the Passport has standard flush composite headlights. The Defender has recessed headlights that spoil its aerodynamic shape and create extra drag.

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

The Passport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Defender 110 with its rear seat up (44 vs. 10.7 cubic feet). The Passport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Defender 110 with its rear seat folded (83.8 vs. 78.8 cubic feet).

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Passport’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Defender doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Passport’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The Defender’s swing out door blocks loading from the driver’s side.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the Passport has a standard power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button, or on the Passport TrailSport Elite, by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The Defender doesn’t offer a power cargo door.

The Passport’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. An easy entry system costs extra on the Defender.

On a hot day the Passport’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Defender can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Passport has standard extendable sun visors. The Defender doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Passport’s sun-visors swivel front-to-side to block glare from the side windows. The Defender’s visors are fixed into the windshield header.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Passport to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Defender doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Honda Passport, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Land Rover Defender isn't recommended.

The Honda Passport outsold the Land Rover Defender by 15% during 2024.