Compare the2026 Honda PassportVS 2025 Audi Q5 Sportback

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Passport 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 Audi Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear 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 Q5 Sportback 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 Q5 Sportback 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 Q5 Sportback’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Both the Passport and the Q5 Sportback 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, 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 Audi covers the Q5 Sportback. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Q5 Sportback ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 4 times as many Honda dealers as there are Audi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Passport’s warranty.

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 Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 61 more problems per 100 vehicles, Audi 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 Audi With 69 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Honda higher than Audi.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Audi vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda fourth in overall reliability. Audi is ranked 7th.

The Passport’s 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 24 more horsepower (285 vs. 261) than the Q5 Sportback’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Passport’s fuel efficiency. The Q5 Sportback 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 Q5 Sportback requires premium for maximum efficiency, 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 Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Honda Passport higher (7 out of 10) than the Audi Q5 Sportback (4). This means the Passport produces up to 13.2 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Q5 Sportback every 15,000 miles.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Honda Passport, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a seven-speed automatic is available for the Q5 Sportback.

For better stopping power the Passport’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Q5 Sportback:

For better traction, the Passport has larger standard tires than the Q5 Sportback (265/60R18 vs. 235/55R19). The Passport TrailSport’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Q5 Sportback (275/60R18 vs. 255/45R20).

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 Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Passport offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Q5 Sportback; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Passport’s wheelbase is 2.6 inches longer than on the Q5 Sportback (113.6 inches vs. 111 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Passport is 4.4 inches wider in the front and 4.9 inches wider in the rear than on the Q5 Sportback.

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 Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Passport has 2.4 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more front legroom, 4.2 inches more front shoulder room, 3 inches more rear headroom, 2.9 inches more rear legroom and 5.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Q5 Sportback.

The Passport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Q5 Sportback with its rear seat up (44 vs. 24.7 cubic feet). The Passport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Q5 Sportback with its rear seat folded (83.8 vs. 51.9 cubic feet).

The Passport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Q5 Sportback’s (5000 vs. 4400 pounds).

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the Passport uses the Vehicle Stability Assist sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

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 Q5 Sportback.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Passport has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Q5 Sportback only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Honda Passport has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Q5 Sportback Premium Plus/Prestige offers wireless charging.

The Passport TrailSport has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Honda Passport and the Audi Q5 Sportback, based on reliability, safety and performance.