Honda is well-known for making some great cars, but that doesn’t mean Honda hasn’t made some bad ones as well. The Passport is a midsized SUV that Honda offers, but Consumer Reports says that customers should avoid it. Instead, Consumer Reports recommends buying the Ford Edge.

The Honda Passport’s pros and cons

Consumer Reports did not rate the Passport highly. In fact, Consumer Reports gave the Passport an overall rating of 59 out of 100, which makes it the second-worst SUV in its segment. Consumer Reports gave the Passport that poor rating because while the Passport does well in things that Hondas are known for, like safety, it falls short everywhere else. 

For example, Hondas are known for being very safe cars. Consumer Reports says that the Passport is no different. The Passport comes standard with smart safety features such as forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking, and those features allow the Passport to keep its passengers very safe.

On top of that, the Passport’s a pretty fuel-efficient SUV. Consumer Reports says that it gets 14 MPG in the city and 28 MPG on highways, for a combined 21 MPG.

But, everywhere else, Consumer Reports found issues. For example, despite being a smaller version of the Honda Pilot, Consumer Reports says that the Passport’s ride comfort was actually worse. Its handling also isn’t great, and the reliability of the Passport doesn’t live up to the reliability of other Hondas. 

The Ford Edge’s pros and cons

In comparison, Consumer Reports recommended customers look for an Edge instead. Consumer Reports didn’t just take the best-ranked car in the segment either. Consumer Reports also considered how popular and expensive both cars are. As a result, even though the Edge is only in seventh place, Consumer Reports gave the Edge the nod over the Passport.

It makes sense why Consumer Reports made this recommendation too. The Edge got an overall score of 79 out of 100, which is much higher than the Passport’s score. Both cars are also in the same price range, roughly $31,000 to $43,000 based on your choice of trim, and both cars have roughly the same fuel economy. 

However, just like the Passport though, Consumer Reports says that Ford has put plenty of smart safety technologies as standard on the Edge, including forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking. These technologies help make the Edge as safe as the Passport is, while being better in the areas where the Passport did poorly on.

For example, Consumer Reports says that the Edge has a quiet and comfortable ride and that it handles really well. That said, Consumer Reports didn’t think that the Edge was perfect. Consumer Reports says that some of the Edge’s flaws include having a poor driver’s sitting position and having a “flimsy” interior feel. 

Is the Ford Edge really better than the Honda Passport?

If you trust Consumer Reports’ findings on these two SUVs, then yes, the Edge is better than the Passport. But, it’s worth stressing that your mileage may vary, and as Consumer Reports’ driver satisfaction ratings show, they do vary for these two cars. In fact, despite being considered a worse car, the Passport actually has a higher owner satisfaction rating than the Edge does. It isn’t a big difference, but it’s a notable one. 

Owner satisfaction is one of the few metrics that matter a lot compared to other things. Not everybody cares about the interior feel of an SUV, and not everybody cares about an SUV’s fuel economy. But if more people are happy with owning a Passport than with owning the Edge, then that’s saying something.