Compare the2026 BMW X3VS 2025 Honda Passport

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the BMW X3 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 X3’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Passport doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The BMW X3 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help 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 X3 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.

The X3 has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Passport doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The X3 has a standard PostCrash iBrake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Passport doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The X3 has a standard Active Park Distance Control 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 X3’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Passport doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

The X3 offers an optional Surround View 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 BMW X3’s optional Surround View offers available integrated front and rear camera washers, ensuring clear, all-weather visibility without the need for manual cleaning. In contrast, the Honda Passport lacks camera washers, requiring you to manually clean the cameras for optimal performance.

Both the X3 and Passport have rear cross-traffic warning, but the X3 has Cross Traffic Warning with braking function (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Passport’s Cross Traffic Monitor doesn’t automatically brake.

The X3’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 X3 and the Passport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, plastic fuel tanks, 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 and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the BMW X3 is safer than the Honda Passport:

	X3	Passport
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	60	109
Chest Movement	.6 inches	.6 inches
Hip Force	214 lbs.	269 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	108	233
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	15 inches
HIC	162	406
Spine Acceleration	37 G’s	45 G’s
Hip Force	472 lbs.	838 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

The X3 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Passport’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The X3’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Passport’s (12 vs. 5 years).

BMW pays for scheduled maintenance on the X3 for 2 years and 24,000 miles longer than Honda pays for maintenance for the Passport (3/36,000 vs. 1/12000).

Reliability

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the X3’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the Passport’s camshafts. If the Passport’s belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

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 X3’s reliability 21 points higher than the Passport.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks BMW above average in long-term dependability. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Honda is rated lower.

Engine

The X3 30 xDrive’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 33 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 262) than the Passport’s 3.5 SOHC V6. The X3 M50 xDrive’s standard 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid produces 113 more horsepower (393 vs. 280) and 166 lbs.-ft. more torque (428 vs. 262) than the Passport’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the BMW X3 is faster than the Honda Passport:

	X3 30 xDrive	X3 M50 xDrive	Passport
Zero to 60 MPH	6 sec	4 sec	6.6 sec
Quarter Mile	14.5 sec	12.6 sec	15.1 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	94.5 MPH	109.7 MPH	89.2 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the X3 gets better mileage than the Passport:

			MPG
X3
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	27 city/33 hwy
		3.0 turbo 6-cyl. Hybrid	25 city/30 hwy
Passport
	AWD	3.5 SOHC V6	19 city/24 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the X3’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Passport doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the BMW X3 higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Honda Passport (4). This means the X3 produces up to 13.2 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Passport every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

The X3 M50’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Passport doesn’t offer launch control.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the X3’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Passport:

	X3 30 xDrive	X3 M50 xDrive	Passport
Front Rotors	13 inches	13.7 inches	12.6 inches
Rear Rotors	13 inches	13.5 inches	13 inches

The X3’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 X3 stops much shorter than the Passport:

	X3	Passport
70 to 0 MPH	155 feet	181 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	108 feet	135 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	137 feet	143 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The X3’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Passport TrailSport’s standard 60 series tires. The X3’s optional 255/40R21 front and 285/35R21 rear tires have a lower 40 series front and 35 series rear profile than the Passport EX-L/Black Edition’s 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the X3 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Passport TrailSport. The X3’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Passport EX-L/Black Edition.

Suspension and Handling

The X3 has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Passport’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The X3 offers an optional driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Passport’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the X3’s wheelbase is 1.9 inches longer than on the Passport (112.8 inches vs. 110.9 inches).

The X3’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (50.5% to 49.5%) than the Passport’s (58.5% to 41.5%). This gives the X3 more stable handling and braking.

The X3 30 xDrive handles at .91 G’s, while the Passport Black Edition pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The X3 M50 xDrive executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.8 seconds quicker than the Passport Black Edition (25.3 seconds @ .76 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the X3 M50 xDrive has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Passport (8.3 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the X3 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The X3 30 xDrive’s minimum ground clearance is .4 inch higher than on the Passport (8.5 vs. 8.1 inches).

Passenger Space

The X3 has 1 inch more front headroom, .8 inches more front hip room and .8 inches more rear hip room than the Passport.

Servicing Ease

The X3 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Passport uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The engine in the X3 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.

Ergonomics

The X3 offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, warning, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts 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 X3’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 power windows standard on both the X3 and the Passport have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the X3 is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Passport prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The X3’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Passport’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The X3’s standard Comfort Access allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Push Button Start and Smart Entry standard on the Passport doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

The X3’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Passport’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the X3 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Passport doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the X3 offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Passport doesn’t offer cornering lights. The X3 also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The X3’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 BMW X3 has power folding mirrors that offer unparalleled convenience while maneuvering in tight places or parked. With the mirrors folded it’s easier to walk past and help prevent parking damage. The mirrors can be quickly unfolded when the driver is ready to leave. Power folding mirrors are only offered on the Passport TrailSport/Black Edition.

The X3’s Parking Assistant can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling the transmission and speed with the brake pedal. With its available fully controlled system, the driver just activates it and it parks autonomously, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Optional Remote Control Parking will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Passport doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the BMW X3 and the Honda Passport, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The BMW X3 outsold the Honda Passport by over two to one during 2024.

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