2023 Hyundai Santa Fe vs 2022 Honda Passport

The 2022 Honda Passport shared a striking resemblance to the Honda Ridgeline pickup truck, especially from the front. This similarity was due to the shared vehicle platform with the Ridgeline, Odyssey minivan, and Pilot SUV. The Passport was essentially a shorter version of the Pilot, minus the third-row seating, and featured a more rugged design. Honda's updated styling aimed to give the Passport a tougher look, which was applied across all three trim levels: Sport, TrailSport, and Touring. The TrailSport trim, new for 2022, was designed to appeal to off-road enthusiasts, offering a more capable appearance with 20.5 centimetres of ground clearance and traction management modes for various terrains. The interior of the Passport was spacious, with quality materials and thoughtful design elements like orange contrast stitching and amber ambient lighting in the TrailSport trim.

In contrast, the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe maintained a more conservative exterior design, which was set to change with the 2024 redesign. The Santa Fe was available in four trims in Canada: Preferred, Urban, Luxury, and Ultimate Calligraphy, all with standard all-wheel drive. The Ultimate Calligraphy trim, tested in the U.S., featured a rich Stormy Sea paint and a black interior with Nappa leather seats. The cabin was high-quality but dark, with options for beige or grey interiors to add contrast. The Santa Fe's seats were comfortable, with heated and cooled front seats standard in the Calligraphy trim. The vehicle's handling was smooth, with minimal body lean, and the turbocharged engine provided brisk acceleration without excessive noise.

The 2022 Honda Passport retained its 3.5-litre V6 engine, producing 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque, paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive in Canada. The V6 engine was smooth and felt more powerful than its ratings suggested, with a fuel economy of 11.3 litres per 100 kilometres in combined driving. The Passport's Intelligent Variable Torque Management Four (i-VTM4) system provided mechanical torque vectoring, delivering up to 70% of the engine's power to a single rear wheel when needed. While the Passport excelled on paved roads with its firm ride and athletic handling, its off-road capabilities were limited, with wheel articulation being a concern. The brakes, although effective, could heat up and vibrate during mountain descents, which was a drawback considering its towing capacity of 2,268 kilograms.

The 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe offered a choice between a naturally aspirated 2.5-litre engine with 191 horsepower and a turbocharged version with 281 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque. The turbocharged engine, available in the Urban and Ultimate Calligraphy trims, provided immediate acceleration and passing power, especially in Sport mode. The Santa Fe's drive-mode selector offered four customizable modes: Comfort, Sport, Snow, and Smart. The turbocharged engine's performance was smooth, with no turbo lag or excessive noise. The Santa Fe's handling was commendable, with minimal body lean during cornering. While the Santa Fe's off-road capabilities and towing were not tested, the turbo version could tow up to 1,587 kilograms with trailer brakes.

The 2022 Honda Passport offered easy access with large doors and a low step-in height. The interior featured large, comfortable seats with leather upholstery and heated front seats. The TrailSport trim added heated rear seats, while the Touring trim included ventilated front seats. The Passport's interior was spacious, with ample legroom and headroom for rear passengers, and large side windows provided an open feel. The SUV offered generous storage options, including a massive centre console and a power liftgate revealing 1,430 litres of cargo space behind the rear seat, expanding to 2,854 litres with the seats folded.

The 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe, designed as a two-row SUV, provided ample rear-seat legroom of 1,060 millimetres and competitive cargo space of 1,032 litres behind the second row, expanding to 2,041 litres with the seats folded. The Santa Fe's interior comfort was enhanced by standard features like an eight-way power driver's seat and heated front seats. Higher trims included a hands-free smart liftgate, ventilated front seats, and a power driver seat cushion extension. The Ultimate Calligraphy trim featured advanced amenities like Remote Smart Parking Assist, a head-up display, and ambient lighting. The panoramic sunroof and head-up display were notable features, although the driver's seat height adjustment could be a concern for some.

The 2022 Honda Passport's infotainment system included an 8-inch touchscreen with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. The TrailSport trim added satellite radio, while the Touring trim featured a navigation system, a 10-speaker premium audio system, and HondaLink connected services. The system's interface was straightforward, with shortcut buttons and a volume knob, but lacked a tuning knob. The navigation system was clunky, prompting the use of Apple CarPlay for navigation. Wireless smartphone charging was standard in all but the base Sport trim.

The 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe excelled in technology, offering a 4.2-inch colour LCD display in lower trims and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster in higher trims. All trims featured a 10.25-inch touchscreen with navigation, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and Bluetooth. The top trims included wireless device charging and a 12-speaker Harman Kardon audio system. The infotainment system was user-friendly, with customizable settings and efficient voice recognition for navigation and weather reports. However, the system struggled with music requests and temperature adjustments, requiring specific terminology.

The 2022 Honda Passport came with the Honda Sensing suite, including adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, and lane-centring assist. Additional features included blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and automatic high-beam headlights. The Passport's safety systems were effective but lacked refinement, with intrusive lane-departure warnings and lane-centring assist. The adaptive cruise control was not smooth in heavy traffic. The Passport received five-star ratings from the NHTSA, except for a four-star rating for front passenger protection in frontal impacts and rollover resistance. The IIHS rated it highly, with an Acceptable rating for front-passenger protection in small overlap collisions.

The 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe offered a comprehensive suite of safety features, including forward-collision avoidance, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, and lane-centring assist. The Ultimate Calligraphy trim included Highway Driving Assist, combining adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability. The Santa Fe received a five-star overall rating from the NHTSA and a "Top Safety Pick+" rating from the IIHS, with Good ratings in all crashworthiness tests.