Passport Value

I actually did some light statistics work regarding resale values, and also drove a lot of brands before picking the Passport. The Passport is a well balanced design not terrible in any category and only shines in a couple. I left Honda after my last Accord as they were lagging in NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) and technology and didn't have an SUV I wanted. Now back as my long weeks of research ended there, and the Passport entered the market as the type of crossover SUV I was looking at. They also have really upped their interior quality from sparse and cheap to average or even slightly classy. A mix of fact and my opinion below, but these were my findings.

• Jeep is still unreliable but holds value very well. No question they have some comfortable trims and capable off roaders, but you pay a price premium and will be in the shop often. Also the brand cult is a turn off to me.
• Subaru holds value well but is a bit behind in NVH and has those small turbo engines are not great for many reasons. Average reliability and pricing. Not a fan of their models except the Ascent. More annoying brand cultists.
• Hyundai/Kia actually make really good vehicles, particularly if you trade in before 100K, but they depreciate in value much faster than the category average, which comes out to a couple hundred bucks of invisible payment a month. I came from a Sorento, which is hands down better finished in features and technology and more comfortable than any Honda or Toyota, I mean way better engineered than Honda's clunky electronics. These guys nail the engineering of features and electronics, comfort and style. Very good sensing package that works without issues, these guys had self parking cars a couple years ago. My Sorento was also very reliable on everything but what counts- engine. I would have gotten another, but I won't get a second car with engine issues that I have to trade by 100K at a loss, so I'll wait a decade for them to figure out their manufacturing tolerances and keep improving their brand value before bothering with them again.
• Toyota is the best value holder, only slightly edging out Jeep in my area, but they also make some of the most boring cars imaginable. Numb driving feel on most models. Quiet and soft ride but not amazingly better than anyone else. Horrible seats in the Highlander especially, and a pathetic infotainment screen you cannot even reach and was 7-8 years old when I test drove. Sluggish acceleration, terrible out of date electronics and styling. Overpriced if you don't trade in to get that value back. High drive train reliability, but not really better than many brands for other things like interiors. Good but not great sensing suite.
• Honda, holds value better than average, not as good as they used to against competitors, but not bad. Decent reliability. Good driving feel. Decent comfort. Good enough features and electronics despite some real bone head decisions. Honda sensing is pretty mediocre against competitors: Radar cruise could be worse and you get used to it, standard cruise is slow to respond to adjustments, lane keeping is about average, collision avoidance is pathetic and dangerous, side traffic warning is decent. The Passport in particular is one of the better offroaders when compared to a Highlander or similar, but several brands are adding an inch of clearance or so to match now. The AWD is as good as anything out there. The stupid small sunroof and climate controls Honda has used for 15 years needs to go though. Same with their Nanny decision making on how certain functions should work. Almost as bad as Toyota with that.

All designed things are a collection of compromises, and I think the Passport is a good balance of driving feel, ability, features, reliability. Everything else I tried lacked one of those areas, while the Passport is decent or good enough in all of them. If you don't end up liking it, you won't be totally burnt on trade in value.

tasdisr said:

I was interested in seeing how the 2021 Sorento would look, but it appears that they have dropped the 6 cylinder engine. Don't really want a turbo 4.
I currently have a 2019 Jeep Cherokee that I am thinking of trading in on a Passport Elite. There have been 9 recalls on the 2019 Cherokee and luckily none have affected my Jeep, but I am concerned about how reliable it will be in the long run.

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Yikes 9 recalls but you escaped them all?! Sounds like the factories are very inconsistent?

I have been following as well to see how Kia changes the Sorento and how they resolve the engine issues that the 2.4 V4 and 3.0 liter V6 had. Very unimpressed to see them go smaller and turbo instead of just fixing manufacturing tolerances on a known good V6. This was part of the problem already- too much focus on small form factor engines and efficiency over reliability. The V6 was great except their manufacturing issues that caused early failures around 100K-130K miles for a surprising number of people. If it weren't for that flaw, and the slightly less responsive driving, almost no one would beat them in this segment. Now they are relegated to 3500 lbs max towing and all the issues that come with stupid small engines. Seems the Telluride might be their new best SUV.

Maybe Honda will rev. the Passport for 2023 to have as refined insides, features, and electronics as the competition. For now my 2019 will do.

Kids are home from College and having 3 cars for 4 drivers aint cutting it. The bride has been using the PP to go to work and she teases me how she spilled coffee over the shifter. Of course I check for curb rash. She drove it a few weeks back and didn't like it compared to her CRV. I was hoping she would so I'd just get a Sport for myself. She is on her 3rd CRV now and 2 Odysseys before that so she loves CRV's but will never get a Honda CVT again as ours failed at 62k. So we'll be switching to Toyota. Problem is I'm trying to source a RAV4 hybrid and first of all the supply is zip and then when you look at all the trims and option packages, it's crazy. Is it that hard to get an SUV with seat memory, homelink, a leather wrapped steering wheel, power liftgate, blind spot an cross traffic alert? With Toyota, it's so darn difficult. By the time you get what your're looking for you might as well get an RDX. Passport EX-L makes it so simple, it gives more than what we require and has the size and V6. If it wasn't for those 20 inch wheels out of the box it's so well equipped.