Hyundai Santa Fe Sport vs Honda Passport: which is more reliable?
The Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and the Honda Passport are level on the federal record — 68/100 against 66/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
- 6 model years scored
- 1,266 owner complaints on record
- about 22 complaints per year on the road
- 22 recall campaigns, 12 safety-critical
- best year 2016 (93/100) · worst 2018 (37/100)
Honda Passport
- 7 model years scored
- 653 owner complaints on record
- about 22 complaints per year on the road
- 37 recall campaigns, 17 safety-critical
- best year 2024 (88/100) · worst 2019 (30/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Santa Fe Sport against Passport
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
- Engine — 720 complaints
- Service Brakes — 225 complaints
- Hydraulic — 154 complaints
Honda Passport
- Electrical System — 168 complaints
- Forward Collision Avoidance — 166 complaints
- Engine — 121 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Santa Fe Sport's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Passport's in Electrical System. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport — avoid: 2017, 2018.
Honda Passport — avoid: 2019.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Hyundai Santa Fe Sport prices at about $22,100 and a Honda Passport at about $40,800 — the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport is roughly $18,700 less, and they return 22.0 against 21.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport or the Honda Passport more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport scores 68/100 against the Honda Passport's 66/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and Honda Passport years should I avoid?
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport: 2017, 2018. Honda Passport: 2019. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and the Honda Passport?
The largest complaint group on the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport is Engine (720 complaints); on the Honda Passport it is Electrical System (168).
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport or the Honda Passport cheaper to own?
A recent used Hyundai Santa Fe Sport prices at about $22,100 and a Honda Passport at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.