Volkswagen Atlas vs Honda Passport: which is more reliable?
The Volkswagen Atlas and the Honda Passport are level on the federal record — 64/100 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
Volkswagen Atlas
- 8 model years scored
- 1,939 owner complaints on record
- about 55 complaints per year on the road
- 64 recall campaigns, 30 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (87/100) · worst 2021 (42/100)
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: Atlas 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
Volkswagen Atlas
- Electrical System — 472 complaints
- Air Bags — 363 complaints
- Engine — 357 complaints
Honda Passport
- Electrical System — 168 complaints
- Forward Collision Avoidance — 166 complaints
- Engine — 121 complaints
Both nameplates have Electrical System as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Volkswagen Atlas — avoid: 2021.
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 Volkswagen Atlas prices at about $44,100 and a Honda Passport at about $40,800 — the Honda Passport is roughly $3,300 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 Volkswagen Atlas or the Honda Passport more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Honda Passport scores 66/100 against the Volkswagen Atlas's 64/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Volkswagen Atlas and Honda Passport years should I avoid?
Volkswagen Atlas: 2021. 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 Volkswagen Atlas and the Honda Passport?
The largest complaint group on the Volkswagen Atlas is Electrical System (472 complaints); on the Honda Passport it is Electrical System (168).
Is the Volkswagen Atlas or the Honda Passport cheaper to own?
A recent used Volkswagen Atlas prices at about $44,100 and a Honda Passport at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.