Compare the2026 Honda PassportVS 2025 Mercedes GLB

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Passport are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The GLB doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Honda Passport has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps 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 GLB doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Passport deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Passport’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The GLB’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Passport has a standard Low-Speed Braking Control that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The GLB doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Passport. But it costs extra on the GLB.

The Passport’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLB.

Both the Passport and the GLB have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Honda Passport weighs 587 to 1067 pounds more than the Mercedes GLB. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Honda’s powertrain warranty covers the Passport 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the GLB. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the GLB ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 3 times as many Honda dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Passport’s warranty.

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 Passport’s reliability 25 points higher than the GLB.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 25 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes With 12 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Honda higher than Mercedes.

The Passport’s 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 64 more horsepower (285 vs. 221) and 4 lbs.-ft. more torque (262 vs. 258) than the GLB’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Passport’s fuel efficiency. The GLB doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Honda Passport uses regular unleaded gasoline. The GLB requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Passport has 2.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLB (18.5 vs. 15.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Passport has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The GLB doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Honda Passport higher (7 out of 10) than the Mercedes GLB (6). This means the Passport produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the GLB every 15,000 miles.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Honda Passport, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the GLB.

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

For better traction, the Passport has larger standard tires than the GLB (265/60R18 vs. 235/55R18). The Passport TrailSport’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the GLB (275/60R18 vs. 235/55R18).

The Passport has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The GLB doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Passport offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the GLB; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed. Some tire options on the GLB don’t have a run-flat feature, either.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Passport’s wheelbase is 2.2 inches longer than on the GLB (113.6 inches vs. 111.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Passport is 5.5 inches wider in the front and 5.7 inches wider in the rear than on the GLB.

For greater off-road capability the Passport has a greater minimum ground clearance than the GLB (8.3 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Passport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Passport uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The GLB doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Passport has 6 inches more front shoulder room, 1.4 inches more rear headroom, 2.8 inches more rear legroom and 6.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLB.

The Passport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the GLB with its rear seat up (44 vs. 12.4 cubic feet). The Passport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the GLB with its rear seat folded (83.8 vs. 62 cubic feet).

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Passport’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The GLB doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Passport has a 5000 lbs. towing capacity. The GLB has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the Passport uses the Vehicle Stability Assist sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The GLB doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Passport has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the GLB only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Passport has standard extendable sun visors. The GLB doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Passport to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The GLB doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Both the Passport and the GLB have standard heated front seats. The Passport TrailSport Elite also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated second row seats aren’t available in the GLB.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Passport TrailSport Elite keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The GLB doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

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

The Honda Passport outsold the Mercedes GLB by almost two to one during 2024.