2020 Honda Passport vs 2021 Chevrolet Blazer

The 2020 Honda Passport followed Honda's traditional design language, offering a familiar yet appealing aesthetic. Its exterior resembled a smaller Honda Pilot but with a more rugged and athletic appearance, bridging the gap between the Pilot and the CR-V. The Passport's design included a scratch-resistant matte black grille, 20-inch black alloy wheels, and black-rimmed LED headlights, giving it a robust look. The interior was sophisticated, featuring a mix of durable and soft-touch materials, with the Elite trim offering heated and ventilated front seats, a leather-trimmed heated steering wheel, and a moonroof. The design emphasized spaciousness and comfort, making it a practical choice for frequent Honda buyers.

In contrast, the 2021 Chevrolet Blazer aimed to evoke the excitement of a sports car with its aggressive styling. Its exterior featured a wedgy profile, slim-cut windows, and a bold front end with thin lights and a tall, black grille. The Blazer's design drew comparisons to the Lamborghini Urus, making it a standout in terms of looks. However, the interior fell short, with a dark and unsatisfying cabin, featureless seats, and downmarket materials. Despite its stylish exterior, the Blazer's interior did not match the quality expected at its price point, especially when compared to competitors like the Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy and Toyota Venza Limited.

The 2020 Honda Passport was equipped with a 3.5-liter V6 engine producing 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque, paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission. While the engine provided sufficient power for various driving situations, its fuel economy was less impressive, achieving 20 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, and 22 mpg combined for FWD models. AWD models performed slightly worse. The Passport excelled in off-road conditions, thanks to its torque-vectoring AWD system and drive modes for Snow, Sand, and Mud. It could tow up to 5,000 pounds, outperforming rivals like the Nissan Murano and Chevrolet Blazer.

The 2021 Chevrolet Blazer offered three engine options: a 2.5-liter inline-four with 193 horsepower, a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder with 227 horsepower, and a 3.6-liter V6 with 308 horsepower. The V6, available on the RS trim, provided the best performance, making the Blazer feel strong and agile. However, the transmission calibration had issues, particularly in Sport mode, where it failed to downshift quickly enough. The Blazer's fuel economy was average, with the AWD V6 achieving 19 mpg city, 26 mpg highway, and 21 mpg combined. The Blazer could tow up to 4,500 pounds with the V6 and trailering package, but its base engine was underpowered and noisy.

The 2020 Honda Passport was a practical midsize SUV with ample interior space and comfort. It offered spacious seats for four adults, height-adjustable seatbelts, and three full LATCH connections for child safety seats. The Passport excelled in cargo space, providing 41.2 cubic feet behind the rear seats and the most under-floor storage in its class. The interior featured thoughtful storage solutions, such as a large center console and secondary shelf space in the front doors. The Passport's heating and cooling functionalities were effective, and the available tri-zone automatic climate control and second-row sunshades added to passenger comfort.

The 2021 Chevrolet Blazer also seated four comfortably, with seats mounted lower into the floor for easy entry and exit. However, its sightlines were poor due to the low roof height, though large side-view mirrors and optional rear-view mirror camera helped improve visibility. The Blazer offered 64 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats folded and 30 cubic feet with them raised. It could tow up to 4,500 pounds with the V6 and trailering package. The Blazer featured simple and handy controls, such as movable rings around the front air vents for temperature adjustment and a hands-free power tailgate. The infotainment system was fast and easy to use, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard.

The 2020 Honda Passport came with a 5.0-inch display monitor on the base Sport model, while higher trims featured an 8.0-inch Display Audio infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. The larger screen was responsive and easy to navigate, though the dashboard design looked somewhat outdated. Standard features included Bluetooth, a USB port, and a seven-speaker audio system, with higher trims offering a 10-speaker audio system, satellite radio, additional USB ports, a wireless phone charger, and a Wi-Fi hotspot.

The 2021 Chevrolet Blazer featured an 8-inch touchscreen with Chevrolet Infotainment 3, offering wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. The RS trim with the Driver Confidence II package added wireless phone charging, a rear camera washer, LED headlights, 360 cameras, adaptive cruise control, and the Safety Alert Seat. The infotainment system included navigation, 4G WiFi, onboard apps, and better voice recognition. Unique GM features included the ability to upload settings to a GM cloud account and the Marketplace app for contactless payments. Driver assists were standard on most trims, including forward automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, and automatic high beams.

The 2020 Honda Passport prioritized safety, earning good scores from the IIHS and NHTSA, and was named an IIHS Top Safety Pick. It came standard with the Honda Sensing suite, which included collision mitigation braking, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, automatic emergency braking, and adaptive cruise control. Higher trims offered additional features like dynamic gridlines for the rearview camera, blind-spot monitoring, parking sensors, and rear cross-traffic detection.

The 2021 Chevrolet Blazer received an overall five-star rating from the NHTSA and top "Good" ratings from the IIHS in crash tests, though its headlights received "Marginal" and "Poor" ratings. It featured a standard driver's knee airbag and enhanced forward emergency braking on top trims. However, it lacked an inboard side airbag and rear emergency braking.