Honda Passport TrailSport vs. Toyota 4Runner Limited vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland: Which Midsize SUV Should You Buy?

• The Honda Passport is new and ready to take on its biggest competitors in the off-road SUV market.
• We pulled together the Toyota 4Runner Limited and Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland to see how the Passport stacks up.
• After our thorough review process, we decided on a clear winner.

We test everything

The 2026 Passport TrailSport Elite has a 3.5-liter V6 under the hood with 285 horsepower. Mated to a 10-speed automatic, the Passport does a great job on the pavement. The suspension here is a bit soft, but all in all, it’s a comfortable and confident ride. Honda also includes driver aids like blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, and lane centering, which are standard on all trims. 

Inside, you’ll find plenty of storage with three-tiered door pockets and 10 cupholders. We found the materials are all pleasing to touch, and the back seat is the roomiest of the bunch. The 12.3-inch center touchscreen is responsive and is loaded with Google Built-In. It’s great to have Google Maps and Assistant here as well as access to the Google Play Store for apps. You can also use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. 

After 14 years, the Toyota 4Runner finally gets a reboot for 2025, going from a V6 powerplant to a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The 4Runner also comes with a hybrid engine, but ours was the gas-only version. Instead, we have 278 ponies getting to the pavement via an eight-speed automatic transmission. The 4Runner is the only body-on-frame SUV in the bunch, a fact that becomes very obvious once you get behind the wheel. There is abundant body roll and it seems like every imperfection in the pavement comes right up through the chassis. The other two SUVs are much more pleasurable to drive. However, Toyota does include all the expected driver aids as standard fare.

The interior of the 4Runner skews more utilitarian with chunky knobs and a big shifter. We really like the cargo shelf built into the dash, and there are lots of little spaces for smaller items. However, the back seat is cramped, and the optional third row is best left for very small children. This Limited trim gets a 14-inch center touchscreen that responds quickly enough, but it doesn’t exactly set the world on fire with innovative features. We found it easier to use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto during our testing.

Finally, we have the Jeep Grand Cherokee. This fifth generation has been around since 2021, meaning that we expect a midcycle refresh at some point. For now, you’ll get the 3.6-liter V6 engine with 293 horsepower and an eight-speed automatic transmission. On the pavement, the Grand Cherokee is not quite as refined as the Passport, but it’s way smoother than the 4Runner. We wish the steering were a bit more accurate, but the Jeep can tow up to 6,200 pounds. Adaptive cruise control is standard, but if you want lane centering, you’ll need to add a nearly $3,000 package. While the Grand Cherokee is the only SUV here that offers a hands-free/eyes-up driving assistant, ticking that $3,000 option box adds all the packages, so your final cost is an extra $9,600 or so.

Inside, the Grand Cherokee leans into luxury much more than the other two SUVs here. Leather is standard on this trim, and you can even get massaging front seats if you want. Keep in mind that the copious amount of piano black trim only looks good until you start touching it. Then the fingerprint smudges and scratches just look cheap. The rear seats are pretty firm, and it seems like the high floor forces knees to forehead just a bit. A 10.1-inch touchscreen does a great job with infotainment duties, coupled with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the McIntosh sound system is the best of the three to boot.

And then of course, there is the biggest factor of all: the price. In the trim, the Passport beat the cost of the other two by at least $6,000, showing its impressive value for the money. The 4Runner gobsmacked us with its nearly $63,000 sticker price — for that kind of money, it should ride like a dream and it just doesn’t. The Jeep is only slightly more affordable than the 4Runner, coming in just under $60,000

Passport to victory

The Honda Passport scores an impressive 8.3 out of 10 in our Edmunds ratings system. That puts it handily ahead of the 4Runner and the Grand Cherokee, which both scored 7.6. If you don't need the off-road superiority that a TRD Pro offers, then the Passport TrailSport is the most well-rounded vehicle here. And it's just a bonus that it comes in at the lowest price.