Honda Ridgeline

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The verdict: The Honda Ridgeline mid-size pickup truck gains a more rugged TrailSport trim level for 2024, but the truck remains chiefly a convenient on-road cargo hauler. It’s starting to feel very dated, though; it would benefit immensely from the same platform switch and upgrades that the Honda Pilot SUV recently received.

Versus the competition: The Ridgeline won our most recent mid-size pickup truck comparison test, but the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma have all been redesigned since then. The gap feels much narrower now — if one exists at all.

Honda’s formula for its Ridgeline pickup is brilliant: Use unibody construction to provide competent on-road performance and a car-like feel while still giving buyers the utility of a pickup truck and more capability than many owners will ever need. In recent years, Honda has added more rugged-looking appearance packages and equipment to the Ridgeline — occasionally with unfortunate-sounding names like HPD (for Honda Performance Development) — and that’s culminated in the addition of a new-to-the-Ridgeline TrailSport trim for 2024. (The TrailSport badge first appeared on the 2022 Passport and Pilot SUVs.) With all-terrain tires and a bit more underbody protection, the 2024 Ridgeline TrailSport aims to compete with off-road-oriented versions of traditional body-on-frame mid-size pickups from Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Jeep, Nissan and Toyota.

Related: 2024 Honda Ridgeline Priced From $41,125; New TrailSport Starts at $46,355

We tested the all-new 2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport to see how the new trim affects the Ridgeline’s historical strength of on-road driving refinement and to see how it stacks up against the competition.

Drives Like a Minivan

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If you just read “drives like a minivan” and find that unappealing, hold on; it’s not an insult. The Ridgeline is related to Honda’s Odyssey minivan, so of course it’s going to have similar driving characteristics. Until recently, that fact made the Ridgeline significantly better to drive on-road than every other mid-size pickup. Even with the addition of the TrailSport trim and all-terrain tires, the 2024 Ridgeline retains the serene ride that’s made it a favorite among our staff. The Ridgeline’s problem is that other mid-size trucks are narrowing the gap by getting better in this regard. Where the Ridgeline maintains its most significant advantage is in overall body control when unladen; over bumps and road imperfections — where body-on-frame pickups can struggle — the Honda remains composed.

We didn’t get a chance to test the Ridgeline TrailSport off-road, but we’ve seen older Ridgelines with the same all-wheel-drive system and street tires keep up with traditional trucks on off-road courses. Ridgelines are more capable than they appear, but this truck isn’t meant to compete with serious off-roaders like the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, GMC Canyon AT4X AEV Edition and Ford Ranger Raptor.

The Ridgeline TrailSport’s steering feels vague and uncommunicative. That isn’t unique for a pickup truck, but given the Ridgeline’s car-like ride — and Honda’s usual penchant for sharper steering — it’s disappointing. It’s especially disappointing for me given I’ve experienced the redesigned 2023 Pilot SUV, which has much better steering feel even in its own Trailsport trim. (The Ridgeline uses a stretched version of the previous-generation Pilot’s platform.) Here’s hoping the Ridgeline gets the same treatment soon, as it would significantly improve this truck’s everyday driving characteristics.

The only engine available in the Ridgeline is a 3.5-liter V-6 that makes 280 horsepower and 262 pounds-feet of torque. It’s enough to motivate the Ridgeline from stoplight to stoplight without much issue, but it has some difficulties at highway speeds. That seems to be the fault of the standard nine-speed automatic transmission, which is clumsy; it has a hard time with both up- and downshifts, and it never seems to be in the right gear. Selecting the transmission’s Sport mode keeps engine revs up and delivers power more quickly when you put your foot down, but the trade-off is increased engine noise.

The Ridgeline’s clunky transmission behavior could be forgiven if it offered a significant benefit in fuel economy versus its relatively inefficient peers, but the best the 2024 Ridgeline can offer is EPA-estimated gas mileage of 18/24/21 mpg city/highway/combined. The TrailSport’s fuel economy drops to 18/23/20 mpg. Both ratings are similar to what four-wheel-drive competitors offer, but in our driving, the Ridgeline’s trip computer showed fuel economy of around 17 mpg — another disappointment. The Ridgeline’s competitors are increasingly moving toward smaller but more powerful turbocharged engines, and Toyota is even adding a hybrid powertrain to its venerable Tacoma.

The Ridgeline’s serene ride still makes it my choice for an everyday, on-road mid-size pickup — even in the off-road TrailSport trim – but it’s no longer as far in front of its competition as it once was.

Capability may also be a factor for shoppers. I’m a firm believer that the Ford Maverick compact pickup — with its 1,500-pound maximum payload capacity, 4,000-pound maximum towing capacity and 54-inch bed — is plenty of pickup truck when you consider how most owners use their trucks on a daily basis. The Ridgeline offers a bit more capability, with a 1,583-pound maximum payload rating and 5,000-pound towing capacity, but those numbers are still on the low side compared with body-on-frame competitors. The Ridgeline’s lack of an integrated trailer brake controller — or any of the trick towing tech the new 2024 Ford Ranger offers — might make the Honda an untenable proposition for some buyers. But if you just want to haul mulch or furniture every now and then, the Ridgeline will be perfect.

Less Like a Minivan Inside

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Updates to the Ridgeline’s interior are minor, similar to what we saw on the revised 2024 Passport. The roll-top center console has been replaced by a larger one with a traditional armrest, and the previous integrated inboard armrests on the front seats are gone. While my colleague Damon Bell liked these changes in the 2024 Passport, however, I don’t like them here. It makes the Ridgeline more like its competition while also making its interior feel worse. I found the old integrated armrests useful, and the previous center console was lower and made the cockpit feel more open.

Two positive interior changes in the 2024 Ridgeline are the addition of a standard 9-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, plus a large phone storage space ahead of the gear selector that’s big enough for two large smartphones side by side. There’s also a single wireless charging pad. The Ridgeline uses Honda’s unintuitive button-heavy electronic gear selector, which has the same footprint as a traditional lever.

While the new 9-inch touchscreen is an inch larger than the old one, and Honda says the system has a faster processor, the graphics feel dated and the screen isn’t angled to make it easy for the driver to see and operate. The instrument panel includes both a physical speedometer and a digital tachometer on a configurable 7-inch display. It looks dated in an era of fully digital instrument panels with crisper graphics.

Outward visibility is another positive, as it has been in prior Ridgelines. The truck’s hood is low and short; the windshield is upright; and the side mirrors are mounted on the doors, giving the driver excellent forward visibility. Narrow B-pillars and a large rear window aid rear visibility.

Getting into either row of the Ridgeline is easy, with a low step-in height compared with most pickups. Backseat room is mostly excellent, though rear legroom may be a bit tight for taller passengers. And with no third row, that’s where the minivan comparison is, well, cut short.

Smart Storage

Using a pickup truck as an everyday vehicle can be fraught. Without a tonneau cover over the bed, anything you keep back there will be exposed to the elements and the public, and carrying groceries in the backseat means your crew-cab truck now has room for just two people. When we owned a 2022 Maverick as a long-term test vehicle, we had to buy a pricey hard tonneau cover in order to return the truck’s backseat to passenger duty. Ford acknowledged the issue of covered storage in pickups with the refreshed 2024 F-150’s available Pro Access Tailgate, which can combine with a tonneau cover and bed divider to transform the cargo bed into a usable, accessible trunk-like storage area. Other truck manufacturers have different takes on in-bed storage — Ram’s Ram Box compartments and the Chevrolet Silverado EV’s mid-gate cargo pass-through, for example — but I think the Ridgeline does it best.

The Ridgeline’s tailgate can open in traditional drop-down fashion, but it’s also hinged on the driver’s side so it can open like a door, giving you better access to the truck’s lockable in-bed storage compartment. The compartment — which includes drains in case of water intrusion or wet cargo — can fit a number of grocery bags with ease, keeping your backseat free for passengers or pets. Unfortunately, this compartment is also where the spare tire is stored; if you’ve got cargo in the truck’s bed and find yourself in need of the spare, you’ll be in some additional trouble.

If you do need to use the cabin for extra storage space, the rear seat cushion folds up in a 60/40 split to reveal a flat, low load floor. There’s also an additional small storage compartment under the seats. It’s not quite the Odyssey minivan’s Magic Seat third row, but it’s very useful.

The Ridgeline’s cargo bed itself is also extremely convenient on its own merits. Its construction keeps the bed width uniform — no wheel wells intruding into the space like its body-on-frame competitors. The result is you can carry wider items flat on the bed floor; other mid-size trucks are constrained by the narrowest point at the wheel wells.

More From Cars.com:

• New TrailSport Joins Honda Ridgeline Family for 2024
• 2024 Honda Ridgeline Up Close: Ridgeline Line Now Sports a TrailSport
• What Are the Best MPG Pickup Trucks?
• Research the 2024 Honda Ridgeline
• Shop for a 2024 Honda Ridgeline

Pricey for the Class

The only area where the Ridgeline really struggles to compete is its price. With a base price north of $41,000 (including destination), the Ridgeline is significantly pricier than all its competitors save the Jeep Gladiator — even when selecting a crew-cab body style, automatic transmission and 4WD. The Honda’s better ride quality and smart storage solutions may be worth the added cost, but know that things only go up from there: The TrailSport we tested was nearly $47,000, which isn’t chump change.

If you want the comfort of a car with the occasional utility of a pickup truck, the Ridgeline is an excellent choice. If you care more about the latter — at the expense of the former — there are better alternatives in the mid-size truck class. 

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