Overview & Reviews

Although millions of full-size pickup trucks are sold each year, only a fraction of them actually see an off-road trail, a large travel trailer or a boat ramp. The rest are daily drivers that make an occasional trip to Home Depot for 2x4s and patio furniture. For those consumers who desire a less bulky, less thirsty alternative that can still handle those occasional jobs, there's the Honda Ridgeline. This four-door ("crew cab") pickup truck has a number of distinctive features and, true to Honda's philosophy, it makes sense for smart consumers.

Current Honda Ridgeline
The Honda Ridgeline pickup is available in just one four-door body style. There are five trim levels: RT, Sport, RTS, RTL and top-of-the line SE. The Ridgeline's sole powertrain is a 250-horsepower V6 mated to a five-speed automatic. All-wheel drive is standard.

Standard feature highlights for the base RT include a power-sliding rear window, air-conditioning, a 60/40-split lift-up rear seat, a rearview camera, full power accessories, and a six-speaker sound system with a CD player. Moving up through the other trims adds luxuries such as alloy wheels, dual-zone automatic climate control, a power driver seat, upgraded audio systems, heated seats, leather seating and a navigation system with voice recognition and Bluetooth phone connectivity.

Rather than having a separate cab and bed, the Ridgeline's body unites the two. The Ridgeline's architecture combines the techniques of both unibody and full-frame construction. All Ridgelines include a hidden trunk in the cargo bed that doubles as an ice chest, a dent-proof bedliner, a four-wheel independent suspension (for a smoother ride and more agile handling) and a trailer hitch. Maximum towing capacity stands at 5,000 pounds.

In all but the most taxing situations, performance is respectable, and on the open highway the Honda Ridgeline is an effortless and quiet cruiser. As such, it is an ideal road trip vehicle, especially when said trip involves carrying bulky items. That easy-going demeanor, along with comfortable seats, plentiful storage cubbies, sound ergonomics and a relatively manageable size make the Honda Ridgeline a viable option as the sole family vehicle. While the cabin provides sedan-like comfort, the cargo bed effortlessly transports things such as camping gear or lawn supplies. Criticisms include the Ridgeline's aversion to off-road adventures, where its lack of a low-range gear and a tendency to bottom out don't help when tackling more rugged trails. Fuel economy for a V6-powered pickup is also disappointing.

If these shortcomings are meaningful to you, then you'll want to consider a pickup with true truck DNA. But if all you really need is the passenger space of an SUV and the utility of a pickup truck, the Ridgeline is an excellent choice.

Used Honda Ridgeline Models
The Ridgeline was introduced for the 2006 model year, available in RT, RTS and RTL trim levels. The following year the chrome-accented RTX debuted. There were only minor features updates until '09, when the RTX trim was dropped and the exterior and interior styling was updated.

Things stayed pat until 2012, when a new grille design and a new Sport trim level debuted, the latter slotted between the RT and RTS trims. That year also saw minor aerodynamic improvements and engine tweaks that boosted highway mileage by a single mpg. The following year brought a standard rearview camera for all trim levels.

User Reviews:

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  OLD MANS VIEW - 2017 Honda Ridgeline
  By paul trefethen - November 4 - 3:27 am

  shop a lot. buy thru a service if you can.

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  Ridgeline Truck rides like SUV - 2017 Honda Ridgeline
  By Hoa Vu - June 13 - 3:39 pm

  limited trim/model availability around Houston so have to do a lot of shop around.

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  Greta Honda Effort - 2017 Honda Ridgeline
  By nx - May 25 - 8:59 pm

  P/Us have been redefined and the Ridgeline is no exception. Its not a work truck, but it is a great utility vehicle thats comfortable to drive 7 days a week, including long trips. It doesnt lack for power, quite inside and a good deal of overall storage

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  Great truck - 2017 Honda Ridgeline
  By clifford carroll - May 8 - 12:26 pm

  Love it.

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  Urban Driver - 2017 Honda Ridgeline
  By Rey - January 31 - 6:30 pm

  Bought in March 2017. I previously owned a 2010 F150 and had to downsize because of moving to the city. I thought I would be regretting, but I was wrong. Got highway mileage of 28 mpg and the best on the F150 was 20 mpg. Rides very quiet with a soft car ride. I decided to add 4 pounds of air and feels more like a truck for me. I wish Honda would have options to add to these vehicles. I wanted moon roof and rear sliding window and had to go to upper model. I dont use the OEM navigation, but the Android Auto. That is fantastic with my Samsung smartphone. Adaptive cruise is great except when driver in front is slower and causes a rapid deceleration of your car. The truck is slow to get back to speed when passing. I have to manually accelerate to get to speed. Rain causes sensors to give false alarms and lane departure or lane mitigation sensors do not work while driving on the highway in the rain. This seams to be a problem with these sensors since I experienced the same thing with my 2010 F150. Read the manual, Honda is aware of this weather related problem. Materials are great except that they use thinner outside metal that gets easily dented. Overall I am very happy with my buy. Get many compliments.

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  Sweet & simple - 2017 Honda Ridgeline
  By JNauta - December 3 - 6:57 am

  Truck bed needs better rails to accommodate racks, different tie down configurations. Sliding rear window needs to be available across all the trim levels. Cup holders in the doors need to be deeper, water bottles keep flopping around when you drive. Heated seats need to be on a timmer to shut off after a extended amount of time, plus they dont really get that warm to begin with, you can barely tell they work. AWD needs more ground clearance for extra assurance on those rough dirt roads (like my old Tacoma prerunner). I do love the smooth and quieter ride than my 15 year old Tacoma.20

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  2017 Ridgeline Ups and Downs - 2017 Honda Ridgeline
  By Rick Perkins - November 17 - 1:36 am

  If you need a hauling vehicle that you dont mind using on a first date, the Ridgeline wont disappoint you. If you are a previous Ridgeline owner, you might have to overlook a few changes. Im not going into the technical specs. Trading in my silver 2008 RTL for a white 2017 RTL-T last month, Im still making some adjustments. Navigation and electronics: big upgrade. Little changes: Lock placement on glove compartment- Great; change in placement of rear sliding window-Bad (I did not get sliding window on my truck). Biggest adjustment: moving shifter from steering column to floor console eliminates several interior storage compartments that proved very useful in my 2008 truck. Biggest disappointment: I expected a better increase is gas mileage. My wifes hybrid makes me look like Im a gas guzzler. Most unique feature is still the "under the bed trunk". This feature, along with the comfortable interior and overall Honda quality, eliminated the competition for me.

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  wow what a truck - 2017 Honda Ridgeline
  By Socal truck lover - November 3 - 7:32 am

  If you go for the top edition which is the black edition, you will be happy at how it looks like a truck and acts like a truck be has a very suv feel to it. Its all wheel drive and at least 4 traction options. they there is the d4 option adds more capability to the truck. I also like the lighting, parking assist, blind spot asist, lane keeping assist, full voice control of audio and climate control and navigation and phone calls. I do not have to do anything. Hands free finally. I have had Jags, and tundra and jeep commander, bmw and I was shocked to get all this for less than a 3 series BMW. the truck bed is fully protected with a liner. You will never go back. To anything else.

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  dashboard problem - 2017 Honda Ridgeline
  By Patrick Le Beau - October 20 - 2:00 am

  With less than 1000 miles on my new 2017 truck I get a message on my dashboard between the speedometer and the tach that there is a problem with just about all the systems on the truck. There are no problems , but the computer says there are. Something is wrong with the wireing system . A new wireing harness must be ordered. I will update this to see if this cures the problem.

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  Quality control - 2017 Honda Ridgeline
  By david asher - September 26 - 7:24 am

  I have no power to the trailing wire harness. I cannot believe that a quality control issue has come up straight from the factory. This truck should never been sold without a thorough check of all the systems. The dealer is ordering a wiring harness but this issue should never had been allowed to leave the dealership or the factory for that matter. Not very happy and will consider another brand in the future