2022 Honda Ridgeline Best Buy Review

IT’S A BEST BUY BECAUSE:

The Ridgeline offers outstanding comfort, convenience, and on-road driving dynamics for a pickup truck, along with a compelling array of clever technology and utility features.

BUT…

There’s only one body style and one drivetrain, and starting prices are higher than similar-size rivals’.

WORTH NOTING:

Unlike the majority of its class competitors, the Ridgeline is based on a unibody front-wheel-drive chassis with an independent rear suspension.

WHAT IS IT?

Ridgeline is Honda’s entry in the compact-pickup segment. After taking the 2015 and 2016 model years off, the Ridgeline was re-introduced—and completely redesigned—for 2017. Among the Ridgeline’s unique features are a handy under-floor trunk in the pickup bed that can be used as an 82-quart cooler, and a dual-hinged tailgate that can drop down like a traditional pickup’s or be opened to the side like a door. The pickup bed itself can be turned into a speaker for the audio system, thanks to “exciters” that are built into the bed walls; the bed itself becomes the speaker’s cone. An HPD (Honda Performance Development) Package adds a unique grille treatment, black fender flares, bronze-colored wheels, and HPD graphics on the bed sides. Other available features include a multi-view rearview camera, keyless access and starting, heated front seats, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto functionality, adaptive cruise control, and a heated steering wheel. Available safety features include forward collision warning and mitigation, lane-keep assist, blind-spot alert with rear cross-traffic alert, and front and rear obstacle detection.

WHAT’S NEW?

After receiving a styling/infotainment-system refresh and losing its front-wheel-drive models last year, the Ridgeline sees no significant changes for 2022.

FUEL ECONOMY

Ridgelines are EPA-rated at 18 mpg city/24 mpg highway. In Consumer Guide® testing, a top-line Black Edition model averaged 20.3 mpg in 70-percent city driving, and a Sport model with the HPD Package averaged 21.3 mpg in 75-percent highway driving.

VALUE IN CLASS

Ridgeline blends pickup-truck utility with carlike civility in a solid, sensible package. The light-duty design won’t suit hardcore truckers or extreme off-roaders, but should meet the needs of the vast majority of the pickup-buying public. What really secures the Ridgeline’s Best Buy status is its all-around refinement and impressive list of available comfort and convenience features.

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