2021 Honda Ridgeline: The City Truck that Stole My Heart

Erica Mueller |

Updated: Aug 18, 2024

A Girls Guide To Cars | 2021 Honda Ridgeline: The City Truck That Stole My Heart - 2021 Honda Ridgeline Review Featured

The Honda Ridgeline pickup truck has received a lot of flack over the years.

Truck enthusiasts are not the biggest fans of this vehicle’s unibody construction, and many claim it doesn’t even look like a real truck. However, the Honda Ridgeline has held its own with an audience who loves a more urban style and wants the utility of a pickup truck while enjoying something a little smaller and easier to park and drive in a city environment. The 2021 Honda Ridgeline keeps all the things Ridgeline fans love but opens up the truck to a whole new fan base with its more rugged appearance.

Falling in Love with a City Truck

Okay, I’ve driven a Ridgeline before, so I entered this week with some preconceived notions about the 2021 Honda Ridgeline. I knew the looks had been updated a bit, but I wasn’t prepared to actually love this little truck. From my first drive, I loved the way it handled and how grounded the truck felt on the road. While I’m a huge fan of the “truck feeling” when I drive a large pickup, I really appreciated the more refined ride the Ridgeline offers due to its unibody construction. The smoothness feels more like an SUV, and that’s a good thing when you drive a lot of miles like I do.

I found the Ridgeline to be very comfortable. Not only was the ride smooth, but the seats felt good, I didn’t feel cramped at all, and I was able to put all three of my kids across the back seat. One of them is 6 feet tall, and the baby is in a large convertible car seat. This impressed me. Speaking of car seats, the 2021 Honda Ridgeline has easy-to-access LATCH clips.

After just a few days, I could totally see myself owning one of these as a daily driver. That’s saying a lot for a girl who loves big trucks and SUVs and never thought she’d consider a small truck.

The 2021 Honda Ridgeline has converted me.

What You Need to Know About the 2021 Honda Ridgeline

The Ridgeline is far from a luxury truck. The model we drove had an adjustable driver’s seat, but it was manual, not electric. The steering wheel does tilt and telescope, but again this is something one does manually. There are no memory settings. That said, I enjoyed the truck so much that these things really didn’t bother me. Once I had things set the way I liked, I was able to just leave them. Here are a few of the main features that come standard on the Ridgeline AWD Sport.

280 horsepower, 3.5L V6 engine
9-speed automatic transmission
18 city / 24 highway and 21 combined estimated miles per gallon
All-wheel-drive
18″ alloy wheels
Auto on/off LED headlights
LED fog lights
In-bed trunk
Remote start
Adaptive cruise control
Lane keep assist
Push-button start
Backup camera
Bluetooth enabled
7-speaker audio system
Wireless charging
60/40 split fold-up rear seat with a fold-down center console
LATCH system for child seats
MSRP $36,490
Model I drove: $40,860

Available new post-production option packages (factory installed)

HPD Package ($2,800): 18” HPD alloy wheels, fender flares, grille, HPD decals and emblem
Utility Package ($1,465): Running boards, roof rails, crossbars
Function Package ($270): Bed cargo net, trunk cargo net, trunk cargo dividers, first-aid kit
Function+ Package ($1,315): Hard Tonneau cover, bed cargo net, trunk cargo net, trunk cargo dividers, first-aid kit

The appearance package on the model I drove was the Honda Performance Development package. I really liked the decals but was not a fan of the bronze wheels or the plastic fender flares. The flares just looked and felt cheap. I would probably choose not to get the HPD package for these reasons. It also had a premium paint color which added to the final price, but I loved the color! Everything else about the truck is the same as the Sport model.

Related: Our 5 Favorite Trucks, Minivans and SUVs for Tailgating

Did You Know?

The Ridgeline comes standard with all-wheel drive, has the heaviest standard payload in its class, and offers the largest standard bed in its class. These little facts were new to me and just made me love the Ridgeline even more. Honda boasts that the Ridgeline also has the largest and most comfortable cabin of any mid-size truck, and I have to agree.