2025 Honda Ridgeline

The 3.5L SOHC i-VTEC V6 is the only engine in the 2025 lineup (Sport, RTL, TrailSport, Black Edition); 2025 is a carry-over year of the second generation, which was refreshed for 2024.

Naturally aspirated V6 makes 262 lb-ft, identical on every trim — well below turbocharged mid-size rivals such as the Colorado (430 lb-ft) and Tacoma (317 lb-ft).

Car and Driver ran a 2024 TrailSport — the same 280-hp V6 / 9-speed / AWD combination carried over unchanged into 2025 — to 60 in 6.0 s; the RTL volume trim is estimated in the 6.0–6.5 s range.

The naturally aspirated V6 is consistently praised as smooth and linear, with no turbo lag and transparent cylinder deactivation. It lacks the low-end shove of turbo or hybrid rivals, keeping it out of the top band.

The 9-speed automatic (shift-by-wire, paddle shifters) is generally smooth and decisive; the occasional busy shifting on grades is the main complaint.

Every 2025 Ridgeline is rated at 5,000 lbs — trailing body-on-frame mid-size rivals (Tacoma up to 6,500, Colorado up to 7,700, Ranger up to 7,500).

Maximum payload is the Sport's 1,583 lbs; the RTL volume trim carries 1,544 lbs. Lower half of the mid-size class.

Standard integrated Class III hitch with 7-pin connector, trailer stability assist via VSA and a multi-angle rearview camera help with towing, but there is no factory integrated trailer brake controller, trailer backup assist or dedicated trailer cameras.

i-VTM4 torque-vectoring AWD is standard on every 2025 Ridgeline with Intelligent Traction Management modes (Snow, Sand, Mud, plus Trail on TrailSport). No low-range transfer case keeps it from the top of the band.

TrailSport adds off-road-tuned suspension, all-terrain tires, steel skid plate and Trail torque logic, but the unibody chassis, no low range and no locking differentials keep it short of Tacoma TRD Pro or Colorado ZR2-class hardware.

A single 3.5L V6 / 9-speed / AWD powertrain across every trim — no turbo, hybrid, PHEV or EV variant, unlike Tacoma (i-Force Max hybrid) or Maverick (hybrid + turbo).

EPA combined rating for the AWD 3.5L V6 / 9AT volume trims (Sport, RTL, Black Edition); TrailSport is 1 MPG lower on all-terrain tires.

EPA city rating, shared by every 2025 trim including TrailSport.

EPA highway rating for the volume Sport/RTL/Black Edition trims; TrailSport drops 1 MPG.

EPA-listed total range for the volume AWD configuration (19.5-gal tank × 21 MPG combined).

EPA's current annual fuel cost estimate for the volume AWD configuration at its standard mileage and fuel-price assumptions.

Runs on regular unleaded on every trim — no premium recommendation, no diesel/E85 complexity, no charging needs.

The 2025 Ridgeline (second generation, 2017-on, carry-over year after the 2024 refresh) holds NHTSA's 5-star overall rating with 5 stars frontal and side and 4 stars rollover.

No IIHS award for 2025. Driver-side small overlap and updated side are Good, but passenger-side small overlap is only Acceptable (head slid off the airbag into the dash) and the updated moderate overlap test is Poor because of weak rear-passenger protection — a key test under current IIHS criteria.

Every 2025 Ridgeline trim (Sport, RTL, TrailSport, Black Edition) gets Honda Sensing — AEB (CMBS), forward collision warning, lane keeping assist, road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise with low-speed follow, auto high beams — plus Blind Spot Information and Cross Traffic Monitor. All five core features are standard across the range.

CMBS with pedestrian detection is standard and earned Superior in IIHS's legacy vehicle-to-vehicle test for this generation, but it uses Honda's older radar/camera Sensing hardware rather than the newer wide-view camera, and no current IIHS updated front crash prevention or nighttime pedestrian rating was found for 2025.

Blind Spot Information and Cross Traffic Monitor are standard on every trim, which beats several mid-size rivals, but both are alert-only — no active lane-change steering intervention, rear cross-traffic braking or trailer-length blind-spot coverage.

LKAS and Road Departure Mitigation are standard and functional, but LKAS only operates above roughly 45 mph and reviewers find its steering assistance less capable than rivals' current lane-centering systems.

ACC with Low-Speed Follow covers stop-and-go traffic, but there is no Traffic Jam Assist and reviewers criticize it for braking too much and accelerating back to speed slowly.

No hands-free highway driving system is offered on any 2025 Ridgeline trim; Honda has nothing equivalent to Super Cruise or BlueCruise in this truck.

IIHS rates the headlights Marginal on every trim (LED projector low beams, halogen reflector high beams, no curve-adaptive lighting). Auto high-beam assist is standard but does not lift the rating.

The unibody Ridgeline's lower beltline and shorter hood give better sightlines than body-on-frame mid-size trucks; a multi-angle rearview camera is standard, but there is no 360-degree camera system, so near-vehicle blind zones rely on parking sensors on upper trims.

Crew-cab-only body with wide rear doors and a roomy, flat-floored rear seat makes installing seats easy, and all three rear positions have full LATCH hardware — but IIHS rates LATCH ease of use only Acceptable.

The 2025 Ridgeline (second generation, carry-over year after the 2024 refresh) is sold only as a five-passenger crew cab.

Honda lists 40.1 in of front headroom for Sport and RTL, mid-pack for the truck band.

40.9 in of front legroom is just below the bottom of the truck band — a consequence of the Pilot-derived unibody packaging.

38.8 in of second-row headroom is adequate for adults but toward the lower end of the truck band.

36.7 in of rear legroom is mid-size-truck typical — usable for adults, far short of full-size crew cabs; the flat rear floor helps it feel roomier than the figure.

One 64-in bed is offered; the bed is wide enough between the wheel wells to carry 4-ft sheet goods flat, but length is on the short side of the band.

Open-bed volume of 33.9 cu ft is modest; the 7.3 cu ft in-bed trunk under the floor adds secure, weatherproof space not counted here.

Segment-standout utility: lockable, drainable in-bed trunk, dual-action tailgate, flip-up rear seat cushions with under-seat storage, a large center console and standard wireless charging. The bed AC outlet is limited to upper trims, which keeps it short of the top band.

Front seats are supportive and the RTL adds perforated leather with a 10-way power driver seat and memory; the rear bench is roomy and well-angled but the cushion is somewhat flat.

The unibody chassis and independent rear suspension give the smoothest, most crossover-like ride in the mid-size truck class, with none of the unladen rear-axle hop of body-on-frame rivals.

Wind and road noise are well controlled for a pickup, quieter than Tacoma/Frontier at cruise, though the V6 grows vocal at high rpm and TrailSport's all-terrain tires add some hum.

Tri-zone automatic climate with rear controls is standard on every trim, and heated front seats come from RTL up; but the heated wheel is TrailSport/Black Edition only and ventilated fronts plus heated rear seats are Black Edition exclusives.

The 2025 Sport entry trim starts at $40,150 plus $1,450 destination. Standard i-VTM4 AWD keeps the entry price above the 2WD starting points of body-on-frame rivals.

The RTL is the volume trim and sits between the Sport and the TrailSport. Every 2025 Ridgeline comes with AWD, the 3.5L V6, the 9-speed automatic and the in-bed trunk.

The well-proven J35 V6 and 9-speed automatic, with no turbo or hybrid hardware, keep upkeep moderate for the class. Industry estimates disagree widely, so the figure is set mid-range.

Retention is solid on the strength of Honda's reliability reputation, but it trails the Tacoma's class-leading residuals.

Honda's 3-year/36,000-mile basic coverage matches Ford, GM and Toyota. It falls short of the 5-year basic warranties from Hyundai (Santa Cruz) and Nissan (Frontier).

5-year/60,000-mile powertrain coverage is the segment baseline. Hyundai's Santa Cruz offers 10 years/100,000 miles.

Honda includes no complimentary scheduled maintenance in the U.S. (HondaCare plans are paid extras). Free coverage is limited to roadside assistance for the warranty term and a HondaLink connected-services trial, so it trails ToyotaCare's 2 years of included maintenance.

$44,430 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (60% retained, or about $26,658) leaves about $17,772 in depreciation. Add the projected $6,000 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $23,772 in total.

Consumer Reports expects the 2025 Ridgeline to have about average reliability against the average new car, while flagging it as less reliable than other 2025-model-year vehicles; owner complaints cluster in exterior lighting and electrical rather than powertrain. Average prediction with a mild negative signal puts it mid-band, below the Tacoma and roughly level with the Ranger/Frontier.

Honda sits in the upper tier of Consumer Reports' brand reliability rankings year after year, though J.D. Power VDS has it closer to industry average, so it lands just below the top-5 band.

Two NHTSA campaigns cover the 2025 model year: a broken tailgate harness for the rearview camera and a cracking front-passenger seat-weight sensor that can deploy airbags wrongly. Across the generation there is also the 2026 rear-subframe corrosion recall (880k units, 2017–2023 Ridgeline in salt-belt states). That's a structural issue, but it doesn't reach the 2025 trucks. Typical activity overall, with one airbag-system campaign.

The 2025 truck carries over the 3.5L J35 V6 with 9-speed automatic and i-VTM4 AWD. The J35 family has a long high-mileage record in the Pilot, Odyssey and Passport, and the 9AT's early shift-quality complaints have mostly been settled through software updates by this point in the generation.

The cabin feels like a car's, with soft-touch upper surfaces and hard plastics lower down. Reviewers rate it competitive for the segment, though the interior looks dated next to the redesigned 2024+ Tacoma and Colorado.

Assembly is generally tight and the unibody keeps squeaks and rattles low. The exterior-lighting and electrical complaints owners report to CR count against initial quality, so it scores slightly below the 2026.

Honda has one of the densest US dealer networks, with roughly 1,000+ franchise points and service satisfaction near or above the industry average.

Powertrain and chassis wear parts are shared with the high-volume Pilot and Passport, so they're plentiful and reasonably priced. Ridgeline-specific bed and trunk parts have a smaller aftermarket than the Tacoma's.

Since the 2024 refresh every Ridgeline trim gets a 9-inch color touchscreen with a physical volume knob — small next to Tacoma (14 in) and Colorado/Canyon (11.3 in).

The 9-inch HondaLink unit is quick and logical with a volume knob and hard shortcut buttons, but graphics and features trail Toyota's and GM's newer, larger systems.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on every 2025 trim, including the base Sport.

Honda's command-based voice recognition is basic, and satellite-linked navigation is only on TrailSport and Black Edition — the volume RTL relies on phone projection.

A 215-watt 7-speaker system is standard; the upper trims get a 540-watt 8-speaker premium system that reviewers found surprisingly punchy, but there is no branded audio option.

The 2024 refresh added a 7-inch digital meter display on all trims, but it pairs with an analog tachometer rather than a full configurable digital cluster.

No vehicle-level over-the-air updates; the older HondaLink head unit gets only limited software/map updates, typically via dealer or USB.

The HondaLink app covers remote start, lock/unlock and vehicle locate, but remote features go behind a subscription after the trial and there is no digital key.

A wireless phone charger is standard on every trim and USB ports serve both rows, with extra USB-C on the Black Edition; the 150W/400W in-bed AC outlet is limited to the upper trims.

Smart Entry with push-button start and fob remote engine start are standard on every 2025 trim; no phone-as-key.

A multi-angle rear camera is standard, but parking sensors are limited to TrailSport and Black Edition and no surround-view camera is offered on any trim.

No head-up display is offered on any 2025 Ridgeline trim.

The crew cab has wide rear doors, a flat floor, a low step-in for a truck and full LATCH hardware in all three rear seats, making daily car-seat use easier than in body-on-frame rivals. IIHS rates LATCH ease of use only Acceptable.

NHTSA 5-star overall and standard Honda Sensing plus blind-spot monitoring on every trim, but no 2025 IIHS award: the updated moderate-overlap test is Poor for rear-passenger protection and headlights are Marginal.

Class-best ride, a quiet cabin, standard tri-zone climate with rear controls and a lockable in-bed trunk make it a capable family tourer; it gives up open-bed space and has no rear entertainment.

It drives like a Pilot: a smooth V6 and 9-speed automatic, light controls, good visibility and standard adaptive cruise with Low-Speed Follow make traffic effortless.

21 MPG combined on regular fuel is average for a gas mid-size pickup; no hybrid is offered, unlike Maverick and Tacoma.

A 43.4-ft turning circle is tight for a pickup and visibility is good, but it is still a ~210-in truck, parking sensors are upper-trim only and there is no surround-view camera.

A 5,000-lb tow rating trails body-on-frame mid-size rivals by 1,500–2,700 lb and the 64-in bed is short, though ~1,500–1,580-lb payload is competitive and the bed fits 4-ft panels flat.

The 3.5L V6 is proven and reliability is solid, but the unibody/IRS layout and composite bed are aimed at light duty, and the Ridgeline has no fleet reputation.

A lockable, drainable in-bed trunk, dual-action tailgate, dent-resistant composite bed, tie-down cleats and a standard Class III hitch are strong; the bed AC outlet is upper-trim only and the upfit ecosystem is small.

About 410 miles of range, a class-best ride, a quiet cabin and standard ACC/lane keeping make it a good tourer; it lacks hands-free assist and the V6 gets loud when worked.

Standard i-VTM4 torque-vectoring AWD with terrain modes handles snow, sand and gravel, and TrailSport adds A/T tires and skid plates, but 7.6-in clearance and no low range or lockers limit serious trail use.

A weatherproof in-bed trunk, dual-action tailgate, flip-up rear seats with under-seat bins and a standard hitch give unusually flexible gear storage for a pickup.

The unibody chassis and torque-vectoring AWD give the most composed, car-like handling in the mid-size truck class, with little body roll.

The electric power steering is accurate and well weighted for a truck but light and short on feedback.

Four-wheel discs with a firm, linear pedal; instrumented stops for the current generation are competitive for the class.

The 280-hp naturally aspirated V6 is smooth and linear with no turbo lag, but it lacks the low-end torque of turbo rivals and the 9-speed sometimes hunts.

Better isolated than any body-on-frame mid-size truck, with a refined V6 note, though it grows vocal near redline.

A 43.4-ft curb-to-curb turning diameter is tight for a pickup.

A car-like seating position, good sightlines, tilt/telescoping wheel, physical climate controls and easy entry and exit thanks to the low unibody floor.

Competent and refined but rarely called fun — a comfortable hauler with a muted soundtrack, not an enthusiast truck.

Every 2025 trim comes with i-VTM4 AWD, the 280-hp V6, the full Honda Sensing driver-assistance suite, the in-bed trunk and the dual-action tailgate. Most rivals reserve 4WD or driver-assist content for higher trims, though the ~$41.6K entry price reflects that bundled content.

The value is fair rather than standout. Standard AWD, refinement and clever storage offset the higher entry price, but rivals give more towing and off-road capability per dollar.

There are four trims but only one mechanical configuration: crew cab, 5.3-ft bed, 3.5L V6, 9-speed automatic and AWD only. Rivals offer multiple cabs, beds and powertrains.

The Ridgeline is a steady mid-pack mid-size seller and was rising in 2025. It sits well behind the Tacoma and Colorado but held a loyal pragmatic-buyer base.

Honda's reliability and resale reputation carries over to the Ridgeline. The unibody layout leaves it polarizing among traditional truck buyers.

Honda typically ran modest but steady incentives and lease or finance offers on the Ridgeline. Dealers were more negotiable than on the Tacoma but less aggressive than GM's and Nissan's factory cash.

The second generation launched for MY2017 and got a 2021 styling refresh, followed by the TrailSport trim and interior/tech updates for MY2024. 2025 is essentially a carry-over year with an unchanged platform and powertrain, while the redesigned Tacoma and Colorado are newer.

Reviewers praise its ride, refinement and clever storage, and the current generation won 2017 North American Truck of the Year. It rarely wins comparison tests against body-on-frame rivals because of its capability limits.