Pickup Review: 2021 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition

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What’s a real truck all about? It has a cab up front, a bed in behind, and it does what you need it to do. That sums up the Honda Ridgeline for me, and for what I need it to do, it’s every bit as real a truck as a one-ton dual-wheeled monster.

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If you’re shopping midsize, don’t ignore the Ridgeline just because it’s based on a unibody SUV, rather than sitting on a full frame. It’s a great driver, it’s got a ton of storage options, and it’s right-sized for lighter-duty work. Not only is it a viable alternative to midsize models like the Toyota Tacoma, Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon or Ford Ranger, but it has some useful features they don’t, including a hidden trunk and two-way tailgate.

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The Ridgeline definitely wasn’t pretty when it debuted for 2006. It got a much-needed restyling for 2017, which made it look more like a truck rather than an SUV with the roof cut back. For the 2021 version, Honda finally turns it good-looking, with new hood, grille, and front fenders. There are new taillights and redesigned rear bumper, and the track is 20 millimetres wider.

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There are four trim levels, starting with the Sport at $45,535, and topped by my Black Edition tester at $54,535. That trim has all of the features on the next-step-down Touring at $52,735, but adds an appearance package including black wheels and exterior accents, logo-stitched seats and floor mats, and red interior accent lighting.

That’s pricier than the starting tags of most competitors, but even the base Ridgeline contains heated and power-adjustable front seats, heated steering wheel, sunroof, power-sliding rear window, wireless charger, and blind-spot monitoring.

All Ridgeline models use a 3.5L V6, making 280 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque, with technology that shuts off cylinders when full power isn’t needed, and idle-stop that can be temporarily disabled if desired. It’s officially rated at 11.5 L/100 km in combined city/highway driving — not as good as Ranger’s turbocharged four-cylinder at 10.9 L/100 km, but better than the V6 in the Tacoma and GM 4×4 trucks. In my time with it, I came in almost on the nose at 11.2 L/100 km.

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That V6 is hooked to a nine-speed automatic — one of the few things I dislike on the Ridgeline is its awkward button shifter — and with all-wheel drive. It runs primarily in front-wheel, but when extra traction is needed, it can transfer up to 70 per cent to the rear, and then send all of that to either rear wheel if required. Selectable drive modes optimize the system for snow, sand or mud; and while it’s no Jeep Gladiator, the Ridgeline is surprisingly adept at off-road motoring, handling the tough stuff much better than you might expect.

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It’s also very nice on pavement, with a smooth ride, good steering response, and great visibility all around. Its towing capacity of 5,000 lbs is at the lower end of the midsize scale. The Ranger can tow 7,500 lbs, and the GM trucks with optional four-cylinder diesel can manage 7,700 lbs. The Ridgeline’s payload ranges from 1,485 to 1,530 lbs, depending on trim, which puts it mid-pack among competitors.

But when it’s time to put that payload in a truck, the Ridgeline rules. First up is that dual-action tailgate, which drops down conventionally, or opens sideways like a door. It’s a lot easier to load or unload items when you don’t have to reach across the tailgate.

Once the gate is open, whether down or sideways, you can then lift the lid on the under-bed trunk, with 207 litres of lockable storage. The spare tire slides into a compartment behind it — where it’s easier to access than a conventional truck spare mounted under the bed. Many people never think to grease the cable and mechanism that holds it there on other trucks, and after a few winters in salt and slush, it’s not going to detach easily when you need to change a tire.

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That trunk has a drain plug for washing it out, or for filling with ice as a cooler — and in the Touring and Black Edition, you also get an in-bed stereo for the complete party experience. Rather than actual speakers, the system uses waterproof electric exciters that vibrate and, in essence, turn the whole bed into a speaker cone to play the truck’s stereo out the back.

Storage options continue in the cabin, with big door pockets and a large centre console box. The rear seats are on metal legs that automatically fold up when you lift the cushions, giving you space for tall items on the floor; and when the seats are down, you can slide cargo under them, where there’s more room than in most of the under-seat storage bins in other trucks.

I own a pickup, but like more-than-a-few truck owners, I don’t work it all that hard, and the Ridgeline does everything I need my truck to do. Everything currently in this midsize segment is really good, and we’ll soon be seeing the new Nissan Frontier, and smaller “lifestyle” choices of the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. Still, I recommend looking at the Ridgeline for how it drives, and especially how it handles all the stuff you’re taking along with you. Yes, it is really a real truck.