2024 Honda Ridgeline: Your Tonka Truck Come to Life

If you want a truck but don’t need to move an entire community center, the 2024 Honda Ridgeline may be something to put on your dance card for the month of September.

This is a spunky truck which can hold its own against the big boys.  It’s Honda’s only truck and it is universally liked by all those who climb in, strap up and hold on. 

This Bear-friendly beast is considered a Compact Pickup Truck, which means, well, anymore, who knows what that means.  It is indeed a beast, to be sure; one of those Bears in the wild that looks tame but be careful when you take it for a ride.  Its prowess will demand your full attention (and love, to be honest).

The beauty of a Compact Pickup is that it is not built on a truck platform. Instead, it’s on a unibody (or car-like) platform, which gives it more mobility and smoothness than its bigger and heavier brethren. Still – these trucks keep getting bigger and bigger each year.  Caution is always advised, especially around bears like this one. 

There’s really only one configuration for the Ridgeline: four doors and a short bed (sounds like a Bear party to me). But you can have all the luxury, utility and combination of good stuff you desire. Prices start at around $40K US.

I tested the new (for 2024) Trail Sport trim (seen here), which is designed to go off-road. This one has off-road suspension and AWD and other fun stuff (like heated steering wheel and navigation) that should be a blast on your favorite dirt roads (too bad my day job kept me from having too much fun). 

Still, I had a lot of fun with it.  I’ve had friends and relatives who have owned a Ridgeline.  No complaints whatsoever, until they had to get rid of it because they had to pay other bills.

280 horses. V6 engine.  A lot of power in this little engine that could. And did.  What’s not to love about that?

Fall is upon us, and that means when it comes to your vehicles, be sure to have what you need in case you get stuck somewhere.  Blankets, drinking water and jumper cables are a good start.

A beauty like the Ridgeline would be a fun one to have in any climate, except for maybe in those extremely tight parking space all along the surfing beaches. And yet, this cub (who isn’t so little) can shoehorn in there much more easily than the bigger trucks that keep getting bigger every year.

Indeed, some days size really is not everything.