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2022 Honda Ridgeline Review

If you want to combine the daily drivability of a car with the utility of a pickup truck, be sure to check out the does-it-all 2022 Honda Ridgeline.
2022 Honda RIdgeline - hondanews.com

2022 Honda RIdgeline – hondanews.com |  Shop 2022 Honda Ridgeline on Carsforsale.com

What’s New for the 2022 Honda Ridgeline?

With the second-generation released back in 2017, the Honda Ridgeline received a thorough refresh just last year along with an AWD-only drivetrain. New sheet metal from the A-pillar forward featured a power-bulge in the hood, squared off nose, and an overall more truck-like demeanor. This was in part to address long-running complaints that the Ridgeline doesn’t look enough like a traditional pickup. Furthering that effort is an available Honda Performance Development (HPD) package with bigger fender flares and rugged wheels. With all those recent improvements, 2022 Honda Ridgeline updates are limited to a new Sonic Gray Pearl paint job and $400 price increase.

Body Style

Starting Price

MSRP $38,115

Drivetrain

Drivetrain

AWD

Drivetrain

Fuel Economy

18 City / 24 Hwy (MPG)

Number of Seats

Seating

Seats 5

The Breakdown

Simple, one-size-fits-all powertrain

Tailgate party ready

Entire Honda Sensing suite is standard

Bronze HPD wheels dial up the style

Does not have Wi-Fi hotspot

Truck utility with daily drivability

2022 Ridgeline Specs

Trims & Pricing

Sport - $38,115
RTL - $41,095
RTL-E - $44,045
Black Edition - $45,545

2022 Honda Ridgeline Powertrain

2022 Honda Ridgeline 3.5L V6 - hondanews.com
2022 Honda Ridgeline 3.5L V6 - hondanews.com

Honda eschews the dizzying array of powertrain options typical of American pickups by offering a single powertrain across the 2022 Honda Ridgeline range. The company’s venerable 3.5L naturally aspirated V6 makes 280 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque in this application with direct injection and i-VTEC technology. Standard AWD and a 9-speed automatic work with Honda’s i-VTM4 torque vectoring system that can route 70% of available torque to the rear wheels. Drivers can use the Intelligent Traction Management System to select from Normal, Snow, Mud, or Sand modes as conditions warrant. And, thanks to four-corner independent suspension with unibody construction featuring high and ultra-high strength steel, the Ridgeline offers improved handling relative to a typical pickup with a rear axle and leaf spring setup.

Towing & Payload

2022 Honda Ridgeline - hondanews.com
2022 Honda Ridgeline - hondanews.com

All 2022 Honda Ridgelines are equipped with a Class III trailer hitch, 7-pin connector, and ability to haul up to 5,000 pounds with no additional packages required. Payload tops out just shy of 1,600 pounds, allowing for plenty of 4’ wide sheets of plywood that will lay flat in the 50” space between wheel wells. Laying the tailgate down offers 76” of overall length and you can swing it to the side, à la 1980s station wagons, for more direct access. Flip up the back end of the SMC composite bed to reveal a lockable, weatherproof bin with 7.3 cubic feet of space.

2022 Honda Ridgeline Fuel Economy & MPG

The EPA estimates the 2022 Honda Ridgeline will achieve 18 mpg in city driving, 24 mpg on the open road, and 21 mpg combined. With its 19.5-gallon tank, highway range is more than 450 miles and it takes regular octane gas, which helps keeps fueling costs down.

Interior, Comfort, & Cargo Space

With a 5-seat interior that could double as any Honda cabin, the 2022 Honda Ridgeline has available heated front seats and steering wheel as well as a sunroof and sliding rear glass to let the light in. Back seats can be flipped up in a 60/40 split layout allowing for items up to 4’ tall, like a bicycle, to be stowed. There are 37” of legroom back there and up front, plus the center console is spacious thanks to push-button transmission controls.

Entertainment & Technology

2022 Honda Ridgeline - hondanews.com
2022 Honda Ridgeline - hondanews.com

Drivers will appreciate the 4” instrument panel screen in the 2022 Honda Ridgeline that features readouts for phone calls and audio, all of which can be managed via steering wheel controls. An 8” touchscreen with swipe capability and mirroring for Apple and Android devices also features a physical volume knob. As you move up the trim ladder, features like a 540-watt audio system with 8 speakers, wireless phone charger, and satellite navigation become available. For outdoor entertainment, you can plug a TV into the cargo bed outlet and fill up the in-bed storage bin with ice and drinks making it a great option for tailgating.

Safety Features

Honda Sensing, the company’s group of six advanced driver-assistant systems, is standard across the 2022 Honda Ridgeline lineup. Safety nets like Forward Collision Warning, Lane Keeping Assist, and Road Departure Mitigation are on tap, while blind spot and cross-traffic monitoring are found on RTL trim and above. A 5-star crash-test rating from NHTSA and IIHS Top Safety Pick award make the Ridgeline an ideal family vehicle as detailed here.

2022 Honda Ridgeline Trims & Pricing

2022 Honda Ridgeline Sport - automobiles.honda.com
2022 Honda Ridgeline Sport - automobiles.honda.com

Sport – $38,115

LED lighting for headlamps, fogs, DRLs, and taillights, on entry Sport models, is a high-end touch as is the remote engine start. Like all 2022 Honda Ridgelines, 18” wheels with all-terrain tires look rough road ready. Automatic climate controls are split into three zones – driver, passenger, and back seat – all of which are upholstered in black cloth. Apple and Android smartphone integration works through the 8” infotainment touchscreen with pinch-zoom and swipe capability.

2022 Honda Ridgeline RTL - automobiles.honda.com
2022 Honda Ridgeline RTL - automobiles.honda.com

RTL – $41,095

Stepping up the RTL model unlocks more paint colors like Obsidian Blue Pearl and available black-finished wheels for about $1800. Interior amenities step way up with leather upholstery in your choice of black or gray, a moonroof, and power-sliding rear window. Leather also wraps the steering wheel and the driver’s seat picks up power-adjustability plus memory settings. On the advanced safety feature front, blind spot monitoring with cross-traffic alert is added to the standard Honda Sensing suite.

2022 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E - automobiles.honda.com
2022 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E - automobiles.honda.com

RTL-E – $44,045

The Ridgeline makes this list of top tailgating vehicles thanks to features like the in-bed audio system found on RTL-E models. Smart Entry with Walk Away Autolock gives you hands-free ingress and egress as the doors automatically lock when you’re 8 feet away and unlock by touching the handle. A heated steering wheel and 8-speaker stereo system, navigation, and wireless phone charging pad are included here as well. Other upgrades include front and rear parking sonar as well as 150/400-watt in-bed power outlets.

2022 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition - carsforsale.com
2022 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition - carsforsale.com

Black Edition – $45,545

Available only with a Crystal Black Pearl or Platinum White Pearl paint job, the Black Edition sports trim-exclusive black rims and gloss-black exterior trim. This style continues inside on the black leather seats with red stitching, red ambient lighting, and red background theme on the infotainment screen. Very Darth Vader-y. As with all 2022 Ridgeline trims, the Baja-racing inspired HPD package can be optioned for $2800 with fender flares, various decals, and special HPD wheels finished in black or bronze.

Warranties

Honda covers the basics with their warranty on the 2022 Honda Ridgeline. Bumper-to-bumper coverage and roadside assistance runs 3 years or 36,000 miles and the powertrain term lasts 5 years or 60,000 miles. Complimentary maintenance, of some degree, is notably absent as it is widely available from the competition.

What we think

2022 Honda RIdgeline - hondanews.com

2022 Honda RIdgeline – hondanews.com |  Shop 2022 Honda Ridgeline on Carsforsale.com

Though you will give up some towing capacity and off-road ability with the 2022 Honda Ridgeline, in comparison to trucks like the Ford Ranger or Toyota Tacoma, you’re gaining significantly better daily drivability. And if supply chain disruptions make it hard to find the latest model, check out this article for what to expect from an available used Ridgeline.

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Niel Stender

Niel Stender grew up doing replacement work on his 1990 Cherokee and 1989 Starion, so it’s not surprising that he would put his mechanical engineering degree from the University of New Hampshire to use in the car world as a vehicle dynamics engineer. Now engineering sentence structures, his writing infuses his auto experience with his time in marketing and his sales experience. Writing about cars for close to a decade now, he focuses on some of the more technical mechanical systems that are found under the hood and throughout a vehicle.

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