Generally speaking, we鈥檙e fans of the Honda Ridgeline. We dig its combination of crossoverlike ride and modest pickup capability in a handsome package. And although it鈥檚 been a lightning rod of a truck (is it or isn鈥檛 it a REAL truck?) since the day the first-generation model rolled off the line some two decades ago now, it does a lot of things well. But the midsize truck competition is getting ever stiffer, and those trucks offer the type of flexibility and broader range of options that most pickup owners expect. Then there鈥檚 the matter of the Ridgeline鈥檚 aging powertrain, which is starting to become an issue.
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It doesn鈥檛 help that the current generation is creeping up on 10 years old and hasn鈥檛 had a lot of buzz around it lately. The good news for anyone looking to buy a 2026 Honda Ridgeline is that it won鈥檛 cost that much more than before, with modest $500 bumps from its 2025 model year pricing across all trims. There are a couple of minor updates for the 2026 Ridgeline, including the addition of Ash Green Metallic color for the TrailSport, and the Black Edition is now ailable with a contrasting black roof option.
The 2026 Black Edition Ridgeline with its Black Roof option.
Starting at $42,090, the Ridgeline isn鈥檛 the cheapest entry price for the AWD midsize truck segment. Taking that crown is the Colorado WT 4WD thanks to its $36,895 sticker. When comparing top-level models, the Ridgeline Black Edition鈥攁 $48,690 trim鈥攊s cheaper than most by up to $14,405 when compared to vehicles like the 2025 Jeep Gladiator Moje X ($63,095). Again, only the Colorado Z71 defeats the Ridgeline thanks to its $45,595 price. The next closest is the Ford Ranger Lariat 4WD, which costs $460 more than the Ridgeline Black Edition, followed by the Tacoma Limited Double Cab 4WD, which costs $5,860 more than the Black Edition.
The Ridgeline comes standard with all-wheel drive, a solid V-6 powerplant, a crew-cab body, and one bed size (it does offer some added flexibility thanks to its in-bed trunk), but it lacks any sort of electrification of its powertrain. The Toyota Tacoma, for example, comes with a 2.4-liter turbocharged I-4 i-Force Max hybrid option for top-end models with 46 more horsepower and a huge 203 lb-ft of torque advantage over the Ridgeline鈥檚 280-hp, 262-lb-ft 3.5-liter V-6. Even the Tacoma鈥檚 more pedestrian 2.4-liter delivers up to 278 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque depending on the trim level.
When it comes to fuel economy, the 2026 Honda Ridgeline鈥檚 thirsty V-6 nets it just 18/24/21 mpg city/highway/combined. The non-hybrid Tacoma 4WD is roughly equal with a 19/24/21 EPA rating, but electrification brings those numbers up to 22/24/23. The Ford Ranger鈥檚 2.3-liter turbocharged I-4 easily bests it (29/26/22), and its 2.7-liter turbocharged V-6 is roughly the same (19/23/20)鈥攂oth in 4WD. The only real losers in fuel economy to the Ridgeline are the Chevrolet Colorado 4WD with its 2.7-liter turbocharged I-4 reporting a 17/21/19 and the Jeep Gladiator and its 3.6-liter V-6 with 4WD getting 17/22/19.
Although it only comes in one bed size, the 2026 Ridgeline鈥檚 usable cargo box of 33.9 cubic feet, thanks to its 5.3-foot (64-inch)-long bed with the tailgate up, is still competitive against its rivals. When we compare its crew cab (or double cab, depending on what each brand calls it) to others, the Ridgeline beats the 2025 Chevrolet Colorado bed length by 2.0 inches, the Ford Ranger by 4.4 inches, and the Jeep Gladiator by 3.7 inches. The Toyota Tacoma, however, gets a long-bed option that measures out to 73.5 inches and can best them all, but the crew-cab, short-bed does come up short at 60.3 inches long. The trick up the sleeve of the 2026 Ridgeline is its in-bed trunk. This adds in 7.3 cubic feet of stowable volume under the rear floor of the bed, which the rest of the midsize pickup category just doesn鈥檛 offer.
All in all, even though it鈥檚 starting to fall behind the competition in some ways, the built-in-America 2026 Honda Ridgeline remains a solid choice in the midsize pickup category, thanks in part to its unique package that continues to set it apart from other trucks.
2026 Honda Ridgeline Pricing
MSRP
Difference from 2025
Sport
$42,090
+$445
RTL
$44,890
+$415
TrailSport
$47,290
+$415
Black Edition
$48,690
+$445