Honda’s United States only Ridgeline mildly updated

On sale since 2016, and soon to face competition from the Hyundai Santa Cruz as North America’s second unibody pick-up, Honda afforded the Ridgeline with a number of updates as part of its first mid-life overhaul.

Now incorporating elements from the Passport, the Ridgeline benefits from a new bonnet and standard 18-inch alloy wheels, new LED headlights and a squared off nose similar to its sibling, a redesigned front bumper, chrome strip above the grille, new side vents and wings, a track width increase of 20 mm, a new rear bumper and dual exhaust outlets.

In addition to gloss black detailing on the Sport and Black trim levels, a new Honda Performance Development pack, or HPD in reference to the marque’s motorsport denominator, has been added and includes an HPD specific grille, bronze alloy wheels, black wheel arch cladding and HPD logos on the tailgate and side of the loadbox.

Still offered in four trim levels, Sport, RTL, RTL-E and Black Edition, the Ridgeline’s interior updates are minor and limited to new cloth seats inserts on the former, a new steering wheel and dashboard on all bar the Black, and on all variants, new contrasting stitching as well as revised graphics for the eight-inch Display Audio touchscreen infotainment system.

No change has taken place underneath the bonnet though where the Ridgeline soldiers on with the 206kW/354Nm 3.5-litre V6 connected to a nine-speed push-button operated automatic gearbox. Drive goes to the front wheels as standard with all-wheel-drive and added torque vectoring being optional on the Sport and RTL.

Build at Honda’s Lincoln Plant in Alabama, the Ridgeline will go on sale next year with an expected starting price increase over the current model’s $33 900 (R562 708). Unsurprisingly, it won’t be offered outside of the States.

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