2025 Honda Ridgeline

The Honda Ridgeline takes a lot of guff from truck guys. It's got a unibody construction. It can only tow 5,000 pounds. It doesn't look "manly" enough. Oooooh-kaaaaaay. But here's the thing, this is a great midsize truck for someone with an active and adventurous lifestyle. I recently did some light off-roading and camping in the 2025 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport, and I loved the functional utility and overall comfiness of the truck. 

So, here's what I loved about the Ridgeline TrailSport, and here's a couple things I missed from a previous generation. 

SO MUCH FUNCTIONAL UTILITY 

One of the things that the 2025 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport does well is the functional use of space. A huge selling point of Ridgelines has always been the in-bed, sealed lockable "trunk." Under the truck bed, there is 7.3 cubic feet of cargo volume, which is plenty of space for gear you don't want to get dirty (like your duffel that has your clean clothes) while you're traversing dusty trails. Plus, the back of this storage area houses a spare tire and jack. 

I'm also a huge fan of the dual-operating tailgate. It swings sideways for easier access to the trunk, or it flips down like a regular tailgate if you need a work surface or place to sit. The bed itself also has multiple tie-down points, which is great if you're transporting a full-size spare tire or a couple of dirt bikes. 

Moving to the interior, you have even more functional utility. The rear seats flip up to reveal more storage space. Smaller items that you want to keep clean and handy but hope not to use frequently, like a first aid kit or recovery gear, fit under here nicely so they don't eat up into passenger space. 

DOES WELL IN THE DIRT 

New for 2024, the TrailSport trim gets an off-road tuned suspension, beefy all-terrain tires and steel underbody protection. 

I took the 2025 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport from LA to Ridgecrest, California, so that I could meet up with my new Rebelle Rally partner to do training in her 2007 Ridgeline. I had more than 6 hours of seat time on the highways, but I also took the TrailSport to one of our checkpoints as well as to our campsite, and I was overall impressed with how well it did. The tires had good grip, and the truck was very maneuverable in soft dirt and over some rocky bits on the trail. Plus, the overall ride was comfortable on an uneven trail. 

One of the great things about the Ridgeline TrailSport is its slim proportions. This means you can take narrower trails without worry that you'll get trail rash on that stunning Diffused Sky Blue Pearl paint ($455). 

PEPPY V-6 

While a lot of midsize trucks are switching to turbocharged 4-cylinder engines, the Ridgeline maintains a direct injected V-6 engine that delivers 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. This is right-sized power for this truck. 

On the highway, I found it to be powerful enough for merging and passing maneuvers, even if it wasn't heart-flipping fast. 

The TrailSport comes standard with all-wheel drive, so your fuel economy - especially with the extra off-road equipment - isn't as good as what you'll see on the other Ridgeline trims. But for a midsize truck, it holds its own at 18 MPG in the city, 23 MPG on the highway and 20 MPG in combined driving. After more than 400 miles of highway driving and probably about 20 miles of trails (with a lot of idling in the 100-degree-plus temperatures), I found that my overall fuel economy was 22.4 MPG when I turned it in. I'm considering that a win as I got better than the combined rating and near close to the highway rating. 

OVERALL COMFORT 

I complain a lot about Honda seat comfort. However, I found the seats in the 2025 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport to be mostly comfortable. They were a tad firm, but they didn't cause me any stiffness or discomfort during my long highway stints. 

Another comfort point worth mentioning is the overall quietness of the vehicle at highway speeds. With the all-terrain tires, I expected some noise to creep into the cabin, and it did, but it wasn't as bad as I've experienced in other off-road vehicles.  

WHAT'S MISSING? 

Because I was in Ridgecrest to train in a 2007 Honda Ridgeline, I couldn't help but make some comparisons. While the overall tech (hurray for wireless Apple CarPlay!) has improved over the last two decades, there were a couple of functional things I liked in the 2007 model that don't appear in the 2025 version. 

First up, the 2007 has a compass in the mirror. While it doesn't show the exact degrees, it does show the general direction of travel. And when you're looking at hilly dirt in an open OHV area that looks like all the other hilly dirt on every side of the truck, I found this feature to be helpful. Yes, there is a digital compass in the driver's display, but that doesn't help the passenger if they're the one navigating. 

I also missed the shelf on the passenger side of the dash. While the 2025 design looks sleek and attractive, the 2007 design was more functional for those who are using the truck to do lifestyle things. We had our external odometers stored in the cubby of the 2007 model, and if we wanted to external odos on the 2025 model, we'd have to find a way to mount them on the dash without blocking the airbags or visibility. 

A FEW DNLS 

Let me start by saying that I really liked the 2025 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport, but I did have a few DNLs (did not likes). First up, I'm never a fan of the auto stop/start engine. In most vehicles it's clunky, and you audibly hear and feel the engine turn off and on with a shudder and a kuh-kuh-kuh. On the Ridgeline, I found the system to be a bit laggy such that when I was trying to make a quick left turn through a break in traffic, the engine didn't turn on fast enough for me to be able to make the maneuver. I had to hit the brakes immediately and wait for another gap. 

I also don't love the way Honda set up the adaptive cruise control in the Ridgeline. While it works at highway speeds, the ACC shuts off at speeds less than 25 MPH. This means it doesn't have stop-and-go functionality. When stuck in LA traffic for an hour, I wanted stop-and-go functionality. 

The final two things I didn't like may be more Jill problems than everyone problems. But the wireless charger didn't work well and actively overheated my phone such that my phone disconnected from CarPlay. Finally, as a petite driver, I kept bumping my right knee on the underbelly of the dash when moving from gas to brake, and my left shin kept hitting the park brake when I put my foot on the dead pedal. 

OUR TAKE ON THE 2025 HONDA RIDGELINE TRAILSPORT 

If you want to tow a yacht or luxury camper, this truck is not for you. But if you want to be able to make trips to Home Depot for DIY projects or hit the trails for a weekend of off-roading and camping, the 2025 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport is a great option. It drives well in a city environment and is small enough to fit in a garage, yet it also plays well in the dirt and has a lot of excellent functional features.