The 2021 Honda Ridgeline will be equally at home on mud-strewn trails as it is on the highway.
Built at Honda Manufacturing of Alabama in Lincoln, the Ridgeline will feature a V6 engine and a more rugged look, with a pronounced power bulge in the hood, new front fenders and a more upright grill. Below, a new front bumper adds broad side vents that route air through the bumper and around the front tires, creating air currents that will improve the vehicle’s aerodynamics. And those wheels will be 18 inches, with all-season tires.
Standard on every 2021 Honda Ridgeline is a 280-horsepower, 3.5-liter direct-injected VTEC V6 engine, backed by a responsive 9-speed automatic transmission. Available on the Sport and RTL issues, and standard to the RTL-E and Black Edition, is the i-VTM4 torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system, which sends up to 70% of the engine’s 262-lb.-ft. of torque to the rear wheels and apportions 100% of that torque between the left and right rear wheels based on driving conditions. The Intelligent Traction Dynamics System, which comes standard on all Ridgelines, optimizes the power delivery and distribution for various conditions.
In the interior, the cabin offers more rear-seat legroom, easier-to-use touchscreen icons and an updated display audio system to provide more passenger comfort. Ridgeline’s flat floor and foldaway 60/40-split rear seat bottoms continue to offer enhanced flexibility for carrying long or tall items in the cabin.
The Ridgeline also sports Honda’s proprietary Advanced Compatibility Engineering body structure and fully boxed frame members for the body sides and rear tailgate frame with a truss-style inner construction, plus an independent rear suspension, creating a comfortable ride and enhanced handling, while providing a standard 1,580-pound payload capacity and up to 5,000-pound towing capacity.
The truck’s extra-wide stance enables an extra-wide bed, making it the only truck in its class that can flat-carry 4-foot wide items, such as plywood and drywall, in between the wheel wells. It also comes standard with a washable, lockable In-Bed Trunk, offering an additional 7.3 cu.-ft. of secure storage space under the bed floor. To top off the bed’s amenities, the tailgate is dual-action, opening downward or to the side, making access to cargo and the In-Bed Trunk a snap.
The Ridgeline also comes standard with several of Honda’s safety and driver-assisted technologies, like Honda Sensing and the Collision Mitigation Braking System.
Honda Manufacturing of Alabama produced its 5 millionth vehicle in early 2020. In addition to the Ridgeline, the plant also produces the Odyssey, Pilot and Passport and the V6 engines that power them. For a fourth consecutive year, the Ridgeline ranked in the top 10 in the 2020 Cars.com American Made Index.
