Review: 2021 Honda Ridgeline Sport

I spend a week with the 2021 Honda Ridgeline in its base Sport trim with the HPD package to see what it's like to live with the refreshed Ridgeline. For 2021 it gets a new front end to make it look more like a truck, and mechanically it gets a wider track and a new 9 speed automatic transmission. The Ridgeline formula remains though, with best-in-class handling, ride and refinement while still having plenty of capability for the average truck buyer. Overall it's still a great truck, even if the inside does feel pretty dated by 2021 standards. What do you think about the 2021 Ridgeline? Thanks to Honda for providing this vehicle to review.

Time stamps:
0:00 Exterior
3:36 Interior
4:42 Initial impressions
6:54 Acceleration
9:10 Handling and AWD
12:53 Capabilities
13:39 Other thoughts
14:57 Highway driving and safety tech
16:31 Thoughts after a week
17:33 Fuel economy
18:27 Pricing and competitors
21:41 Depreciation
22:45 Final thoughts

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[rvgog]

Owned a 89 silverado, 2008 avalanche, 2019 silverado and now a 21 ridgeline.... Besides having a bit less interior room, this is a great truck. The trunk is truly a game changer and as a daily it's amazing

[gtobob]

The key to this update is truckiness and aggressiveness. Thanks Matt.

[qdood]

Thanks matt. I agree with you it was smart for Honda to make this more "trucky"

[wilsonmoran]

Bro, don"t know why but the fat guy in the back going down the hill on the lawnmower at 4:00 is so funny like

[ChadHargis]

The HPD appearance package jacks up the price almost $3000. The base model Sport sells for around $35k. For that money it's a great bargain. That's around the average price for a new vehicle today, and less than a comparably equipped midsize truck. Remember, the "base" prices for most midsize trucks do not include 4WD or a V6 engine which is stock on the Ridgeline. The Ranger only offers keyless ignition in the top Lariat trim. The Colorado/Canyon is the only competitor to have anything other than manually engaged part time 4WD and it features an "Auto" mode that will engage it when slip is detected, but it's NOT a torque vectoring AWD system like the Ridgeline has. The competitors also do not have the interior room of the Ridgeline and they do not have a flat load floor in the back with the seats raised. The do not have the in-bed trunk.

If you compare apples to apples, the Ridgeline is a very compelling bargain. I shopped for a midsized truck for 2 years before buying the Ridgeline. I'm a "man's man" and I was dead set on the Ranger FX4 until I drove it and found it's too cramped for my 6'5" body. The Tacoma is not any better and may be one of the most uncomfortable vehicles I've ever been in (and I owned a Miata). I never in a million years thought I'd end up with a "minivan with a truck bed", but a few test drives and some research showed the Ridgeline was perfect for my needs. I loved my 2019 Ridgeline so much that I was convinced I'd keep it for years...until I got $33k in trade in for a vehicle I paid $28k for new. That means my Ridgeline went UP in value by $5000 in a year. Crazy! I traded up to the 2021 and like it even more. The 9-speed transmission is very nice and always keeps the engine in the power band. I never notice it shifting much either. It also starts in 2nd gear unless you downshift manually with the paddles or hit the gas hard. 1st gear is a sort of "granny gear" and will launch the Ridgeline harder than you expect it to. I have not noticed any delay when shifting the transmission from reverse to drive or vice versa. I suppose I just don't do it very fast.

On a recent trip that consisted of windy mountain roads and interstate driving, I got 24mpg. I suspect all highway driving would exceed the EPA estimate. I don't use Eco mode either.

There always seems to be a lot of haters for this truck, and I was one of them. I didn't "get it". But now that I've owned two of them, as well as several other trucks, I can tell you there is no better truck on the market if you don't tow more than 5000lbs or do extreme off road driving.

[donaldbonner]

Just got one two days ago, Love ❤️ it,

[bikebudha]

I WANTED the sport trim, as I prefer cloth seats in my trucks. And I want as little nanny-tech as possible. BUT... the driver's seat in the sport trim is a crappy manually adjusted unit. It's crappy because it's down/back and up/forward motion. There is a ton of headroom (I'm 6'-4") and I can move the seat way up. This gives me better view out, and it allows the seat to give better hamstring support. BUT with the manual seat, if you push the seat up - it also goes forwards. Sigh... I'm getting an RTL JUST for the power driver's seat. (It has independent up/down, and front/back movement - it's NOTICEABLY more comfortable)...

[camziny]

I wonder if the guy at 4:04 was doing a lawnmower review

[davidhenry]

I just bought a new Sport. I was looking for a good used RTL-E because I wanted all wheel drive and adaptive cruise control. As it turns out the 2021 sport comes with those features and was only about $4k more for brand new. After months of shopping I realized that 2ond gen Ridgelines have very good resale value.

[davesmith]

Look at the price of 5 year old Ridgelines. You CANNOT get one that has depreciated 50 percent

[timbrown]

Matt my parents have a 2020 MDX and I’m noticing the same thing with their transmission I believe it’s a ZF isn’t it? You go from drive to reverse

[justinfontaine]

Why did Honda send only the sport version to the reviewers? It's a package that is not worth it

[Creider]

I have a 2021 Passport and my suggestion is get a VCM tuner for the 3.5 engines as soon as possible! The vehicle drives so much smoother and we get alot better gas mileage plus doesn’t hunt for gears as much either! Best $100 I’ve ever spent

[michalp]

Nissan should build a nice unibody truck based on the new pathfinder

[SquireJethro]

I guess I got lucky... I don't have any lag when shifting from reverse to drive or vice versa.

[razorpit]

Found you through this video review. Those look like western PA roads. You in the area?

[blackedout.fan]

Hi Matt! I really loved your presentation, but I have to say this: I don't mean to be a broken record or irritating, but I have to say that if Honda decided to strip away nearly all of the options for the base model, I really wish that they could have at least given it a twist key ignition even as an option. But nonetheless, I really enjoyed the vid so far and I look forward to watching more of your vids :)

[scottbrawley]

2021 Honda Ridgeline Sport HPD Package!

[bradh]

Highlighting the depreciation was a slam dunk. I'm sure many buyers have found that to be very useful.

[slipknotron]

Not going to lie I thought you said HPV package....🤣🤣🤣