By Jim Prueter
MotorwayAmerica.com

(February 25, 2024) Honda has made the decision to bring the pageantry of its TrailSport sub brand to its Ridgeline pickup truck for 2024. First use of the TrailSport name with its intentions to throw their hat into the off-road game came in 2022 with the Passport variant by shedding knobby "rugged-looking" tires to all four corners and a flimsy skid plate that by any stretch of the imagination wasn't a skid plate to the chassis underside with lift to the suspension or shocks. It also sported the identifying black and orange TrailSport badging.

Last year Honda added the TrailSport moniker to the Pilot and to their credit equipped it with all-terrain tires, an inch more ground clearance and real skid plates to the all-wheel drive underpinnings.

Now for 2024 Honda gives the TrailSport treatment to its Ridgeline midsize pickup by adding puncture resistance General Grabber A/T Sport  245/60R18 tires, a bit more functional underbody skid plate garnish with a steel plate protecting the oil pan from rock puncture. But before you begin to fantasizing Moab or the Rubicon Trail it's worth noting the TrailSport is more about emotion than off-road duty. True, it gets a few mild and aesthetic tweaks but it's more about conferring the part than being the part. Sort of like wearing a Tom Brady jersey but never taking a snap.

Inside you'll find TrailSport-branded rubber floor mats, orange ambient lighting and contrast stitching to match the embroidered TrailSport logo on the front headrests. It also gets a slightly larger 9-inch infotainment touchscreen and regardless of trim level all get a new center console design and larger center storage bin. There's ample room up front with comfortable seats that adjust to comfortably fit drivers of all sizes. Rear-seat passengers are treated to the most space of all mid-size rivals.



There's only one bed length, 5.3 feet with a volume of 34-cubic feet. Perhaps the nicest feature is its locking, weather-tight in-bed trunk, which is located below the bed's floor and accessed from above. It has a 7.3-cubic-foot capacity.

During our week of testing, we found the Ridgeline to be extremely comfortable with well thought out niceties and excellent road manners and a supple car-like ride. This is an easy truck to drive with excellent visibility and loaded with standard safety and driver-assistance features. The Ridgeline is easily one of the best mid-size trucks available, perhaps the best.

Available in a choice of four trim levels — all-wheel-drive and powered by Honda's ubiquitous and silky smooth 289-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 engine and a 9-speed automatic transmission.

VITAL STATS

Base Price: $44,980
Price as Tested: $48,630
Engine/Transmission: 3.5-Liter, 289-hp V-6 paired with a 9-speed automatic transmission
Fuel Economy: 18/23/20 - mpg City/Highway/Combined
Seating: 5
Where Built: Lincoln, Alabama

Crash Test Rating: Highest possible 5 star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Fab Features:
Smooth ride, comfortable, roomy
Weather-tight in-bed, lockable cargo storage
Spirited V-6 engine