Honda’s Next Ridgeline Wants To Look More Like A Real Truck, Even If It Isn’t

• Honda repeatedly emphasizes ruggedness alternatively of comfortableness oregon convenience.
• Teaser suggests styling volition beryllium a large absorption for the next-generation truck.
• Honda appears determined to reshape the Ridgeline’s longstanding reputation.

For much than 2 decades, the Honda Ridgeline has been 1 of the astir susceptible pickups that galore motortruck buyers refused to telephone a “real truck.” It earned praise for its clever packaging, car-like ride, and innovative features. It’s much motortruck than astir motortruck drivers ever need, yet critics ne'er stopped pointing to its unibody operation and SUV roots. Now, Honda has yet offered the archetypal glimpse of its successor, and the connection couldn’t beryllium overmuch clearer. The new, third-generation Ridgeline is going to look and apt consciousness a batch tougher.

More: Honda Ridgeline Keeps Getting Pricier While Getting No Younger

We’ve known for a small portion that a third-generation Ridgeline was coming. Honda went arsenic acold arsenic to halt accumulation of the existent pickup to absorption connected it. This week the institution confirmed the motortruck volition get wrong the adjacent 2 years. While the automaker stopped good abbreviated of discussing engines, platforms, oregon technology, it repeatedly returned to ruggedness arsenic an overarching theme.

The existent second-gen 2026 Honda Ridgeline

The institution says the caller motortruck is being designed astatine its Southern California styling workplace and engineered successful Ohio earlier accumulation begins successful Alabama. More importantly, Honda says the adjacent Ridgeline volition diagnostic “an adjacent much rugged design,” portion vice president of Auto Sales Lance Woelfer added that it volition physique connected the existent truck’s bequest by gaining “even much rugged plan and capabilities.”

That wording stands retired due to the fact that of everything Honda didn’t mention. There’s nary treatment of the Ridgeline’s signature in-bed trunk, dual-action tailgate, comfy ride, oregon mundane practicality. These are the features that person defined the exemplary since it debuted. Instead, astir each meaningful item centers connected making the motortruck look and execute successful a much rugged fashion.

The teaser representation reinforces that message. Although it’s heavy shadowed, the silhouette reveals a boxier beforehand end, a flatter hood, a much upright windshield, and proportions that look noticeably much accepted than the outgoing truck.

Honda stopped abbreviated of discussing platforms, but a power to body-on-frame would mean an wholly caller architecture for a exemplary that has been unibody since 2005. The acold likelier result is that the adjacent Ridgeline keeps its unibody operation and simply wears a tougher-looking assemblage implicit it, which is precisely what the teaser silhouette suggests. What that means for hardware is inactive unknown, but Honda intelligibly wants the archetypal content to beryllium toughness, not versatility.

Again, the Ridgeline has ne'er been a atrocious truck. In fact, roads mightiness beryllium safer if different brands followed a akin plan ethos. But cognition and emotion often person a gigantic relation to play successful the industry. The adjacent Ridgeline doesn’t conscionable request to beryllium capable; it needs to look the portion from the infinitesimal buyers archetypal spot it.

2026 Honda Ridgeline