The Next Honda Ridgeline Is On The Way. Here’s What Honda Tells Us To Expect

We’ve known for some time that a new Honda Ridgeline is on the way. Now, Honda has confirmed some of the details about the third-generation of the Ridgeline.

Here’s The Skinny About The New Ridgeline

The next-generation Ridgeline is slated to arrive within the next two years. It will be designed at Honda’s Southern California styling studio in Torrance, California and the mechanical engineering will be done at the Honda Auto Development Center in Raymond, Ohio. The truck will continue to be built in Lincoln, Alabama.

Honda will pause production of the current Ridgeline later this year to prepare for production of the next-gen truck.

“The award-winning Honda Ridgeline has introduced innovative new technologies and features to America's truck market for two decades, prioritizing features and capabilities recreational truck buyers need and use the most,” said Lance Woelfer, vice president of Auto Sales at American Honda Motor Co., Inc., in a press release. “The next Ridgeline, which will continue to be built by our associates in Alabama, will advance this legacy while gaining even more rugged design and capabilities.”

The details above are all Honda is willing to share at this time, but we’ve previously reported that the company is likely to move away from the current 3.5-liter gas V6 to a hybrid powertrain setup.

Since Honda has only teased a few things, we’ll take some educated speculative guesses on what the next truck will feature.

It’s possible the truck could get an updated infotainment system - Honda’s current system seems dated. Perhaps the truck will get Google’s Gemini AI, something the current Ridgeline won’t have? We’d also expect a fair amount of advanced driver-aid systems - at the very least, what’s available on the current truck should carryover.

A Trailsport trim is a near certainty, though perhaps not at first. We’d expect a feature and trim mix similar to the current model.

It’s harder to guess if the towing capacity will increase or if things like the in-bed trunk will carryover, but we’d not bet against it.

What The Next Honda Ridgeline Will Look Like

Honda has provided us with just one teaser image of the next Ridgeline. We can take a few guesses as to what the final product will look like. The silhouette doesn’t appear to be drastically different from the current Ridgeline - it will be a far less dramatic departure than the second-gen truck was to the first.

The hood and grille still have subtle curvature and the overall shape remains conservative overall. There appears to be a bit more squaring off at the C-pillar, especially where it meets the bed, and the bed overall looks a bit more squared-off and “trucky” than what we see on the current truck.

The grille looks narrow, in part because the front fascia/bumper looks large. Honda’s provided teaser shows a four-door truck. The wheels look large, too, but whether they will be or not is unclear.

What is clear is that the overall look, at least based on this silhouette, will be more of an evolution than a revolution. Considering that the current look has aged well and is less divisive than the first-gen Ridgeline’s styling, that’s probably a good thing.

As for the interior, we have no teaser image to work with. So we can’t even speculate much on the cabin’s design.

We also can’t pin down a launch date - but again, we can play at some informed speculation. Auto-show season begins in November in L.A., with Detroit following in January, Chicago in February, and New York in late March/early April. It’s hard to guess precisely which show, if any, Honda will choose for the debut, since the company said the on-sale date is within the next two years. Still, we’d expect to see the truck sooner rather than later - and it’s worth noting Honda’s American HQ is in SoCal, though the company also has a presence in Detroit. Once the sheet does come off, it’s usually six months to a year - sometimes sooner, very rarely later - until the media gets invited to the press launch.

Not only will we know for sure what’s under the hood once the truck is formally unveiled, we’ll also know if current Honda Ridgeline owners got the features they want.

Images: Honda

About The Author

Tim Healey is an experienced automotive writer and editor from Chicago. He has covered automotive news at Consumer Guide Automotive, Web2Carz, AutoGuide, and was the managing editor at The Truth About Cars. Tim is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association. You can find him on Facebook, X/Twitter, and on LinkedIn.