What Is the Best Year for the Honda Ridgeline?

Looking for a new truck is an exciting experience! If you are considering buying a new or used Honda Ridgeline, you are probably wondering what the best model year is. 

Here are some important things you should know about the Honda Ridgeline, including which year is the best.

What Is the Best Year for the Honda Ridgeline?

The best year for the Honda Ridgeline is 2017. The design is refined and the car has a high reliability rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars from J.D. Power. It received a perfect 5 out of 5-star overall safety rating from the NHTSA. It has kept its value well over the years and is extremely powerful.

So, what makes the Honda Ridgeline worth the purchase?

Here are some of the main reasons you should purchase a Honda Ridgeline, as well as some problems that you need to be aware of:

What Makes The 2017 Honda Ridgeline the Best?

Let’s go a little deeper into why the 2017 Honda Ridgeline is the best year of this truck model.

The 2017 Ridgeline model has the best capacities for this mid-size truck. 

Most trucks have a rougher drive, but many people say that the driving style of the Honda Ridgeline is more like an SUV than a truck. 

The engine has 280HP and a 6-speed automatic transmission. 

This truck can tow between 3,500-5,000 pounds.

The 2017 Honda Ridgeline gets up to 19 miles per gallon in the city and 26 miles per gallon on the highway.

The 2017 Ridgeline also has some incredible technology—especially for being five years old—including:

• Rearview camera
• Lights in the truck bed
• Push-button start
• Cruise control
• Bluetooth capabilities
• One Charging USB port
• Seven-speaker audio system with a subwoofer

There are 5 different 2017 Honda Ridgeline trim packages you can choose from: the RT, RTS, Sport, RTL, and the RTL-T.

Whichever model you choose to purchase, you will enjoy driving the Honda Ridgeline. 

It has plenty of features that ensure your comfort and safety while on the road.

The 2017 Honda Ridgeline received a 4.5 out of 5-star reliability rating from J.D. Power, which is nearly perfect.

It also received a perfect 5 out of 5-star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

You can definitely relax knowing you will be perfectly safe in this truck!

When you are looking for a 2017 Honda Ridgeline to purchase, go to your local used car dealership or call beforehand about the truck’s availability.

What You Need to Know Before Purchasing

One thing to note about the Honda Ridgeline is that it is a relatively reliable car! According to several different companies, it has a Good or Decent reliability review or rating. J.D. Power gave the Honda Ridgeline an 81 out of 100 reliability rating.

It is known for a good resale value and for lasting a long time.

However, owners have had issues with the transmission, hearing weird noises, grating metal, and metal being found in the transmission fluid. 

Owners of older models of the Honda Ridgeline have had issues with the brakes, and newer models have had electrical problems. 

Even with these issues, most owners had remarkable things to say about their Honda Ridgeline and have raved about how wonderful their experiences have been, even with defects and different struggles they have had with the truck.

First Generation Honda Ridgeline

The Honda Ridgeline is the ideal truck. 

In the past, people were comfortable with the small cabin, large truck bed, and the ability to tow and carry large items, including other cars. 

Honda decided to break the mold and create a new kind of truck, the first-generation Ridgeline.

But what makes the Honda Ridgeline unique? The Honda Ridgeline has a different shape than most trucks. 

You are able to have five people sit comfortably in the cab, and the interior feels similar to an Accord sedan because of the amount of space.

This is certainly different in comparison to trucks that can only hold two or three people and have no cabin space. 

It also has an in-bed trunk, which means is that you can safely store valuables, fragile objects, or other items that could be damaged by weather/turbulence. 

This is a rare feature for trucks. 

Typically, you just throw things in the truck bed and hope for the best.

A cool bonus is that the truck-bed door can open in two different ways. 

This is extremely convenient if you drive with people in the truck bed or enjoy going tailgating.

Through an overall view of the basic statistics on Honda Ridgeline models based on years, the numbers that stuck out to us are the towing capacity, fuel economy, and fuel tank capacity. 

The towing capacity on the models between 2006-2014 is around 1480-1550 pounds. 

The fuel economy is around 15-21 miles a gallon, with the fuel tank capacity sitting at around 22 gallons.

Newest Honda Ridgeline Models

The Honda Ridgeline models made from 2016 until now have been refined and are much different than the original model.

The design of the Honda Ridgeline has been improved. 

The older Honda Ridgeline was slightly sleek and had fewer amenities. 

It looked a little clunky, which was something that bothered a lot of truck lovers. 

However, the newer model has a better interior and exterior design.

The exterior design is similar to a traditional truck. 

Instead of the cabin being sharply angled to the truck bed, the older model had a smoother transition from the cabin to the bed. 

Now, the Honda Ridgeline has that classic, sharp distinction between the cab and the bed.

There were also some changes to the interior of the Honda Ridgeline. 

The cabin has a 60/40 split in space between the front and back. 

Some of the amenities that were added were an in-bed audio system, better gas efficiency, and the feel of an SUV while sitting in the cab and driving.

Some of the additions you can get in the newer models are a touchscreen to select different functions like Bluetooth, navigation, and even truck bed audio! 

The safety feature additions include a blind spot sensor to alert you when others drive by and a traction tracker. 

What this feature does is allow you to alert the truck of what terrain and conditions you will be driving through and make the appropriate changes to improve your traction.

Ultimately, these additions are meant to improve your quality of life and overall safety while driving.