Critics love the Honda Ridgeline; it swept both Consumer Reports’ and Edmunds’ rankings. But sales data puts the Honda Ridgeline in last place. What gives? While the Ridgeline may be a marvel of modern engineering, it obviously doesn’t light up the majority of truck buyers.
Why critics love the Honda Ridgeline
Dog in a pickup truck bed | Guilherme Stecanella via Unsplash
Honda’s Ridgeline is a compact pickup truck with lightweight unibody construction, standard AWD, and independent rear suspension. It holds the road like a car and boasts Honda reliability.
The Ridgeline earned “number one midsize truck” from Edmunds. Edmunds added that the “Spacious crew cab is comfortable and handsomely finished.” The publication also swooned over the “versatile two-way tailgate and large lockable in-bed trunk.”
Honda’s Ridgeline won “top-rated pickup truck overall” from Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports went one step further, labeling the Ridgeline a “smart truck,” and concluding that “Honda has evolved the concept of the pickup.” Here’s what else Consumer Reports said:
“Clearly, it is the right truck for those who are honest about their true needs and aren’t afraid of thinking outside the box.”
Consumer Reports
Despite all the love from the critics, the Honda Ridgeline is dead-last in pickup truck sales. Aren’t the folks at Consumer Reports and Edmunds supposed to be advocating for consumers? How did the two groups get so out of sync?
The Honda Ridgeline doesn’t spark joy
2021 Ridgeline Sport (HPD) | Honda
Most any driver “honest about their true needs” would probably buy a crossover SUV and a small utility trailer. Few of us who aren’t contractors or farmers need a pickup truck. Buying a pickup truck is usually an emotional decision.
The Ridgeline’s towing and payload capacity lags far behind body-on-frame trucks, it lacks ground clearance, and isn’t available with a rumbling V8. Sure, it can do some suburban truck things: picking up mulch in the spring or tailgating at a game.
But the most important thing a truck does is make you look back at it and smile every time you park it and walk away. Despite all the Honda Ridgeline‘s clever design, its sales numbers say it doesn’t spark this kind of joy.
How did automotive criticism miss the mark?
2021 Ridgeline Sport (HPD) | Honda
If Consumer Reports’ and Edmunds’ number one pickup truck was number two in sales, you could say they are in touch with consumers. But ranking the last-place truck as number one is an indicator of a serious disconnect. So what went wrong?
These publications rank every new vehicle in many helpful categories. These often include acceleration, handling, comfort/convenience, fuel economy, cargo capacity, and crash protection. And it’s incredibly valuable for potential car buyers to see ratings broken down in this way.
Consumer Reports and Edmunds then create an overall score, and even a ranking, based on a compilation of these scores. And this is where a problem arises: this system punishes purpose-built vehicles and rewards the multi-tools out there.
For example, the Ridgeline may just get an average rating in cargo, handling, and fuel economy. But it ends up with a higher overall score than a heavy-duty truck that excels at cargo and sacrifices both handling and fuel economy to do so.
To be blunt, no vehicle “excels” at everything. The ones that try end up being bland in every way. I hope these misleading rankings aren’t influencing the industry to build more DVD/VCR players that do everything poorly.
If you plan to buy a new vehicle, you shouldn’t settle for “average” ratings across the board–whatever car reviews are telling you. If you want incredible payload capacity and trailering get a truck. If you want gnarly off-roading, buy a 4×4 SUV. And if you long for handling look into a sportscar.
Curious about what else car critics get wrong? Read why Jeep Wrangler reviews are misleading.
Keyword: No One is Buying Consumer Reports’ Favorite Truck