Honda made just two changes to the 2022 Ridgeline pickup, which is on sale now. First, there’s a Sonic Gray Pearl paint that “is expected to be available starting in December.” Second, there’s been a $400 addition to the MSRP across the range. The new prices, including the $1,225 destination charge, are:
- Ridgeline Sport: $38,115
- Ridgeline RTL: $41,095
- Ridgeline RTL-E: $44,045
- Ridgeline Black Edition: $45,545
What everyone has noticed is the change we might have expected but didn’t get: a Ridgeline TrailSport trim. The 2022 Passport broke the seal on the new rugged variants, which will become halo vehicles expressing Honda’s off-road expertise. The Ridgeline seems a more natural model to take the lead onto the dirt, considering the Passport took most of its new rugged cosmetic cues from the Ridgeline’s, and one branch of Honda’s Factory Off-Road Team runs a Ridgeline. Well, a chassis with a Ridgeline-esque body, at least.
On the other hand, the Passport is expected to have a much higher sales ceiling than the Ridgeline. The pickup, a known-and-kind-of-odd quantity, has only sold about 10,000 units fewer than the Passport over the past two years. So it could be that Honda wanted to address its underperforming crossover — only in sales, mind you — first.
The meek thing has worked for the Ridgeline so far — the past few years have seen annual U.S. sales figures not seen since 2008 — but we expect Honda will develop a more assertive personality for it soon. With the well-reviewed and much less expensive Hyundai Santa Cruz squeezing the Ridgeline for the title of best on-road manners, the even-more-inexpensive Ford Maverick trying to answer the call of those who dream of an old-school Ford Ranger, and the current Ranger and Chevrolet Canyon/GMC Colorado putting on big tires and suspensions to go hardcore, Honda can’t let the Ridgeline’s sales rebound get turned back by the tide.
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