With its High Prices, the Ridgeline is Not a Truck for the Masses

Just recently, I passed on news that Honda had officially kicked off production of the Ridgeline. Now, Honda has attached a price tag to the newest addition to the midsize pickup segment and again proved that the Ridgeline is not for the typical pickup buyer.

» Related: The New Ridgeline's Production Begins, but do Truck Buyers Care?

The base price for the 2017 Ridgeline’s base trim, the RT, checks in at an eye-watering $29,475, putting it $9,375 higher than the base Colorado and $5,815 more than the base Tacoma. Adding all-wheel drive jumps the price to whopping $31,275. Don’t get me wrong now, the Ridgeline has a good reason to be so pricey as it comes standard with a 280-horspower V-6, a six-speed auto transmission, push-button start, a rearview camera, Active Noise Cancellation, 18-inch aluminum wheels, and more. However, this high price tag and the high-end standard features confirm that the Ridgeline will not be a truck for the masses.

Moving up the trim levels, the RTS starts from $31,515, the Sport comes in at $33,015, the RTL will run $33,780, the RTL-L will check in at $35,930, the RTL-E will cost $41,370, and the Black Edition will drain you of $42,870. The latter two trims come standard with all-wheel drive while the others require an extra $1,800 to move from the un-truck-like front-wheel drive to all-wheel drive.

Only time will tell if the new Ridgeline will be successful or follow the same path its predecessor did. I suspect we’ll see the latter, but I could be wrong. Stay tuned for updates.