Compare the2024 Ford RangerVS 2023 Honda Ridgeline

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Ranger have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Honda Ridgeline doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Ranger are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Ranger has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Ranger XLT/Lariat has a standard Reverse Brake Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Ranger’s optional Trail Control allows you to creep down safely. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer Trail Control.

The Ranger (except XL) offers an optional 360-Degree Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Ridgeline only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

The Ranger XLT/Lariat’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

The Ranger has standard 911 Assist, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Ranger and the Ridgeline have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available four-wheel drive, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

There are almost 3 times as many Ford dealers as there are Honda dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Ranger’s warranty.

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the Ranger’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the Ridgeline’s camshafts. If the Ridgeline’s belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

The Ranger has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Ranger has a standard 700-amp battery (800 optional). The Ridgeline’s 650-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in long-term dependability. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Honda is rated below average.

The Ranger’s standard 2.3 turbo 4-cylinder produces 48 lbs.-ft. more torque (310 vs. 262) than the Ridgeline’s 3.5 SOHC V6. The Ranger’s optional 2.7 turbo V6 produces 35 more horsepower (315 vs. 280) and 138 lbs.-ft. more torque (400 vs. 262) than the Ridgeline’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

On the EPA test cycle the Ranger gets better mileage than the Ridgeline:

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Ford Ranger, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a nine-speed automatic is available for the Ridgeline.

The Ranger’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Ridgeline are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Ranger has larger tires than the Ridgeline (255/70R17 vs. 245/60R18).

The Ford Ranger’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Honda Ridgeline only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Ranger has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Ridgeline’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Ranger’s wheelbase is 3.5 inches longer than on the Ridgeline (128.7 inches vs. 125.2 inches).

For better maneuverability, the Ranger’s turning circle is .9 feet tighter than the Ridgeline’s (42.5 feet vs. 43.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Ranger has a 1.66 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Ridgeline (9.3 vs. 7.64 inches), allowing the Ranger to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Ford Ranger may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 250 pounds less than the Honda Ridgeline.

The Ranger has .9 inches more front headroom, 2.8 inches more front legroom and 1 inch more rear headroom than the Ridgeline.

The Ranger has a much larger cargo box than the Ridgeline shortbed (43.5 vs. 33.9 cubic feet).

A low lift-over bed design makes loading and unloading the Ranger easier. The Ranger’s bed lift-over height is 34 inches, while the Ridgeline’s liftover is 35.3 inches.

The Ford Ranger has a standard tailgate assist feature, which prevents the heavy tailgate from falling with a crash and causing injury. It allows adults and children to easily open and close the tailgate with one hand to better facilitate loading and unloading. The Honda Ridgeline doesn’t offer a tailgate assist.

The Ford Ranger offers an optional Integrated Box Side Step, which allows for much easier access to the cargo area. The Honda Ridgeline doesn’t offer a rear cargo step.

The Ranger’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Ridgeline’s (7500 vs. 5000 pounds).

The Ranger 4x4 has a higher standard payload capacity than the Ridgeline (1711 vs. 1583 lbs.).

The Ranger has a much higher maximum payload capacity than the Ridgeline (1805 vs. 1583 lbs.).

The engine in the Ranger is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Ridgeline. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because there are no rear spark plugs and the accessory belts are in front.

The Ranger’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Ridgeline does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Ranger’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Ridgeline’s parking brake has to be released manually.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Ranger’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Ranger Lariat’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Ridgeline’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Ranger (except XL)’s optional Enhanced Active Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling the transmission and speed with the brake pedal. With its available fully controlled system, the driver just activates it and it parks autonomously, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Ranger is available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Ford Ranger outsold the Honda Ridgeline by 33% during 2022.