2022 Honda Ridgeline vs 2023 Ford F-150

Honda isn’t known for pickup trucks, but that means it brings a different perspective to the genre. The 2022 Honda Ridgeline is like no other pickup on the market.

The Ridgeline isn’t just being different for the sake of being different, either. It uses the same unibody construction that gives crossover SUVs greater refinement than traditional models to offer increased comfort and better on-road handling than most pickups.

Since the Ridgeline’s debut, the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick have applied the unibody concept to smaller compact pickups, creating a new niche, but the Honda is a larger vehicle that competes with existing midsize pickups like the Ford Ranger, Jeep Gladiator, Nissan Frontier, Toyota Tacoma, and Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins.

The Ridgeline debuted for the 2006 model year and the current second-generation version dates back to the 2017 model year. It got a facelift for 2021, so it carries over to 2022 essentially unchanged. In Canada, trim levels include the base Ridgeline Sport, midlevel EX-L and Touring, and the range-topping Black Edition, which is what we sampled for this review.

This year, Ford expands the F-150 lineup yet again. The big news is the debut of the F-150 Raptor R, equipped with a supercharged 5.2-litre V8 engine making 700 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque. The new 2023 F-150 Raptor R also has exclusive R-tuned Fox live-valve shocks, standard 37-inch all-terrain tires, and a few other goodies to justify its presumably six-figure price tag (Canadian pricing has not been announced as of publication time).

The other new version of the 2023 Ford F-150 is more accessible: the XLT Heritage Edition. It has two-tone paint, unique cloth seat inserts, and exclusive 75 Years interior details. That’s the subject of this review.