2023 Honda Ridgeline vs 2024 Chevrolet Colorado

Trucks are the most popular vehicles in North America. We buy them for work, for play, and, let’s be honest, for posing. We slam them down, we jack them up, and we make them loud and imposing. We brag about them, too: how much power they make, how much weight they tow, how far they go off-road, and how reliable they are. Trucks are our pride, our joy, and for some people, our substitution for therapy.

The 2023 Honda Ridgeline is one of several midsize trucks you can buy, but it bucks convention, making it an outlier. For people who need a truck to tackle modest tasks and don’t want to live with the compromises inherent in a traditional pickup, the 2023 Ridgeline is perfect. Just don’t expect to fit in with the crowd described above.

Midsize trucks are having a moment. Rugged, off-road-ready lifestyle pickups and SUVs are all currently in vogue. In the past few years, we’ve seen redesigns for the Ford Ranger, the Nissan Frontier, and, long-awaited, the Toyota Tacoma. General Motors has joined the party with a redesigned GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado.

The popularity of smaller trucks has ebbed and flowed through the decades, but based on all of these redesigns, automakers are convinced that there are sales to be made. One way these trucks have evolved is by pivoting from downsized work vehicles offering weekend-warrior and lifestyle-off-roader versions, to focusing specifically on those weekend warrior and lifestyle shoppers.

Verdict: The Colorado has evolved from merely offering more content and upgraded versions to focusing on well-equipped, upgraded trims catering to recreation more than work.