I’ve recently started enjoying more off-road capable offerings from different manufactures. The latest is the 2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport. After driving the Pilot TrailSport, I was excited to see how the Ridgeline did with the TrailSport treatment. I was glad that the color of choice was Sonic Gray Pearl as it’s one of the better color options. I was a little surprised to see no exterior options were added to this loaner. If you were to go online and build your own Ridgeline, you’ll see that Honda offers a large selection of accessories.

The 5-spoke 18” alloys come wrapped in 245/60 all-terrain tires to handle rugged terrain. I do wish the TrailSport got a 1-2 inch lift to help a little more with approach angle, since the front bumper can hang a little low. The tailgate impressed me with the 2 different types of ways to open it, but you’ll need to be careful as it can be relatively heavy compared to its competitors. Although the bed itself is a little on the shallow side, there is additional storage under the bed that can be used as a cooler since it has a drain plug.

Getting in, you’ll get greeted by leather trimmed surfaces that have the orange TrailSport stitching. Having a kid, dog, and living in a more rural area, the all-season floor mats were a carpet saver! There was plenty of space for everyone and felt more like a SUV than a truck. One thing I did have an issue was the angle of the infotainment screen that pointed up and was reflective. The lack of a 360 degree camera system was a shame since the Pilot had such a great system to help with parking and trail driving.

Under the hood, the 3.5L VTEC V6 pumped out 280 horsepower. With all the force induction vehicles, it was nice to drive a naturally aspirated vehicle that offered responsive and linear power delivery. The impressive component of the Ridgeline is its i-VTM4 AWD system. The power distribution is proactive instead of reactive like many other AWD systems. When turning, it will actively deliver the power to the outer wheels to help with rotation. When I drove the Ridgeline on unpaved roads, the truck felt stable and completely in control.

Overall, I’ve been impressed with Honda’s TrailSport offering and the 2024 Ridgeline TrailSport definitely gets added to that list.