Compare the2025 Honda RidgelineVS 2025 Ford Ranger

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Ridgeline deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Ridgeline’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Ranger’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Full-time four-wheel drive is standard on the Ridgeline. Full-time four-wheel drive gives added traction for safety in all conditions, not just off-road, like the only system available on the Ranger. Four-wheel drive of any type costs extra on the Ranger.

The Ridgeline has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Ranger’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Ridgeline has standard Cross Traffic Monitor, helping the driver avoid collisions. Ford charges extra for Cross Traffic Alert on the Ranger.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Ridgeline uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Ranger uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Ridgeline and the Ranger have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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 and available rear parking sensors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Honda Ridgeline is safer than the Ford Ranger:

	Ridgeline	Ranger
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	104	110
Neck Injury Risk	27%	29%
Neck Stress	166 lbs.	281 lbs.
Neck Compression	20 lbs.	34 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	41/39 lbs.	144/203 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	32%	34.9%
Neck Stress	121 lbs.	152 lbs.
Neck Compression	56 lbs.	75 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Honda Ridgeline is safer than the Ford Ranger:

	Ridgeline	Ranger
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.6 inches	1.2 inches
Abdominal Force	129 lbs.	195 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	15 inches

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Ridgeline, with its four-star roll-over rating, is 5.9% to 11% less likely to roll over than the Ranger, which received a three-star rating.

Reliability

The engine in the Ridgeline has a single overhead cam for simplicity. The engines in the Ranger have dual overhead cams, which add to the number of moving parts and the complexity of the cylinder heads.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Ford With 33 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Honda higher than Ford.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda fourth in overall reliability. Ford is ranked 13th.

Engine

The Ridgeline’s 3.5 SOHC V6 produces 10 more horsepower (280 vs. 270) than the Ranger’s standard 2.3 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Honda Ridgeline is faster than the Ford Ranger turbo 4 cyl.:

	Ridgeline	Ranger
Zero to 60 MPH	6.3 sec	6.9 sec
Quarter Mile	14.8 sec	15.4 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	93.2 MPH	90.2 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Ridgeline’s fuel efficiency. The Ranger doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Honda Ridgeline uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Ranger requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Ridgeline has 1.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Ranger (19.5 vs. 18 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Ridgeline has a standard locking fuel door with a power remote release convenient to the driver. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Ranger. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Ridgeline’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Ranger:

	Ridgeline	Ranger
Front Rotors	12.6 inches	12.2 inches
Rear Rotors	13 inches	12.1 inches

The Ridgeline stops much shorter than the Ranger:

	Ridgeline	Ranger
70 to 0 MPH	180 feet	208 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	134 feet	150 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	142 feet	167 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Ridgeline’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Ranger’s standard 70 series tires. The Ridgeline’s tires are lower profile than the Ranger Lariat’s 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Ridgeline has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Ranger.

The Ridgeline has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Ranger doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

For superior ride and handling, the Honda Ridgeline has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Ford Ranger has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The Ridgeline has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Ridgeline flat and controlled during cornering. The Ranger’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The front and rear suspension of the Ridgeline uses coil springs for better ride, handling and control than the Ranger, which uses leaf springs in the rear. Coil springs compress more progressively and offer more suspension travel for a smoother ride with less bottoming out.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Ridgeline is 3.1 inches wider in the front and 3 inches wider in the rear than on the Ranger.

The Ridgeline Sport handles at .80 G’s, while the Ranger XLT 4x4 pulls only .72 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Ridgeline Black Edition executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the Ranger Lariat 4x4 (27.7 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 29.1 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

Chassis

Unibody construction lowers the Ridgeline’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Ranger doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

The Ridgeline uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Ranger doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Ridgeline has 11.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Ranger (109.7 vs. 98.3).

The Ridgeline has 3.2 inches more front hip room, 4.9 inches more front shoulder room, .5 inches more rear headroom, 2.1 inches more rear legroom, 2.5 inches more rear hip room and 4.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Ranger.

Ergonomics

The Ridgeline has a standard Smart Entry that allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, unlock the tailgate, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Ranger Lariat offers Intelligent Access.

When the Ridgeline RTL/Black Edition is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Ranger’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Both the Ridgeline and the Ranger offer available heated front seats. The Ridgeline Black Edition also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Ranger.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Ridgeline Black Edition keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Ranger doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Ridgeline has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning costs extra on the Ranger and isn’t available on the Ranger XL.

The Ridgeline’s standard automatic temperature control maintains the temperature you set, automatically controlling fan speed, vents and temperature to maintain a consistent, comfortable environment. The Ranger XL doesn’t offer automatic air conditioning.

Both the Ridgeline and the Ranger offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Ridgeline has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Ranger doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Honda Ridgeline has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Ranger XLT/Lariat offers wireless charging.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Honda Ridgeline, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Ford Ranger isn't recommended.

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