2026 Honda Ridgeline: O’Fallon Buyers Guide

It’s built more like a car. That’s really the whole pitch.

Underneath, the Ridgeline shares its structure with the Pilot and the Passport. Unibody, not a ladder frame. A Tacoma or a Ranger rides on a separate frame bolted to the body. The Ridgeline doesn’t, and that one decision explains almost everything else about how it drives. Independent rear suspension instead of a solid axle. On the pothole-cratered stretches St. Charles County produces every spring after a hard winter, that’s the difference between feeling every seam in the road and mostly not. The cabin is quiet the way a Honda crossover is quiet, not the way a body-on-frame pickup usually is.

What you don’t get: real rock-crawling ability. No low-range transfer case, no locking diffs to speak of. Honda isn’t hiding that. It’s just not what this truck is for.

What it is for shows up constantly around here. A trailer of dirt bikes headed down I-44 toward the Ozarks. Mulch and lumber for a Saturday project. A boat out to Mark Twain Lake or the Lake of the Ozarks. Frank Leta Honda has sold Ridgelines through more than one generation now, and it turns up in the O’Fallon store’s reviews about as often as anything else in the lineup, frequently from Honda owners who cross-shopped a traditional pickup first and ended up here anyway. New ones bought at Frank Leta Honda also come with the dealership’s own Lifetime Warranty, parts and labor, for as long as the original buyer keeps the truck. That covers new gas vehicles. Diesel and electric are excluded, which doesn’t touch the Ridgeline since it only comes one way, gas V6.

One engine, one drivetrain, four ways to spec it

Every 2026 trim gets the identical 3.5-liter V6: 280 horsepower, 262 lb-ft of torque, a 9-speed automatic, and i-VTM4 all-wheel drive that actively sends torque side to side across the rear axle instead of just splitting it front-to-back. Nobody’s stuck with a cheaper front-drive version by accident, because Honda never built one. EPA rates Sport, RTL and Black Edition at 18 city, 24 highway, 21 combined. TrailSport’s all-terrain tires cost it a little: 18/23/20. Tow rating stays flat at 5,000 lb no matter the trim. Payload does shift, though. 1,583 lb on the Sport, down to 1,509 lb on a fully loaded Black Edition. If you’re actually planning to load the bed heavy and often, that gap is worth doing the math on before picking a trim by looks alone.

The bed itself doesn’t change trim to trim. 5.3 feet long, 5 feet wide, 4.2 feet between the wheel wells, with a lockable trunk built into the floor that most trucks in this class simply don’t have. The tailgate swings out like a door or folds flat, your call depending on what you’re loading. All of that carries across every trim. What changes as you climb the lineup is comfort, styling, and off-road hardware, and that’s what the trim guides below actually cover.

Which 2026 Ridgeline fits your bed of choice

What Ridgeline owners tell Frank Leta Honda

The Ridgeline turns up on Frank Leta Honda’s public Google profile across more than a decade of purchases, and loyalty comes up almost as often as first impressions. “I worked with Malachi Cade today for a new Honda Ridgeline. He was outstanding. His professionalism and knowledge was a breath of fresh air… The truck is immaculate,” one buyer wrote (Jeff C.). Sometimes the Ridgeline interest starts somewhere else entirely. One customer drove up from Springfield after a hailstorm totaled her CR-V and ended up buying another CR-V from sales consultant Taylor Culbertson. But she already knows what’s next: “We will definitely be back to look at a Ridgeline in a couple years” (Jennifer B.). It’s the kind of truck that seems to earn repeat business once somebody’s actually spent time in one.

Owning one after the paperwork

Two more guides pick up from here. The Ridgeline service & repair guide covers Maintenance Minder, the V6’s timing belt interval, and what a St. Louis-area winter does to a bed and undercarriage over a few years. The pricing & leasing guide breaks down the full MSRP table, how Missouri figures vehicle sales tax, and how lease-versus-buy tends to play out for an O’Fallon-area truck buyer.

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2026 Honda Ridgeline any good?

For what most owners actually do with a midsize truck, yes. Towing a trailer, hauling gear, commuting without feeling every bump, the Ridgeline handles that well. The unibody platform and independent rear suspension give it a smoother ride than most body-on-frame trucks manage, AWD is standard rather than an add-on, and the lockable trunk in the bed is genuinely useful in a way few competitors match. Where it falls short is dedicated off-road ability. No low-range gearing, no serious rock-crawling articulation, even on the TrailSport.

Which is better, a Toyota Tacoma or a Honda Ridgeline?

Depends what you need it for. The Tacoma’s body-on-frame construction and available low-range gearing give it the edge for real off-roading and some higher towing configurations. The Ridgeline answers with a smoother ride, standard all-wheel drive that isn’t optional or upcharged, a lockable in-bed trunk the Tacoma doesn’t have, and Honda Sensing on every trim without exception. If the truck’s daily job is commuting with occasional towing, drive both and see which one actually feels right.

Will the Honda Ridgeline be redesigned soon?

Honda hasn’t said. The current generation carries into 2026 with real feature updates, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto instead of last year’s wired-only setup, a 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster on upper trims, but it’s not a ground-up redesign. Frank Leta Honda’s sales team can speak to whatever’s officially known about future model years.

What’s the difference between the RTL and RTL-E?

For 2026, Honda’s Ridgeline lineup has four trims: Sport, RTL, TrailSport, Black Edition. There isn’t an RTL-E in the current lineup to compare against. The RTL itself sits between Sport and TrailSport, adding leather seats, heated fronts, remote start, and upgraded audio.

Where can I see a 2026 Ridgeline in O’Fallon?

At Frank Leta Honda, 500 Auto Mall Drive. Check the staff directory to see who’s on the floor, or just call (636) 339-3361 and ask what’s actually in stock in the trim and color you want.

Four trims, one hardworking truck underneath

Here’s what stays constant across the whole 2026 lineup: the same 280-hp V6, the same standard AWD, the same 5,000-lb tow rating, the same lockable bed. Trim to trim, what actually changes is comfort and off-road hardware, and the guides above walk through each one. The fastest way to feel the gap between the Sport’s cloth seats and the Black Edition’s ventilated leather is standing in front of both on the Auto Mall Drive lot. Frank Leta Honda’s used and Honda Certified Pre-Owned inventory is also worth a look if a slightly older Ridgeline fits the budget better.

All 2026 Honda Ridgeline guides

• 2026 Honda Ridgeline: O'Fallon Buyers Guide
• 2026 Honda Ridgeline Sport: O'Fallon Buyers Guide
• 2026 Honda Ridgeline RTL: O'Fallon Buyers Guide
• 2026 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport: O'Fallon Buyers Guide
• 2026 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition: O'Fallon Buyers Guide
• 2026 Honda Ridgeline: O'Fallon Service & Repair Guide
• 2026 Honda Ridgeline: O'Fallon Pricing & Leasing Guide