Why Do We Love the Honda Ridgeline?

In short, we love the Ridgeline for its great engine, excellent capabilities, and terrific features inside and out. These are all great reasons to come check out a Honda Ridgeline for sale in Oklahoma City to see everything it can do. Of course, we’re happy to provide a longer answer and take a look at the remarkable features that elevate this pickup.

One of the best ways to fully appreciate what the Honda Ridgeline brings to the road is to compare it to something like the Toyota Tacoma. These are both midsize trucks with a lot to offer, but when you look at their standard features, it becomes clear they are not the same. Honda gives you a lot more to enjoy, making the Ridgeline an incredible choice for whatever you need.

A Powerful Standard Engine

We can’t think of a better place to start when looking at a truck than with its engine and the kind of performance it delivers. So much depends on your pickup’s engine that if it is weak or wanting, then not much else matters. Fortunately, Honda’s team clearly understands this, as they have ensured the Ridgeline delivers bold power and performance.

There’s only one engine available for the Ridgeline, which is perfect for us because it means you don’t have to worry about missing out on anything. Toyota offers several engines for the Tacoma, which means you can get a lot less power than you deserve simply because you tried to keep things simple. How does the Tacoma’s standard engine stack up? Well…

• 2026 Honda Ridgeline: 3.5L V6 engine, with 280 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque
• 2026 Toyota Tacoma: 2.4L I-4 engine, with 228 hp and 243 lb-ft of torque

You can see that the standard engine for the Tacoma is much less powerful than what Honda gives you. Toyota offers better engines, but drivers shouldn’t have to sort through a bunch of options and pay more for great performance. With the Ridgeline, you get a terrific powertrain no matter what else you’re interested in, which is exactly what we look for in a pickup.

Robust Standard Capabilities

Big performance is great, but horsepower and torque aren’t the only things that matter. They impact your daily drive, but you also want to see the engine’s power fully utilized to deliver the big capabilities you need to take care of business in Oklahoma City every day. For many people, that means getting impressive towing power from their trucks.

Since these are both midsize pickups, you’re not going to see the kind of towing capabilities here that a larger full-size model can deliver. But, honestly, that’s just fine for a lot of folks we know who just need enough to haul a reasonable amount of weight around. How do these two trucks compare when looking at towing capacity with their standard engines?

• 2026 Honda Ridgeline: 5,000 lbs max towing
• 2026 Toyota Tacoma: 3,500 lbs max towing

That’s a pretty massive difference that can really matter when you’re trying to get the most from your truck. Even if you’re not planning on pushing the limits of that 5,000 lbs of towing, being able to pull at least 4,000 or 4,500 lbs with your midsize pickup can be vital. This is a big reason why we find so many people are drawn to the Ridgeline and everything it has to offer.

Terrific Standard Cabin Features

Although performance and capabilities are important, they’re not the only things that matter when you’re shopping for a truck. You want something that has great features inside, too, ensuring you’ll enjoy driving every day. Even with the Ridgeline’s base Sport trim, you get some fantastic features for getting around Oklahoma City.

Up front, you’ll find an impressive nine-inch infotainment touchscreen along with a seven-inch driver display that both work beautifully. A seven-speaker sound system with a subwoofer is standard, although an eight-speaker premium system is available if you want something more. You get a wireless phone charger, tri-zone automatic climate control, and more, all standard.

Looking at the 2026 Toyota Tacoma, we find some nice features, but it clearly can’t keep up with everything Honda offers. An eight-inch infotainment touchscreen is standard for the Tacoma, along with a four-speaker sound system. Toyota only provides a wireless charging pad on higher trims, and the starting trim doesn’t even include dual-zone climate control. There are plenty of better options available for the Tacoma, but its starting features are quite limited.

Great Bed Features & Functionality

The right truck not only offers impressive features inside, but also provides qualities that help you live your life. Honda furnishes the Ridgeline with several such qualities, starting with a long 5.3-foot bed that provides nearly 34 cu.ft. of cargo space, making it highly functional.

In addition, the Ridgeline has one of our favorite features on any truck: a lockable in-bed trunk. This concealed trunk is easy to open and access, since it’s at the back of the bed, giving you 7.3 cu.ft. of lockable storage space, with a drain plug in case you want to use it as a cooler. You even get a dual-action tailgate that opens down (like any tailgate) or outward to the side, making it easy to reach into the Ridgeline’s bed.

Toyota doesn’t really offer any of this impressive functionality. There are two bed lengths available for the Tacoma, including a five-foot bed that’s comparable to what Honda provides, but you won’t find an in-bed trunk or a dual-action tailgate here. In fact, a power open-and-close tailgate is the best that Toyota offers, and you’ll only find it on high-end trims. The great bed features of the Ridgeline come standard on every trim.

Excellent Features for Heading Off-Road

Although not everyone is looking to head off-road in a truck like this, we still like to see that Honda offers fantastic options for leaving Oklahoma City’s streets behind and heading out for an outdoor adventure. You have numerous trims available for the Ridgeline, with the TrailSport trim being the way to go if you want to hit the trail.

With the TrailSport, you get a special off-road-tuned suspension that is perfect for rough trails and difficult terrain. This trim also comes with all-terrain tires for added grip off paved roads, plus Intelligent Traction Management with settings for Snow, Sand, and Mud. Plus, every Ridgeline trim comes with all-wheel drive, for added traction in messy conditions.

Toyota also has some fine off-road features available for the Tacoma, but they make things needlessly complicated. The “TRD” badge should indicate which trims are made to go off-road, but we see six different Tacoma trims with “TRD” in the name, and they’re far from equal. This makes it difficult to decide which one is right for any particular need, while Honda keeps things much simpler for you.

The Perfect Midsize Truck for Oklahoma City

At the end of the day, Honda makes it easy to get the perfect Ridgeline with everything you want, thanks to its fantastic standard features. You can go with the starting trim and know you get impressive power, terrific capabilities, and remarkable features inside and out. We can’t say the same for the Tacoma, which makes it easy to see why so many people choose the Ridgeline.