Some of you say the Honda Ridgeline isn’t a “real truck”, but can it prove itself off-road?
A couple weeks ago, the TFL crew made one of our last purchases of 2025: an 18-year-old Honda Ridgeline. I totally understand if you didn’t have that one on your bingo card, but there are a couple reasons we picked it up. It looked pretty solid for what is, like several other vehicles we’ve gotten for video series, an auction buy. Beyond that, this 200,000-mile example is a good test bed to answer a simple question. Is the Honda Ridgeline really a sport utility truck, as the automaker pitched to buyers back in the mid-naughts?
It’s a reputation that’s followed Honda’s entry to the midsize truck segment, even through the current-generation model. It has a unibody construction, an all-wheel drive system, no solid axles…it’s not a “real truck”, right? Can it actually off-road? Can it tow like a real truck? Can it haul, well, anything?
That’s all to come, but we’re starting with the off-road side of the equation. The 2008 Honda Ridgeline does pack a 3.5-liter V6 engine and the automaker’s VTM-4 all-wheel drive system (Variable Torque Management 4-Wheel Drive). While it doesn’t have front or rear locking differentials, you can center-lock the VTM-4 system to evenly split torque to get unstuck.
To find out just how well the system actually works, Andre takes the Ridgeline through Andre’s Pit at Tumbleweed Ranch. Check out the video below to see how it performs, as well as a bit more on the powertrain and what it’s like to drive both off- and on-road:
