The use of small displacement turbocharged engines has people fired up (pun intended), and if that’s you, don’t fear! Let’s compare two midsize trucks without turbos: the 2024 Honda Ridgeline vs. 2024 Nissan Frontier.
2024 Honda Ridgeline costs a lot more, kind of
Let’s kick off this comparison with everyone’s first question: How much?
The base price of the Honda Ridgeline is about $11k more than the Nissan Frontier, but that’s not the whole story.
What’s the reality? The Nissan Frontier comes in different configurations with a greater price spread. There’s two bed lengths and two cabs with the same crew cab as the Ridgeline as well as the King Cab aka extended cab.
Doing some comparative pricing on the build and price tool on each manufacturer’s website, the $11k price gap shrinks to about $5k for a mid-level trim with similar equipment. If you go top trim vs. top trim, the price gap shrinks to a $3k difference.
One is more truck, one is more SUV
The obvious difference for most truck fans is the Ridgeline is a unibody and the Frontier is a body-on-frame. What does that really mean? In the simplest terms: The Frontier will ride like a truck and the Ridgeline will ride more like an SUV.
Is one better than the other? It just depends on what you plan to do with the trucks and what you want in terms of ride.
Since the Ridgeline has the cabin and bed as one unit, not two like the Frontier, it won’t flex as well over rocks. You also have to be careful to not overload the bed, or you’ll cause damage to the truck.
However, if you don’t want to go rock crawling, and you aren’t carrying around those rocks in your bed all the time, the Ridgeline will do the same job as the Frontier.
Exterior differences
Those differences of truck vs. SUV play out in the exterior styling as well. The Frontier has a traditional truck design, while the Ridgeline is more toned down. Honda has tried to improve the Ridgeline’s looks in 2024 with a more aggressive grille design.
A similar thing happened with the 2024 Frontier with its throw-back hardbody package and more aggressive styling.
2024 Honda Ridgeline Trailsport interior
Interior design
Climbing behind the wheel, you’ll find both trucks are pretty similar with layouts, infotainment screens and buttons and knobs all more traditional. In other words: no big tablet-size screens or radical looks.
You could say the interior designs are the most conservative in the segment.
2024 Nissan Frontier hardbody interior
2024 Honda Ridgeline vs. 2024 Nissan Frontier key specs
A close look at the key specs reveals how many different versions of the Frontier there are versus the Ridgeline. The Frontier simply offers more variety than the Ridgeline.
The Ridgeline also comes up short for maximum towing and off-road angles.
However, the Ridgeline has more interior room and more payload than the Frontier.
| Honda Ridgeline | Nissan Frontier | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (with destination w/o options) | $41,125 – $47,725 | $30,905 – $45,435 |
| Trims | Sport, RTL, Trailsport, Black Edition | S, SV, SL, PRO-X, PRO-4X |
| Cab sizes | Crew Cab | King Cab, Crew Cab |
| Bed length | 5′ | 5′ (SWB) or 6′ (LWB) |
| Fuel Requirement | Regular | Regular |
| Fuel Economy | 18/24/21 18/24/21 (Trailsport) |
18/24/20 2WD S 18/23/20 4WD SV, SL 18/24/21 PRO-X 18/22/19 PRO-4X |
| Engines | 3.5L V6 | 3.8L V6 |
| Horsepower / RPMs | 280 / 6000 | 310 / 6400 |
| Torque / RPMs | 262 / 4700 | 281 / 4400 |
| Transmission | 9-Speed A/T | 9-Speed A/T |
| Wheelbase | 125.2″ | 126″ (SWB) 139.8″ (LWB) |
| Length | 210.2″ | 210.2″ (SWB) 224.1″ (LWB) |
| Width (mirrors extended) | 78.6″ | 73.0″ (S, SV) 74.7″ (SL, PRO-X, PRO-4X) |
| Height (with antenna) | 70.8″ | 71.4″-72.9″ (S, PRO-4X) |
| Ground Clearance | 7.64″ | 8.6″ – 9.8″ |
| Approach/Depature/Breakover Angle | 20.4/19.6/19.6 | 29.8 – 32.3 (S, PRO-4X) / 21.4 – 23.0 / 18.9 – 20.6 |
| Headroom (front/rear) | 40.1″ (Sport) 39.5″ (Other Trims) / 38.8″ | 39.9″/38.6″ |
| Legroom (front/rear) | 40.9″ / 36.7″ | 42.3″ / 33.2″ |
| Shoulder Room (front/rear) | 62″ / 61.5″ | 58.2″ / 58.3″ |
| Hip room (front/rear) | 59.1″ / 56.6″ | 54.2″ / 53.7″ |
| Gas Tank | 19.5 Gallons | 21.0 Gallons |
| Largest tire size | 30″ | 31″ |
| Curb weight | 4,420 (Sport) 4,480 (RTL) 4,495 (Trailsport) 4,504 (Black Edition) |
4,495 2WD (SWB, S) – 4,856 4WD (LWB, SV) |
| Max payload | 1,583 (Sport) 1,544 (RTL) 1,521 (Trailsport) 1,509 (Black Edition) |
1,460 2WD S 1,290 S 4WD 1,480 2WD SV SWB 1,220 PRO-4X |
| Max towing | 5,000 | 6,510 – 6,170 (S, PRO-4X) |
The bottom line
A lot of people love to dismiss the Honda Ridgeline, saying it’s not a truck. However, I’ve found the Ridgeline to be pretty darn good for what it is, and in fact, it handles dirt washboards better than body-on-frame trucks like the Frontier.
It really comes down to your truck needs and personal preference. Do you want a truck to ride like a truck and look like an off-road truck? Nissan Frontier for you then. Are you honest with your needs and favor capability over looks? Then, the Honda Ridgeline is your truck.
