The 2021 Honda Ridgeline Just Killed the 2021 Ford F-150 On Consumer Reports

by Gabrielle DeSantis

The 2021 Honda Ridgeline is finally starting to get some well-deserved respect. It isn’t the most tough-guy pickup truck on Earth, but consumers are starting to realize the value in a more friendly, comfortable, and understated pickup truck. Although the Ridgeline is great, it is still struggling to compete with the 2021 Ford F-150 even though it killed the Ford on Consumer Reports. 

2021 Honda Ridgeline with HPD accessories | Honda

How good is the 2021 Honda Ridgeline? 

Consumer Reports gave the 2021 Honda Ridgeline an overall score of 80/100, making it the highest-rated pickup truck of the year. A score of 80/100 may not seem all that great, but when you compare the 2021 Honda Ridgeline to the rest of the trucks CR reviewed this year, the next closest competitor is the Toyota Tundra with a score of 65/100.

In fact, when you compare the 2021 Honda Ridgeline’s score to the 2021 Ford F-150’s score of 55/100, you can clearly see which one CR prefers. The Honda Ridgeline is a truck that isn’t particularly outstanding in any one category, but it does everything that an average person needs from a truck. 

A silver 2021 Honda Ridgeline parked on a grassy hill
2021 Honda Ridgeline | Honda

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The 2021 Honda Ridgeline sports a peppy 3.5-liter V6 making 280 hp. It comes with a solid AWD system, a comfy ride, decent gas mileage, and a rock-solid reliability rating.

Although it can only tow 5,000 lbs, that is plenty for most people’s average needs. The point of Honda Ridgeline is to be a friendly, approachable truck that will offer what most people should need, offering little in the way of excess. 

But people love their F-150s

The 2021 Ford F-150 is a tough competitor. It seems like no matter how good, or bad the F-150 is, people will never stop buying them. The 2021 model has some incredible features, particularly when you step up to the hybrid PowerBoost model. It can have a built-in power generator, tons of hybrid horsepower, and starting in June, a scale that weighs the bed loads. 

However, the 2021 Ford F-150 did not impress Consumer Reports all that much. The reliability rating is the killer here. 

New technologies will now be available for the 2021 Ford F-150 including class-exclusive Onboard Scales and Smart Hitch as well as continuously controlled damping, each engineered to help customers who tow and haul load their trucks up for the work they’re designed to do while also adding on-road confidence.
2021 Ford F-150 | Ford

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The Ford F-150 has a long history to draw from for reliability information. Unfortunately, based on the Consumer Reports review, the 2021 F-150 has a low predicted reliability rating.

CR determines this rating based on owner reports from previous models. The F-150 struggled with transmission issues along with body hardware and power equipment problems. 

Even more alarming is the fact that after a few months of ownership, some 2021 Ford F-150 owners found the underside of their pickup trucks rusted

It is things like this rust debacle that lead to low-reliability ratings. Even with these reliability issues, F-150 owners still love them. CR polled 2021 F-150 owners on owner satisfaction, and the F-150 scored an impressive four out of five.  

Consumer Reports really only cares about a few things 

At the end of the day, when Consumer Reports rates vehicles, they look at every detail of the unit. Still, the final score tends to come down to owner satisfaction, reliability, practicality, and comfort. 

A 2021 Ford F-150 driving down a field lined road
2021 Ford F-150 | Ford

The 2021 Honda Ridgeline hits all of those metrics dead between the eyes. It is fuel-efficient, comfortable, practical, and reliable. Granted, it isn’t a very hard-working and brawny pickup, but that isn’t what most truck drivers actually need. 

The 2021 Ford F-150, on the other hand, is strong and brawny. It comes with a million different power options and configurations. Still, according to Consumer Reports, it isn’t very comfortable, it doesn’t handle very well, and is likely to have a myriad of problems. It is for this reason that CR gave it such a low score.

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