2021 GMC Canyon vs 2022 Honda Ridgeline

Midsize trucks are in a funny place. Despite being smaller and less capable than their full-size counterparts, they often command prices that are nearly as high. This is a tough spot from a value standpoint, making them more lifestyle vehicles than work trucks. For many truck owners, a full-size pickup is more truck than they need. If you’re longing for the biggie-biggie styling of a full-size truck, the refreshed 2021 GMC Canyon has you covered.

The Canyon has a new look and a new, capable AT4 trim, but still shows signs of aging. Were half of its competitors not in the same boat, this would be a bigger issue. Plus, the Canyon offers some helpful features to make it a fun vehicle for the weekend adventure or project. As long as bang-for-buck is not top-of-mind, the Canyon is a capable, enjoyable pickup.

Honda isn’t known for pickup trucks, but that means it brings a different perspective to the genre. The 2022 Honda Ridgeline is like no other pickup on the market.

The Ridgeline isn’t just being different for the sake of being different, either. It uses the same unibody construction that gives crossover SUVs greater refinement than traditional models to offer increased comfort and better on-road handling than most pickups.

Since the Ridgeline’s debut, the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick have applied the unibody concept to smaller compact pickups, creating a new niche, but the Honda is a larger vehicle that competes with existing midsize pickups like the Ford Ranger, Jeep Gladiator, Nissan Frontier, Toyota Tacoma, and Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins.

The Ridgeline debuted for the 2006 model year and the current second-generation version dates back to the 2017 model year. It got a facelift for 2021, so it carries over to 2022 essentially unchanged. Trim levels include the base Ridgeline Sport, midlevel RTL and RTL-E, and the range-topping Black Edition, which is what we sampled for this review.