The 2025 Honda Ridgeline vs 2025 Chevy Colorado: Which Makes a Better Daily Driver?

Need a truck for your work life that also offers practical perks for your daily life? A midsize truck is a popular body style for that very need. For many shoppers after this vehicle type, it comes down to the 2025 Honda Ridgeline vs 2025 Chevy Colorado. With solid fuel economy and durable pickup beds, both models are ready to get you to and from job sites, school dropoffs, and weekend destinations without spending too much on gas while still being ready for a hard day’s work. Plus, they both come from reputable manufacturers.

How do you choose your model? If you are really going to treat your truck as your daily driver, spending plenty of time in it and filling it with family and friends, then you’ll be looking for some specific benefits. We did a deep dive into the features of the 2025 Ridgeline and 2025 Colorado and are confident that the Ridgeline is the superior daily driver. Here’s how we came to our conclusion.

While they’re technically in the same segment, the Ridgeline and Colorado are actually rather different when it comes to how they are built. The Colorado is a traditional body-on-frame truck, meaning that the cab and bed are built separately from the frame and bolted on later. Meanwhile, the Ridgeline boasts unibody construction, which means everything is one single unit. A unibody design delivers a much smoother, more comfortable ride than a body-on-frame design. In the Ridgeline, you and your passengers will feel more like you’re in an SUV rather than in a truck. If you’ve ever ridden in a body-on-frame truck, then you know the ride can feel a little rough. Every bump in the road is really felt in the cab. Meanwhile, unibody vehicles are better at absorbing vibrations from the road for a gentler ride.

Plan on loading up your rear seat often? Whether you’re driving your work crew to a job site or your teenage kids to school, tall passengers will be happier in the Ridgeline compared to the Colorado, thanks to its roomier rear seats. In fact, the Ridgeline offers more rear passenger headroom, legroom, and hip room. It has 38.8 inches of headroom, 36.7 inches of legroom, and 56.6 inches of hiproom in the second row. Meanwhile, the Colorado has 38.3 inches of headroom, 34.7 inches of legroom, and 53.1 inches of hiproom. Adult passengers might feel a little cramped in the rear seats of the Colorado.

If you have passengers who are prone to complaining (like teenagers), this is certainly something to keep in mind. If you plan on taking your truck on plenty of road trips, it’s especially important that rear-seat passengers are comfortable for those long drives. Otherwise, you could find yourself frequently pulling over so everyone can stretch their legs.

If your truck is going to be a genuine daily driver, then you might be parking it in a variety of places, from your office’s garage to the grocery store lot to your home’s carport. We speak to a lot of truck drivers who have concerns about their trucks fitting into more compact spots. If you share this concern, you’ll prefer the Ridgeline because it is a couple inches shorter, length-wise, than the Colorado.

The 2025 Ridgeline’s overall length is 210.2 inches across all trims. Meanwhile, the Colorado’s length is between 212.7 inches and 213.2 inches, depending on the trim. If you have to battle for spots in crowded parking lots, those few extra inches are going to make a big difference. They could be the difference between fitting in a small spot and having to continue circling.

Truck beds create tons of awesome storage space for everything from your work equipment to your kid’s sports gear to camping supplies. However, they are naturally exposed to onlookers. It’s just how they’re designed. Luckily, if you need to keep some items concealed or locked up in the bed, you can. Both the 2025 Honda Ridgeline and the 2025 Chevy Colorado boast a lockable storage compartment. However, the Colorado only offers a four-inch deep compartment in the tailgate. The Ridgeline has a massive 7.3 cu.ft. In-Bed Trunk that can fit as much as a small sedan. Plus, while Honda provides this feature standard across all its trims, Chevy doesn’t offer it standard on the base trim. We appreciate that the Ridgeline doesn’t require buyers of the base trim to pay extra to add this feature. Everyone gets it, no matter what trim they buy.

A daily driver has to have a great sound system. Whether you listen to podcasts and audiobooks when riding solo to pass the time or want to enjoy a playlist with friends and family, a solid speaker system turns a long drive from stale to stellar. The Honda Ridgeline has a better sound system than the Chevy Colorado. The Chevy has a six-speaker sound system standard across all trims, with an optional eight-speaker Bose system. On the other hand, the Ridgeline has a standard seven-speaker sound system and an available eight-speaker sound system with a subwoofer that comes standard on the top trim. If you crave quality listening experiences, you’ll simply have a better experience in the Honda Ridgeline.

You and your passengers will be more content riding in the Honda Ridgeline because it has a standard tri-zone climate control system. That tri-zone system comes complete with humidity control and an air filtration system for the ultimate cabin comfort. With three zones of climate control for the driver, front passenger, and rear passengers, everyone can choose their desired temperature, so there’s no need to argue over the AC or heat. The Chevy Colorado has standard single-zone climate control, and a dual-zone system is available. So, you might still deal with those temperature disputes in Colorado, especially when you have a full cab.

If you know you’ll be spending a lot of time in your truck, you’ll simply be happier in the Honda Ridgeline. Its unibody design delivers an SUV-like ultra-smooth ride compared to the Colorado’s body-on-frame design, which can be a bit bumpy. Its rear seats offer more legroom, headroom, and hiproom to keep adult passengers comfortable. Its more expansive speaker system will immerse every passenger in the sounds of your podcasts, playlists, and audiobooks. Plus, its standard tri-zone climate control should keep everyone content on hot or cold days. Additionally, its built-in lockable bed storage is standard on all trims, whereas the Chevy Colorado only offers a similar feature on upper trims. Finally, the Honda Ridgeline’s more compressed profile makes it easier to get into tight parking spots.

If you’re looking for a dealership with a large selection of Honda Ridgeline models to check out, visit us! We have many options and would love to take you for a test drive. The Ridgeline is a comfortable, safe, and stylish midsize truck that’s the perfect daily driver. It’s ready for days on construction sites and farms, as well as days of running errands and having fun with family and friends. Let’s put you in your ideal Ridgeline model today!