Honda plays the long game when it comes to her cute little van. After selling the original, first generation Ridgeline for an almost unheard of nine years (for perspective, the ninth generation Civic lasted an incredibly short five years, including an emergency update mid- cycle), the second coming of the unibody, light truck is here.
And guess what? It is absolutely phenomenal - but there is a massive snag
roll back the calendar to 04. American Honda dropped its farthest divergence. yet its high speed, agility, economy cars with the Honda SUT Concept. He was a teaser for what was to come - "a new sport utility truck ... based on the global platform of Honda light trucks," Honda said at the time. A year later, in 05, the Ridgeline was born.
The cabin design and sail-like bed remembered much bigger Chevrolet Avalanche, but its proportions were all Explorer Sport Trac with full waist circumference. Contrary to the chassis of the truck Sport Trac offered by the Ranger, the Ridgeline was designed with a unibody architecture - and it showed. No matter how the square and Honda designed the flared wheel wells of the Ridgeline, the average Joe knew something was different with the Honda pickup from the start.
Twelve years after its initial debut Detroit second generation Ridgeline - this time skipping the waste net and generally dragged-out concept to production to reveal - arrived at the International north American Auto Show
Finished the bed veil, replaced by. seam between the bed and the cab (he has a purpose, so-called, and we'll get to this in a bit). Also gone was angular, flat face of the Ridgeline, replaced by a direct derivative of the new driver, a crossover with three rows fit to carry the seed of the family in a multitude of sports.
Face The Ridgeline is not the only derived part of the pilot, either.
a pickup based crossover, quantified and compared
Pickup buyers are a fickle bunch. They love numbers, especially easy numbers that can be used to quantify how much of a man they are compared to their pickup truck owner friends. So we'll see where the Ridgeline seats in a pickup game of Top Trumps.
Under his pilot- esque hood is the same 3.5-liter V6 that the pilot, which produces the same 280 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. Even horses. Same couple. Same cam single head. Even valvetrain with famous Honda i-VTEC. The new bests V6 outgoing engine Ridgeline 30 horsepower and 15 lb-ft of torque, but fuel economy cranks through deceive cylinder deactivation, a new automatic six-speed transmission and a new optional two-wheel drive to Californians do not know the snow outside a film set or theater bathroom. Ridgelines front-wheel drive are rated at 19 miles per gallon in city and highway 26 mpg for a combined figure of 22 mpg. Adding AWD brings these figures down 1 mpg.
Compared to the competition, the Ridgeline is equal to the power, torque and number of reports with the leader of the Toyota Tacoma segment, but the Honda beats the Taco for fuel economy EPA-rated. If it is the couple that you are after, 4.0-liter V6 aging Nissan Frontier offers more twist, but it does so through less gear while drinking more dino juice. GM twins, when equipped with the ubiquitous 3.6-liter V6, producing more power and torque similar to the same number of reports that the Ridgeline, but - again - GM trucks burn more fuel in the process
. So far, it's a V6 fuel economy gain for the Ridgeline, a couple of victory for Nissan, and a power of victory for the Colorado / Canyon.
What about towing and hauling?
towing and payload maximum scores for the Ridgeline (RT AWD trim, which is the Ridgeline basic model with all-wheel drive) are 5000 pounds and 1584 pounds respectively. On paper towing capacity comparisons are a no-contest: all trucks in the segment the Ridgeline bests of 1,000 pounds or more. However, Honda says "an overall payload capacity of first class, up to 1584 pounds." - A request that is not entirely accurate
The Ridgeline is available only powered by a V6 engine as a quad-cab pickup, which means it two full-size doors for rear passengers. Therefore, Honda compares his truck with other V6, quad-cab pickups in the segment. Even in this form , the Ridgeline is not the head of the payload; he was defeated by the GMC Canyon 4 × 2 V6 with a payload rating of 1,620 pounds, a full 155 more pounds payload capacity of a two-wheel drive Ridgeline comparable to 1,465 pounds. It is not until you add AWD / 4 × 4 to the trucks that the Ridgeline comes ahead of the Canyon only 34 pounds.
" The Honda Ridgeline is quad-cab, short-bed truck powered by a V6 and available AWD, and it offers a payload of first class, 1,584 pounds what segment, "said Honda w Eastern regional manager public Relations Davis Adams in an email with CAPD.
call a spade a spade. The Ridgeline is not , the leader in the midsize class in terms of payload, but those looking for the payload (and towing) capability best-in-class are probably not shopping for a Ridgeline. So perhaps lying is a moot point. I let you judge
(Interestingly, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon - as identical as they are. - Have not the same odds of payload).
It is not simply mechanical measurements quantitatively define the DNA of a pickup. The Ridgeline is a unibody vehicle, offers some other benefits measured against its competitors.
Like the driver, the interior of the Ridgeline is vast. space front line of the Honda is either on par with or, in the case of shoulder room, flat annihilates its competitors. The only exception is for the legs. Some competitors posting more than the Ridgeline, but I did not have a problem with my 11s in size and 32 inch inseam. Moreover, unlike the Tacoma, where your legs are positioned before-that in you, the Ridgeline offers a riding position more upright and neutral for your legs.
is in the second row where massive gains are seen in the interior. In almost all measurable dimensions, the Ridgeline offers more space and comfort for passengers in the second row. Sit in the back of a Tacoma for a trip of 20 miles, then do the same in a Ridgeline. The contrast is striking.
At the end of our pickup game Top Trumps, the Ridgeline is roomier, more fuel efficient, just as powerful, competent carrier, and a tower less able than its competitors.
Ridgeline is not a pick-up "by the numbers"
as much as we can compare the Ridgeline with other trucks in the segment of medium size pickup on paper, the Honda offering is a completely different animal compared to its competitors.
To start, all wheel drive overrides the typical four wheel drive other trucks. It is a full-time system requires no driver intervention, unlike the previous generation Ridgeline who sported an all-flummoxing VTM-4 LOCK. The system enables Honda to offer torque vectoring on the Ridgeline, a freak-of-kind feature in the pickup segment giving the unibody truck unfair advantage in terms of handling.
During the first drive event, Honda has developed a number of courses to test the new Ridgeline: a test tow / haul an off-road course, and a dirt track processing. Time and again, I returned to the track manipulation, each time trying to get the Ridgeline out of shape in some of the higher speed bits. I achieved such a feat not. The Ridgeline, instead of plowing through the corners as other trucks, activate the traction control system and add just enough power to the outside rear wheel to rotate through the corner. He felt like magic.
The Ridgeline does not give the ride comfort for its handling prowess either. It is easily the most comfortable ride in the segment, and it is all because Honda threw convention to the wind when it comes to how to frame his trucklet. Small cracks in the road do not cause Ridgeline shudder, and major road anomalies are smoothed with aplomb by drive decidedly like the Ridgeline.
The off-road course, while not particularly difficult, offered us some perspective between Ridgeline and its closest competitors. It began with the demonstration: one car trainers led a Ridgeline atop two hills, leaving the left rear wheel hanging from the rear suspension of the truck. On a typical truck, such a maneuver produce visible flex in the chassis, in particular when the cab and the bed meet - but not on the Ridgeline. There was no flex whatsoever, even if your eyes can deceive you into thinking its cargo bed is separated.
This brings us to the side of the truck and talked a lot about false seam between the cab and the bed The previous Ridgeline has not had such a seam at the sports ground the veil of bed. However, because of the drawing process and how Honda wanted to comb his truck, a back panel covers the unibody providing strength for bed
There are two practical reasons that the existence of particular panel. One, it means that Honda may affix a smaller panel, and which keeps costs. The second direct benefit to consumers: if a stray object contact with the outside bed panel to create significant damage, it can be replaced on its own without cutting and welding in a section of a new panel. Just pop out the old metal and attach the new one. Problem solved.
The non-practical reason behind the seam is just as simple. The Ridgeline seems grotesque without it.
Headwinds
"It looks dorky," she said after looking over my shoulder while I edited photo Ridgeline launch.
"Why do you say, it looks dorky?" I asked with genuine interest. You see, my girlfriend is not a person of car or truck, but even she saw something wrong with the newest Honda pickup.
"It looks like a van or something into a truck," she replied. "It is not a truck."
There is this short exchange with someone who does not claim to be a car enthusiast or expert that perfectly summarizes the truck headwinds Honda.
not only the Ridgeline does not look like a typical pickup, Honda went out of his way to make it look exactly like the pilot. There is no denying the family resemblance. Inspect competition and familiarity is limited to a few other rough-and-tumble products. Tacoma looks a bit like a 4Runner. Canyon resembles its big brother Sierra. And the Honda looks like a cross seven places associated with Professional-Grade Mommying and unprofessional-Grade Construction
It is this combination that Honda must break for a client to open their minds -. And wallet. The Ridgeline, for all practical purposes, is a product of the earth-shattering; an earth shattering truck, if you do not need the other towing capacity. I beg you to drive one if you're in the market for a smaller gathering - but do it with an open mind. Leave all your preconceived notions in the field of the competitor down the street.
However, you are buying into a future of ridicule with the Ridgeline. "This is not a real truck" will be pronounced as a vinyl marked by those who know less than you. Honda has actually forced us an ultimatum:. Do you taking smart buy or one that reaffirms your inner man
If you choose the Ridgeline, you are a better man than me
Disclosure: Honda robbed Halifax San Antonio and put me in a nice downtown hotel to take the Ridgeline. The automaker process to fulfill our face holes with more meat and cheese you can find on a beef ranch and dairy products. I also found my favorite donut place more in the world in the hotel's street, Shipley Donuts, where I bought a dozen donuts on my own money and sharing with Frank Bacon et al.
[Images: © 2016 Mark Stevenson/The Truth About Cars]
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