The rolling chassis of a Honda Motor Co. 2017 Ridgeline pickup truck. Honda is betting pickup owners want sedan comfort as well as truck utility. (Bloomberg photo by Ty Wright)
Honda wanted more than a traditional pickup truck when it remade its Ridgeline model.
That's "remade" vs. "redesigned."
The Ridgeline, introduced in 2006, had been in abeyance since 2014 - in part to remedy supplier Takata's air-bag problems and also to address criticism that it wasn't really a pickup.
The air-bag problem has been fixed. The Ridgeline has been remade for introduction in 2017. It feels and handles like a high-end sedan. But it definitely is a pickup - one of the most innovative compact pickups in the U.S. market. We'll get to that later.
There are seven trim levels of the new Ridgeline - RT, RTS, Sport, RTL, RTL-T, RTL-E (which was used for this column) and the very special, very sporty Black Edition.
The Ridgeline RTL-E comes with leather trim on its seats and a heated steering wheel. It has a premium eight-speaker sound system, an eight-inch touch screen for vehicle operations, an Internet radio interface, and much, much more.
Adding to its sedan ride and feel is its unit body construction and four-wheel independent suspension - as opposed to the body-on-frame construction and leaf-spring rear suspension usually found in traditional pickups. I and many of my journalism colleagues frequently chided Honda for that approach. We said the Ridgeline would never make it in the "real" pickup world of Ram, Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado trucks. We were right and wrong - but far more wrong than right.
We didn't understand that Honda was aiming for something other than the traditional pickup world - one more inclusive than the traditional pickup market; one, for example, that regularly included women just as the traditional pickup market routinely appealed to men. The Honda marketers understood that pickup owners wanted sedan comfort as well as truck utility, and the stowage capacity of a pickup cargo bed that also included the in-bed, lockable safety of a sedan trunk.
The Ridgeline RTL-E includes all of that, along with the ability to haul a trailer weighing 5,000 pounds. The latter quality is nothing to brag about in a compact pickup world where tow loads of 7,000 pounds and more are common. Nor will the Ridgeline's standard 3.5-liter gasoline V-6 (280 horsepower) cause much chest-beating in a compact pickup market in which engines boasting 300 horsepower are seemingly everywhere.
But the Ridgeline does drive and handle well, albeit not with as much gusto and chest beating as a 305-horsepower Ram Big Horn. No matter. The Ridgeline fits easily and well in the city, and it carries what most of us want in a compact pickup, aided by an extendible cargo bed and in-bed trunk to store more valuables. This one is going after a much larger market than traditional pickups. We'll see if it catches on.
2017 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E pickup
Bottom line: The Ridgeline, in any of its seven available iterations, is more for town than it is for job sites or going off-road. But, equipped with front-wheel or all-wheel-drive, it will serve most of us well with light hauling or towing.
Ride, acceleration and handling: There is a sedan softness in all respects. This one will get you where you are going on the road. But don't try to take it off-road, or cross streams or climb rocks or anything. I call it an "urban utility vehicle." It's a good one, but don't push it.
Engine/transmission: The Ridgeline comes with a 3.5-liter, 24-valve, single-overhead-cam V-6 with variable valve timing (280 horsepower, 262 pound-feet of torque) linked to a six-speed automatic transmission that also can be operated manually.
Capacities: Seating is for five people. The cargo bed can be extended to carry something as big as a motorcycle. Bike rails can be installed on the roof. The lockable in-bed trunk is a neat feature. The fuel tank holds 19.5 gallons of gasoline. Regular-grade fuel works fine.
Mileage: I averaged 23 miles per gallon in lightly loaded highway travel.
Safety: Standard equipment includes ventilated front discs and solid rear disc brakes; four-wheel anti-lock brake protection; emergency braking assistance; pre-collision safety system; stability and traction control; blind-spot monitoring and lane-departure warning systems; and side and head air bags.
Pricing (in US market): The fully loaded 2017 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E with all-wheel-drive starts at $41,370.
