What we want and what we need are usually pretty far apart. We need shelter, food, water, transportation, and if you asked 98% of truck owners in this country, they’d say they need a body-on-frame pickup truck equipped with nothing less than a V8 and solid axles. Well, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. You don’t. Enter, the Ridgeline, Honda’s entry into the mid-size pickup market, and Autoblog’s latest long-term test vehicle.
TranscriptCHRISTOPHER MCGRAW: What we want and what we need are usually pretty far apart. We need things like food, water, shelter, transportation. But if you ask 98% of truck owners in this country, they'd say you need a body-on-frame pickup truck equipped with nothing less than a V8 and a solid axle that could tow a small yacht.
I'm here to let you in on a little secret. You don't. Enter the Ridgeline, Honda's entry into the midsize pickup truck segment and Autoblog's latest long-term test vehicle.
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The first-generation Ridgeline debuted back in the 2006 model year. Like this model, it shared its unibody platform with the Honda Pilot. It had four-wheel independent suspension, a transversally mounted V6, and available front-wheel drive. The original model also didn't look like any other truck on the market.
Though the new Ridgeline has a much more traditional appearance this time around, everything else is pretty much the same. Our truck is a 2018 Ridgeline RTL-E in deep scarlet. The RTL-E trim is second only to the black edition, meaning that our truck's price tag is pretty steep, almost 12 grand higher than base at $42,695.
The Ridgeline only comes with one powertrain, a 280-horsepower 3.5 liter V6 that's paired to a six-speed automatic transmission. On the RTL-E, All Wheel Drive is standard. Our fully loaded truck comes with pretty much every creature comfort imaginable, including leather heated and powered front seats, a heated steering wheel, keyless ignition with remote start, navigation, a moon roof, LED headlights, parking sensors, the truck bed audio system, a Class 3 Trailer Hitch, and the Honda Sensing Safety Suite.
This seems like a good time to remind everyone that the F-150 that I drove last week that would cost 10 grand more than this truck didn't even have keyless entry. Moving on.
With a smaller truck comes better gas mileage, or at least that was the hope. The Ridgeline is rated at 18 city, 25 highway miles per gallon, which isn't great. And over the last 2,000 or so miles, we've averaged just above 22. For the size, I really did hope for more. That's like full-size pickup numbers.
Dirt roads are no match for the Ridgeline, which keeps the ride quiet and comfortable, pavement or no. The six-speed transmission is miles better than the transmission in the Tacoma TRD Pro, which seems to like hunting more than most pickup owners themselves. The bed is 5.3 feet long, which isn't terrible. But it's the hidden features that really stand out.
Aside from the truckbed speaker, which we haven't used outside of seeing if it actually works, there's an additional trunk space underneath the bed, which not only houses a spare tire and jack but is large enough to fit a human body in. The tailgate also has voodoo trickery, with the ability to open traditionally as well as swing open like a door. These two features are by far my favorite on this truck.
Let's talk about looks. This truck is not the best looking of them out there. But it seems like all mid-sized pickups today seem to be suffering from some growing pains. Short of the top tier trims like the ZR2, TRD Pro, and the Raptor Ranger. That being said, of the four trucks that I just mentioned, the Ridgeline definitely is the worst looking of the bunch.
What bugs me most, though, other than the fuel economy, are the rear doors. They are tiny. I was barely able to fit some small end tables in the back of the truck when I was moving last week in the rain. Once I got them in the truck, there was plenty of space. But getting them in was a pain.
The amount of people who think they need to hearken back to some kind of ranch or cowboy roots by spending 60 grand on a truck seems to be rising. Last year, the average transaction price of a pickup in the United States was pushing $50,000. But that doesn't mean that you have to spend your hard-earned money like 2008 never happened. You can pick up a Ridgeline for less than 30 grand. And we promise that it'll handle just as well on the streets of Chicago, LA, or New York than a Chevy Silverado.
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