The interior of the Ridgeline is a lot like the entire vehicle. There are a lot of great features and almost as many
flubs. The best parts include the great A/C, stereo, touch screen, steering wheel and gear shifter. But some of these
great features have their own problems.
Lets take the steering wheel. It feels great in the hands, has simple controls on it and moves up and down. But if you
have it moved all the way down there is a sizable gap between the gauge cluster and wheel. You can clearly see steel
complete with welding marks and the dash?s innards (although this picture doesn?t do it justice). That?s not
good.
The column mounted shifter is short and feels great in the hand. This is the best column shifter I?ve found. The
only problem is that when you try to shift into drive it easily passes on to 2nd
gear. Most shifters are made so that it takes extra resistance to get past drive. Every
time I shift into drive I miss it. Every time.
I do love the touch screen unequivocally and the cool flip up CD changer. This is hot. The
readout is a bit boring and I?ve seen better looking screens, but the utility of it is above average. The buttons that
select Audio, Map etc could be bigger but that isn?t a make or break for me. Scroll to the bottom for more screen
images.
What I don?t like are the huge plastic knobs that are supposed to look like metal. These
were the ones I?d like to see done in a rubber material. They are huge but the plastic is hard to grip. The layout of
the A/C controls with that neat circular window is very nifty and a favorite of mine.
The seats have the perfect type of leather. It feels like high grade but still maintains a ruggedness to it without
feeling cheap. That?s no easy task. The rear flip-up seats are a snap, literally, to use and the huge floor space is
great for groceries when it?s raining or when you don?t want to bother with that in-the-bed trunk. I?d also think this
would be fun for dogs.
Compared to the leather, the plastic in the Ridgeline is junk. The center console is a large tower of cubbies that
reminds me of the action playsets you?d put together as a kid for your GI Joes or Star Wars figures. It is
that cheap feeling and looking. But if you?re just looking forward at your touch screen and A/C I don?t think
truck owners will mind that much. It is definitely a give and take with the Ridgeline.
Check out Day 1 here.