Honda 2012 Ridgeline
The Honda Ridgeline hasn't received the warmest of welcomes from the pickup-truck crowd. It's expensive, and since it falls wanting true 0.5-ton specs, it's stuck between 2 worlds--that of mid-size pickups just like the Nissan Frontier, which of inexpensive full-sizers just like the appealing new Ford F-one hundred fifty V-6.
The Ridgeline's awkward looks do not facilitate it woo several new patrons. It's obviously an SUV under the skin, cut all the way down to pickup duty. The angles of its rear pillars, their thickness and the tall rear fenders around the truck bed don't telegraph the identical subconscious messages that a Ram 150zero will. It looks smaller, and that sometimes doesn't sell, in trucks. This year a replacement Sport model ditches the blocky grille on loan from the Pilot, replacing it with a black honeycomb that is doing its best to subdue the Ridgeline's stubby, bulky front finish. Honda's done a abundant higher job crafting a cabin with a more conventional look. The dash layout stacks gauges and controls in rectangular binnacles, and puts big knobs for the climate and audio controls in obvious locations, for straightforward use with a gloved hand. Inside, the Ridgeline feels more just like the Honda of previous than some of the Hondas of the new, when it comes to the standard of materials and how they are fitted.
Of all trucks, the Ridgeline's our favorite to drive, but the frays are appearing at the edges of its performance stats. It keeps abundant of its SUV character and includes a wonderful, refined 3.five-liter V-vi that solely last year gained a true threat in the shape of the new F-a hundred and fifty V-vi. Honda's 5-speed automatic knocks off shifts quickly and smoothly--however most trucks in the category now offer six-speed automatics. Fuel economy is not a particular strength anymore, at 15/21 mpg, but handling remains a robust suit, with nice ride quality and sensible steering feel, even with commonplace all-wheel drive. It's a lot of direct and controlled than the clunky sheetmetal implies.
At its awkward spot on the complete-size truck curve, the Ridgeline is capable of tackling some near-full-size tasks, however it's outfitted solely with a 5-foot bed that will be fitted with a flip-out extended. The commonplace-unit 4x8 sheet of plywood won't work. The Ridgeline also lacks the flexible cargo space found on the larger but additional helpful Chevrolet Avalanche. The Ridgeline's most clever feature--a sealed cargo bin below the bed floor--is smart only when the truck bed is empty.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has revamped how it grades crash-take a look at safety, and while the Ridgeline performed well in the past, it hasn't nevertheless been rated for 201one. Over at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Ridgeline carries over its "smart" scores for front and facet impact protection--however it loses its Prime Safety Choose designation as roof-crush standards are not accessible. Bluetooth is offered, and so could be a rearview camera, which is counseled because the rear fenders block out a ton of the rearward view.
With four trim levels offered, the Ridgeline doesn't return in an exceedingly single model priced below $thirty,00zero, including destination--a massive hurdle when inexpensive Ram, F-a hundred and fifty and Silverado/Sierra full-sizers will be found for much less. All Ridgelines have customary air-con; power locks/windows/mirrors; cruise control; a power-sliding rear window; and a one hundred-watt six-speaker CD sound system. Among the options, Honda offers a voice-recognition navigation system with on-the-go Zagat restaurant data and a rearview camera, and satellite radio.
Honda says it's committed to the Ridgeline, that suggests a replacement one is during the works to replace the six-year-recent vehicle. To induce a lot of truck consumers to notice, it would possibly have to urge more conventional--but as the latest Toyota Tundra has proven, even massive-truck street cred doesn't guarantee any additional sales. Not when the Ram, F-150 and the Silverado and Sierra are at the prime of their game.
Honda 2012 Ridgeline
Honda 2012 Ridgeline
Honda 2012 Ridgeline
Honda 2012 Ridgeline
Honda 2012 Ridgeline
Honda 2012 Ridgeline
Honda 2012 Ridgeline
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