Edmunds.com's Inside Line took a long hard look at Honda's first entry into the full-sized truck market and, as expected from any good media source, they had some good and bad things to say about this 4x4 wanna-be. Say what you want about the Honda Ridgeline and it's over-zealous claims at being a truck, but Honda did their research. Even though a die-hard truck fan will turn up their nose at Honda's attempt at an off-road Accord, of the 3 million pickups sold each year, less than 5% of them saw actual off-road time in any capacity. Honda, the marketing geniuses they are, took that opportunity to introduce their "Not For Off-Road Use" 4x4 to the US market.

Although Edmunds took on a cheery-eyed approach at the article the overall tone was that the Honda Ridgeline is definitely not a truck, more than it's a "4x4 Accord on steroids" and it doesn't seem to have any of conventional things traditional trucks have, except for a bed. The vehicles unibody construction makes for a comfortable car like ride, however the rated towing and hauling capacity for the vehicle is a mere 5,000lbs towed and 1,550lbs cargo in the bed. Another first is the four wheel independent suspension and Honda's Variable Torque Management (VTM-4) four-wheel drive system, which is standard, but reminds us of the term all-wheel drive, which isn't really suited for many off-road experiences short of packed dirt road.



Also standard with every Ridgeline is the 3.5-liter V6 engine that the Ridgeline comes equipped with. Even though the motor is featured in Honda's Odyssey and Pilot, it has been tweaked for slightly more power pumping out 255 hp at 5,750 rpm and 252 pound feet torque. We might also add that this is the ONLY engine option that this all wheel drive, unibody construction, 4 wheel independent suspension "truck" with a trunk, will be featured with.

Edmunds report continues to name additional amenities and features trying to distract us from the last paragraph where they shred the very core of what makes a truck a truck with their off-road abilities section where the Ridgeline's off-road performance was marginal at best. Sure, dirt roads are fine for this "truck", but navigating trails and mud proved to be a task too difficult as the Ridgeline's 8.5 inches of ride height caused it to bottom out repeatedly while the 4x4 Variable Torque Management easily lost traction in the mud leaving us wondering what exactly the VTM-4 system does manage. Continuing down the standard off-road trail Edmunds uses for all their truck tests, the off-road tests had to be abandoned when strange undercarriage noises were emitted while trying to climb a hill.



Even though the truck got less than perfect marks in all things that define a truck, it received a great review as a comfortable truck-like car, and is sure to please those who don't know any better and never planed to go off-road anyway.

Read the Edmunds.com Article...

Top photo courtesy of Edmunds.com. Used with permission.