Part of the nervousness comes from being inside a cab that is so similar to a car that you have a hard time believing what the engineers tell you about handling. Even in the base DX with an automatic transmission (Ridgelines only come with automatics) the Ridgeline is very comfortable. I found the front bucket seats could be set so that both my wife and I could be comfortable in the Ridgeline. Any seat that can accomplish that is has a large range of adjustments. She would prefer the power adjustments of the upscale models, but to be fair, the manual ones were easy to adjust.
I never did sit in the back, but my kids tell me that this truck was pretty much like an Accord. The only difference between the two is that the Ridgeline seat will fold up to provide a bit of inside cargo space.
The basic design of the Ridgeline means that in town, you are going to need to use your mirrors a lot. Scans of the mirrors and shoulder checks are mandatory for any move that means changing lanes. The large sail panel that goes from the rear of the cab to the truck bed cuts down side visibility considerably. Fortunately the mirrors are large and easily set.
Once out on the open road, the Ridgeline drives and handles more like a car than a truck. Honda’s AWD system, which is standard on every Ridgeline, does not obviously intrude upon your driving, but it does quite a bit to keep you on the straight and narrow. The electronics keep track of what each wheel is doing and decided if the brake on which wheel is to be applied to keep the truck comfortable.
This is true regardless of what you are doing. You might be pushing hard in a corner with the tall truck like tires starting to moan like they are getting ready to let go or you might be hauling a rather active trailer down a gravel road. In either case the combination of AWD and electronics will turn a white knuckle trip into a reasonably relaxing drive.
Ridgeline is different, unconventional (for a truck) and worth taking for a drive so that you too can be surprised.
photo:Charles Renny
I never did sit in the back, but my kids tell me that this truck was pretty much like an Accord. The only difference between the two is that the Ridgeline seat will fold up to provide a bit of inside cargo space.
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| Even in the base DX with an automatic transmission the Ridgeline is very comfortable. |
The basic design of the Ridgeline means that in town, you are going to need to use your mirrors a lot. Scans of the mirrors and shoulder checks are mandatory for any move that means changing lanes. The large sail panel that goes from the rear of the cab to the truck bed cuts down side visibility considerably. Fortunately the mirrors are large and easily set.
Once out on the open road, the Ridgeline drives and handles more like a car than a truck. Honda’s AWD system, which is standard on every Ridgeline, does not obviously intrude upon your driving, but it does quite a bit to keep you on the straight and narrow. The electronics keep track of what each wheel is doing and decided if the brake on which wheel is to be applied to keep the truck comfortable.
This is true regardless of what you are doing. You might be pushing hard in a corner with the tall truck like tires starting to moan like they are getting ready to let go or you might be hauling a rather active trailer down a gravel road. In either case the combination of AWD and electronics will turn a white knuckle trip into a reasonably relaxing drive.
Ridgeline is different, unconventional (for a truck) and worth taking for a drive so that you too can be surprised.
photo:Charles Renny
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