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| 2006 Honda Ridgeline Review | |||
| Whether you're about to spend $40K on a brand new car, or half that on a used car, it is always important to learn as much as you can about the used car. Read these car reviews to learn about all aspects of the vehicle. Each of the usedcar reviews cover interior and exterior features, options, road tests, and more. | |||
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Introduction
| Road Test
| Inside & Out
| Other Thoughts
| Last Word
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| Road Test | |||
The ace up the Ridgeline's sleeve is that it will probably win over anyone who drives his rattly old truck to the dealership for a quick spin around the block. Honda engineers played with the car-like platform of its Pilot SUV to create this pickup (though not without petrifying it with steel reinforcements and seven crossmembers), and the differences hit you right away.It may stand a few flights of stairs below the S2000 in the "sport" department, but no truck feels more at one with you than the Ridgeline. The reasons start with the literal: this is the only truck with all-of-a-piece unibody construction instead of a separate body-on-frame, making for a lighter and tighter structure. Honda claims 2.5 times more stiffness than the best competing truck. It continues with the accurate, natural, light steering that has you darting around town like you were in a sedan. Aside from a hint of truck wind noise and the usual dose of Honda road noise, it sounds like one too. In fact, have your neighbor step into a Ridgeline while blindfolded and drive it. He might just think you gave his Accord a lift job. What really keeps the Ridgeline down to Earth is the energetic 3.5-liter V6 that kicks out 247 horsepower through the front wheels (and the rears when necessary) while humming a tune any Acura owner would approve of. Honda's 0-60 claim of 9.5 seconds has turned out to be modest compared to the 7.9 magazines have achieved. It also managed a best-in-class 18 MPG with us in mostly freeway driving, partly thanks to a really tall 0.53:1 fifth gear ratio, and its ULEV emissions keep both the Earth and the conscience clean. The Ridgeline's competitors have pretty nice cammer V6s too, but all of them go about their business with an unmistakable working-class roar that reminds you you're driving a truck. Honda would rather you forget. There isn't a whole lot of body lean, the tires grip decently, and understeer doesn't happen easily. Having measurements similar to its mid-size truck peers means the Ridgeline is a handful to deal with in the city (its 122-inch wheelbase and 207-inch length extend far beyond a Pilot's), but it's manageable. You will find fewer bumps on your freeway cruise since there's no jumpy leaf-sprung live rear axle suspension looking for them; taking its place is a suspension with multiple links (plus a rarely found stabilizer bar) that can better compensate. On the debit side, the Ridgeline's also the only truck with struts instead of superior double-wishbones in the front, and the ride still gets a little jerky sometimes, but at least it's car jerky, right? Of course, not all is perfect. The transmission has a pronounced bias for downshifts, which take place a tad too often and in unwanted places like parking lots. It seems to have a touchy throttle sometimes, though that's partly because the transmission's sometimes in a lower gear than expected. The brakes also seemed that way at first, though always strong and firm. And there is the question of trade-offs. Note that the softer construction method, front-wheel-drive car basis, and 245 pounds-feet of torque engine keep towing capacity capped at 5,000 pounds - good, but 23% below the 6,500 possible in the Dakota, Tacoma, or Frontier. The Ridgeline's all-wheel-drive system lacks a low-range gear or locking differential for serious rough-riding, and that multilink rear suspension probably couldn't handle the abuse anyway. With 8.2 inches of ground clearance, the Ridgeline's a bit of a lowrider, too - better for on-road handling than off. There is the "VTM-4 LOCK" button on the dash that sends 70% of the torque to the rear wheels if you ever get stuck (for use up to 18 MPH with the transmission in the 1, 2, or R positions), but that's only for emergencies. To its credit, though, only the Ridgeline has full-time all-wheel-drive that can be left engaged all the time. Look, here's the lowdown. You know all those qualities that get lost when going from car to truck? The Ridgeline takes half of them back. |
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