Honda Ridgeline 4WD

[tokyodream Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tokyodream]

Honda’s Full-size Ridgeline Pickup Nears Its End

by Honda in the News on April 12, 2010





Introduced in 2005, the Honda Ridgeline was one of the most unusual pickups ever-made. Unlike its domestic and Japanese counterparts, the Ridgeline did not have a rugged body-on-frame design. Instead, it featured a unibody construction and shared its chassis with the Acura MDX.

Despite its unconventional design and odd styling, the Honda Ridgeline offered many attractive features for full-size truck buyers, including a comfortable ride and class-leading fuel economy. Unfortunately, its quirkiness prevented sales from ever reaching the same levels of the competition.

“It’s a very nice concept, a very nice car. But the sales aren’t so successful,” executive vice president Koichi Kondo said of the Ridgeline in 2008.
With sales being a constant hurdle for the Ridgeline, Honda so far has no plans to extend the life of this truck past the 2011 model year.


* * *

http://www.hondainthenews.com/hondas...-end/#more-364

[ionutblv Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ionutblv]

Asa ceva au adus din SUA baietii de la Honda Brasov. Le-au omologat cu Euro 4, dar inca nu s-au hotarat la pret.

Este una in iasi de vanzare

[FLORIN CRISTEA Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close FLORIN CRISTEA]

Frumoasa...si frumusetea cam costa.....
Uite-o.....http://www.honda-brasov.ro/masini-ru...line-3-5-AT-/9 20 de mii euros....
Bullbar-ul i-a trebuit cuiva...in pozele din Romania nu-l mai are.....asa e la noi...daca nu ciugulim ceva nu ne e bine....

[Quicker Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Quicker]

Seful fostului dealer Honda din Cluj-Napoca are si el una de toata frumusetea.

[tokyodream Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tokyodream]

Honda Ridgeline gets an upgrade:

http://www.telegram.com/article/2012...101089920/1246

[tokyodream Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tokyodream]

2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport and other changes :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP8892TdwfE&feature=related

[tokyodream Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tokyodream]

http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/05...dgeline-sport/

Road Test: 2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport

Ridgeline since its introduction, Honda has added a new model **— the Sport. It is offered à la Henry Ford’s Model T — black on black. Everything from the honeycomb grille and headlight/taillight housings to the upsized 18-inch alloy wheels is black. One can be a contrarian and substitute the rich black paint for white, but that softens the overall look.

Inside, the Sport is attractively attired, if rather industrial to the eye, and it comes with all of the right equipment minus one important feature. Bluetooth is only offered on the fully loaded Touring. It is, for some reason, a rarity on trucks, but Honda should have taken the lead and made it standard across the board.

When it comes to accommodating passengers and cargo, the Ridgeline is accomplished.

For example, the seats both surprised and impressed me. Up front, there is far more base and backrest bolstering and the top of the seat splays out to provide some welcome shoulder support. This is not the norm in truck seating. However, there is another minor nit to pick — heated seats are, again, only offered on the Touring.

The back seat is also above average, offering plenty of space for a pair of adults and a ton of versatility. There is enough room under the seat to store stuff when it’s in use and the 60/40-split/folding base can be lifted up to maximize interior storage capacity.

The Ridgeline’s other ace is found in the under-floor cargo box. It is capable of holding 8.5 cubic feet of stuff, which does away with the need to carry one of those unsightly lockboxes that consumes precious bed space. As for the rest of it, the five-foot box can be accessed by swinging the double-action tailgate out to the side or by dropping it down in the usual manner. With the tailgate in the lowered position, the effective box length is extended to 6.5 feet.

The strength of the Ridgeline is found in its platform. Gone is the usual body-on-frame design in favour of a unibody that has a fully boxed frame incorporated into it. The result is an incredibly stiff platform. This means the Ridgeline does not rattle and squeak when the body is torqued. This aspect is the bane of many pickups and the reason they have a large gap between the cab and box; the Ridgeline is gapless. In the worst case, the two can touch when the chassis is torqued over a rough road.


The Ridgeline’s inherent stiffness gives the suspension the solid base it needs to work effectively. The setup is firm enough to deal with the payloads demanded of a truck (a 690-kilogram maximum), yet the ride has enough compliance to take the sting out of a rough road and/or when doing some mild off-roading. The other upside is that it means the Ridgeline’s handling is far more accomplished than that of most trucks. For a workhorse, it handles twisty tarmac in poised and predictable fashion. Ditto the steering — it possesses a connected feel, which is a notable departure from the pickup norm. Throw in the P245/60R18 tires and you complete an agile package that can be driven with authority without it heeling over in submission.

The Ridgeline is powered by a 3.5-litre V6 that’s married to a five-speed automatic transmission. The 250 horsepower and 245 pound-feet of torque deliver strong performance. The run to 100 kilometres an hour takes 8.5 seconds, while the 80-to-120-km/h sprint clocks in at 7.8 seconds. Both numbers are pretty good for a 2,038-kg truck. It also brings the brawn to haul a 2,268-kg trailer when equipped with the trailer-towing package, which is enough for most eventualities.

The transmission, which includes Honda’s Grade Logic, features a handy lockout that holds the transmission in third gear. This simple addition means the box does not hunt between gears when hauling a trailer up a long climb. The transmission is also smooth through the gears and quick to kick down when the gas is hammered.

From here, the power is relayed to the road through a decent all-wheel-drive system and a limited-slip rear differential. The system balances the power demands by acting before unwanted wheelspin is allowed to surface. Under hard acceleration, the system drives all four wheels to reduce the risk of wheelspin and banish any sign of torque steer. It then uses the vehicle stability assist (VSA) to shuttle the power left to right and features a lock button. The latter holds the system in its 4×4 mode until speeds exceed 30 km/h. From an operational standpoint, the system is smooth and unobtrusive.

While Honda has been known for many things over the years, a pickup was not one of them. However, given the company’s diverse array of products — everything from ATVs and power generators to motorcycles — offering a truck seemed so natural. While diehard truckers will suggest the Ridgeline is a lightweight and not worthy of consideration, I liked it. In fact, it reminded me of a four-door version of the Chevrolet El Camino or Ford Ranchero — all are as much cars as they are pickup trucks.

Given the propensity for the modern pickup truck to be used more for personal business than towing or hauling, the Ridgeline represents an excellent alternative that delivers significantly better fuel economy than the usual suspects.

[octi_b Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close octi_b]

Am vazut una d'asta azi, la Asko.

[tokyodream Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tokyodream]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...313/1148/rss25

Ridgeline straddles boundary between truck, SUV

Honda's Ridgeline sport utility truck, introduced in early 2005, is similar in concept to the Ford Explorer Sport Trac and Chevrolet Avalanche, in that it has a cargo bed integrated with the SUV-style cab.

That makes it look more like a sport utility with an open cargo area than a conventional pickup. It's essentially the same vehicle as the Honda Pilot crossover, but with the cargo area cut open to create the small pickup bed.

The Ridgeline has room to seat up to five people comfortably, two up front and three in the rear.

For 2012, Honda added another Ridgeline trim, the Sport, which brought some special exterior touches to the RT line, such as 18-inch black alloy wheels with planed aluminum face and all-season tires, black honeycomb grille with black surround, black headlight and taillight housings, leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio and cruise controls, auxiliary audio input jack, rear privacy glass, black all-weather heavy-duty floor mats and fog lights.

There are now five trim levels, with 2012 prices ranging from $29,350 to $37,280. There are several options available. My tester was a striking Crystal Black Pearl four-wheel-drive Sport with black-textured cloth seats.

Under the hood is a 250-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6, connected to a five-speed automatic transmission with grade logic control, which holds the transmission in lower gears when on hills.

Also included are heavy-duty transmission and power-steering coolers, a heavy-duty radiator with two 160-watt fans, an immobilizer theft-deterrent system and a VTM-4 four-wheel drive system, which allows the driver to manually lock the rear differential for starting in low-traction conditions, such as mud, snow and loose gravel.

The Ridgeline is EPA-rated at 15 mpg in the city and 21 on the highway. According to the onboard trip computer, I averaged 19.7 mpg overall during my week in the vehicle. Much of that was freeway driving on my daily commute.

As usual with Honda products, the Ridgeline comes with lots of storage. The steel-reinforced composite cargo bed, with one-half-ton capacity, needs no liner; it comes with a non-skid surface for impact, corrosion and scratch resistance.

Steel cross-members underneath add strength and integrity. The dual-action tailgate swings open to the side or flips down for easy loading of large items such, as plywood or drywall and will support 300 pounds — think four-wheeler, motorcycle or lawn tractor.

There is also a locking in-bed trunk for smaller items that might otherwise roll and slide around the bed — or get stolen.

The cargo bed has numerous tie-downs and hooks for securing an assortment of oddly shaped or bulky items. There are four lights in the cargo bed with auto-off timer and a power-sliding rear window with privacy glass.

A cargo bed cover and a net are available options. The Ridgeline would be perfect for a drive-in movie, a picnic on the beach, or camping under the stars.

Storage in the cab includes space under the rear bench-style seat, which also folds up manually in a 60/40 split against the back of the cab to open up the rear floor area for cargo. Folding was a little difficult for me, because of the strength required, but bigger and stronger folks should have no problem.

There was a fold-down center armrest in the rear with two cup holders and a small storage bin. There were map pockets and bottle holders on the door panels. The rear of the front console had bag hooks, a floor light, a power outlet and air vents.

The rear seat was comfortable, with lots of legroom (36.4 inches), headroom (39.1 inches) and good visibility. The seat cushion was just right, and the floor was flat — almost like sitting in a comfortable chair at home.

A multifunctional center console in the front with sliding armrest was amazing. It had multiple levels — some felt-lined, some rubber-lined — and dividers, removable trays, CD storage, two cup holders, a "phone/fry" tray, and a sliding/expanding area with a sliding cover. With the console closed, there was a rubber tray on the floor between the front foot wells.

Front occupants had 40.7 inches of headroom and 40.8 inches of legroom, and the sport bucket seats were very comfortable. The driver's seat height could be adjusted for better visibility.

The Ridgeline received a "Good" safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, with dual-stage, multiple-threshold front air bags, front side air bags with passenger-side occupant-position detection, side-curtain air bags with rollover sensor for both rows, head restraints and three-point seat belts in all five seating positions, and side-impact door beams protecting occupants.

The tester didn't include navigation or satellite radio, although both are available as options.

2012 HONDA RIDGELINE:

Base price: $29,350
Price as tested: $29,995
All prices exclude destination charges.

[tokyodream Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tokyodream]

http://www.autoweek.com/article/2012...IEWS/121129968

2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport review notes
Sport model dressed up the Ridgeline—some.


NEWS EDITOR GREG MIGLIORE: This 2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport is a comfortable, nice-looking vehicle that drives more like a crossover with a bed, rather than a true truck. That's to be expected, but the Ridgeline actually has a decent amount of grunt and can tow 5,000 pounds. It's not fast by any means, but the 250 ponies are up to the task for merging onto expressways and launches from a stop if you aggressively use the throttle. The five-speed is fine, and four-wheel drive is a nice feature, though I had no reason to use it in my brief stint.

Generally, I'm not a fan of the looks, but in this blacked-out Darth Vader package, I think the Ridgeline is pretty sharp, actually. The right wheels and honeycomb grille go a long way to spruce up and bling out this rig. Inside, however, is rather plain. For nearly $31 large, I expected better. And there are few options. No sunroof, satellite radio, seat heaters or navigation. It seems like for this price, some of that should be standard. And it only gets 15 mpg in the city and 21 on the highway. Considering a lot of people will use this as a commuter truck—and the fact the horsepower is so modest—it seems like it should sip fuel a little better. Yes, it's more than two tons and has four-wheel drive, but still.

The drive experience is nice, relaxed even. The slightly elevated view is excellent, and this pickup feels big but not cumbersome in the least. The chassis is well-sorted and compliant, and it feels like it could deal with a variety of situations, on road or off. It handles well through turns and the steering requires little effort, though there is some feedback.

This is a decent vehicle. There's definitely a place for it, but it seems like the numbers don't add up, and the interior is far too dated.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR JAKE LINGEMAN: Dated is the correct term, Greg. This truck is now 7 years old and after driving the Ford F-150 EcoBoost, I'd be hard-pressed to find a reason to buy this truck. It's true, in 2005 this was one of your only options for a V6 medium-sized pickup, but now there are plenty—though that EcoBoost does costs $7,000 more.

We were trying to come up with the person that would buy the Ridgeline and we concluded that it would be someone who owns a small boat or jet ski, probably a cottage and maybe camps a little bit. Full-time construction workers should keep on walking.

From the exterior, it's the shape that turns me off. The short bed, high beltline and angled C-pillar make it look like a smaller, weaker Chevrolet Avalanche. And that thing is a mule.

The options that come with the Sport version go some of the way to alleviate the pain—I like the blacked-out grille and black accents on the wheels. Other than that, it's still tough to look at.

The Ridgeline rides smooth over most roads and that's what Ridgeline buyers are looking for—not a full-size truck, but something with some added capability, easy ride and high seating position.

All in all it's a decent vehicle, with a proven powertrain, that I would never buy personally. If I needed a pickup I'd go bigger.

2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport

Base Price: $30,925

As-Tested Price: $30,925

Drivetrain: 3.5-liter V6; 4WD, five-speed automatic

Output: 250 hp @ 5,700 rpm, 247 lb-ft @ 4,300 rpm

Curb Weight: 4,504 lb

Fuel Economy (EPA/AW): 17/18.1 mpg

Options: Sport package including black 18x7.5-inch aluminum alloy wheels, black honeycomb grille with black surround, black headlight housings, black taillight housings (included in base price)

Shop for a new Honda Ridgeline at shopautoweek.com

[tokyodream Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tokyodream]

Honda plans 'normal-looking' Ridgeline pickup:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...sign/16853673/



All-New Honda Pilot and Ridgeline Arriving this Year

http://www.carscoops.com/2015/01/all...ridgeline.html



Spied: 2016 Honda Ridgeline

http://www.leftlanenews.com/honda-ridgeline-2016.html

[tokyodream Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tokyodream]

Honda teases 2016 Ridgeline

http://www.leftlanenews.com/honda-ridgeline-2016.html

============

https://www.facebook.com/caranddriver

Here comes Honda's Ridgeline 2.0

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...ng-for-feature

What It Is

Honda’s second crack at the pickup market, a revived unibody mid-sizer that’s less of a raked-bedrail oddball than the original.
Why It Matters

The first Ridgeline had its fans—us included—and some novel features, such as a two-way tailgate and a lockable trunk/beer cooler recessed in its bed. But it also had critics, traditionalists who insisted that trucks without separate frames are as useless as stockings without garters. A decade has now passed since that first Ridgeline launched and, with unibody crossovers having all but supplanted body-on-frame SUVs, the market might be more accepting. Honda’s beancounters are no doubt remembering the Ridgeline’s strong initial sales, before everyone including Honda lost interest in it. And they’re certainly calculating what an additional 40,000 to 50,000 annual units will add to the bottom line.
Platform

A fortified version of Honda’s light-truck platform that made its debut in the 2014 Acura MDX. It also underpins Honda’s new Pilot.
Powertrain

The Ridgeline will share the 2016 Pilot’s direct-injected 3.5-liter V-6 and six-speed automatic, as well as its four-wheel-drive system. Output should be similar, at close to 300 horses. Cylinder deactivation will help the new truck achieve much-improved EPA numbers.
Competition

While Honda sometimes acts as if it’s competing only with itself, there’s a whole world of full-size pickups as well as new mid-size models from GM, Nissan (coming), and Toyota to fend off.
What Might Go Wrong

It may turn out to be a Japanese pickup. Also, truck buyers may still shun a pickup that shares its genetic material with a minivan.
Estimated Arrival and Price

Fall 2016, with an MSRP starting at $30,000.

[tokyodream Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tokyodream]

LIVE FROM DETROIT 2016:

http://www.leftlanenews.com/detroit-...ine-90708.html

http://www.carscoops.com/2016/01/hon...-at-naias.html

[ro861 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ro861]

Asta e un model clar facut pentru piata americana.
Pe aici (si in Europa) nu prea vad sa aiba priza.
Parerea mea!

[richie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close richie]

Asa ziceam si de SUV-uri acum cativa ani. Radeam de americani ca merg cu tractoarele prin oras, acum merg si europenii si nu mai e de țăran.