The most conservative cars on the planet after Rolls-Royce, Morgan, Jeep Wrangler and Niv with UAZ? Pickups of course! These hard workers may not fundamentally change for decades. The design, plus or minus, is the same – longitudinal layout, frame, dependent rear suspension. A rare exception to the reinforced concrete rules is the interesting and not very successful first generation Honda Ridgeline. This is where the brain explodes and spits in the soul of a lover of canonical pickups!
Honda people have always been guided by individual views about beauty. For a long time and persistently they rejected turbochargers, honed the habits of front-wheel drive vehicles to a mirror shine, used double wishbones on compact Civics and knocked out competitors with the mid-engine NSX supercar with “only” a naturally aspirated V6 engine, but chic steering and an indecently high level of comfort. In the meantime, not much attention was paid to the off-road topic and on a residual basis. The company remembered the mud mixers by the early nineties, but did not bother and ordered them externally.
Land Rover Discovery with a Honda emblem? We know, it looks a little wild, but you can’t argue with the facts!
Honda 
Land Rover Discovery with a Honda emblem? We know, it looks a little wild, but you can’t argue with the facts!
Honda
In 1993, Crossroad was released simultaneously, essentially a badge-engineered Land Rover Discovery and Honda Passport, which was an Isuzu Rodeo with its own nameplate. Both are frame-mounted with dependent suspensions (the Passport has an independent design at the front) and a longitudinal arrangement of the power unit. In general, they are too ordinary and ordinary for Honda with its high aspirations and non-trivial view of things.
From 1995 to 1999, Acura offered the body-on-frame SLX—the good old Isuzu Trooper with a different badge and a more expensive package.
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Acura
Crossroad and Passport didn’t stay long in the lineup. Both sank into oblivion before the end of the decade, and the brand never returned to cars of this format. In 2000, Honda (or rather, its premium American division Acura) showed the MDX crossover, consistent with its corporate ideals. It was he who acted as the starting point when designing the Ridgeline.
Acura MDX
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Acura 
Acura
Almost immediately, experiments began with a prototype pickup truck on the MDX chassis, nicknamed Hondarado. As a result of the research, the 2004 Sport Utility Truck Concept, the prototype of the Ridgeline, appeared. Look at the show car – the production version inherited almost all of its features without major changes. Oh, there were times when concepts were sent to the assembly line almost in their original form!
Honda Sport Utility Truck Concept
Honda 
Honda Sport Utility Truck Concept
Honda 
Honda Sport Utility Truck Concept
Honda 
Honda Sport Utility Truck Concept
Honda 
Honda Sport Utility Truck Concept
Honda
With the Ridgeline, the manufacturer turned around in full and completely ignored the seemingly unshakable foundations and covenants. The combination of grace and attractive brutality in appearance, coupled with a high-quality interior, is the tip of the iceberg. Its basis is bold decisions, more common for a passenger car than for a work truck. First of all, the transverse (!) layout and VTM-4WD (Variable Torque Management 4-Wheel Drive) all-wheel drive. The system is often considered the merit of Honda, but we have repeatedly come across information where it is written in black and white: “Developed with the participation of the American BorgWarner.” In particular, knowledgeable members of the ridgelineownersclub.com community talk about this.
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Honda
This is not an ordinary clutch package for connecting the rear axle, but a hypoid gear and a set of clutches for the left and right wheels, which connect the main gear to the axle shafts and allow up to 70% of the traction to be transferred to the rear axle. There is a Lock mode that simulates a cross-axle differential lock. In general, it’s never an average “truck” with a simple classic part-time (hard connection of the front).
The 3.5-liter V-shaped six (259 hp and 342 Nm) with a single camshaft in each cylinder head and a VTEC variable valve timing system also fit well into the sophisticated image of a car for technomaniacs. The engine is paired with a five-speed automatic transmission.
The usual ladder frame is missing (it would be more appropriate to talk about an integrated frame), the rear suspension is independent, and the cargo compartment resolutely refuses to carry hay and manure. Its design is a nod to those who love an active lifestyle and, in general, citizens who are far from farming life. The Dual-Action tailgate can be tilted or opened to the side as a gate. The next interesting feature is the organizer or second In-Bed Trunk under the cargo bed floor. If you have to tow trailers, the Honda will pull almost 2.3 tons of weight. Not bad, although the second-generation Toyota Tacoma, a contemporary of the early Ridgeline, is more interesting – it can handle almost three tons.
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Honda
Over its more than ten-year career, the first Ridgeline was updated several times. Significant modernization arrived in 2009 – fifty updates for the exterior, interior and equipment. In particular, the front part has been retouched and supplemented with daytime running lights, the rear lights have acquired a red section of direction indicators, and the instrument panel and steering wheel have been changed. The power plant also suffered: the camshafts were retuned for improved elasticity and an expanded torque range, the intake valves were enlarged, and the gear ratios in the automatic transmission were adjusted. At the same time, the output has been slightly reduced – to 253 hp. and 335 Nm.
Alas, the finished version did not appeal to customers. In 2010, only 16,142 copies were sold in the States. For comparison, the best result of the first iteration – 50,193 cars – was recorded four years earlier. Well, a control shot. Don’t get me wrong, but the 2010 Toyota Tacoma sold 106,198 units. The situation is both tragic and romantic: an unrecognized genius in search of his own path and a circle of fine connoisseurs! Calling the Honda Ridgeline the mundane worker-peasant word “truck” is somehow… inconvenient, you know. And this was the main problem.
Second generation Honda Ridgeline
Honda
“The pickup truck market is evolving, and we believe the Ridgeline is at the forefront of the trend. It has all the strengths of a truck without any of the traditional compromises. “Combines Honda’s innovation and engineering with our commitment to environmental and safety leadership in the next generation of pickup trucks,” said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co.
It seems that Mr. Colliver really wanted to believe in the beautiful legend and refused to see the obvious. The facts are that the American pickup truck market is, to put it bluntly, a frozen world with its heroes and losers. For example, when it comes to full-size cars, there’s the perennial bestseller, the Ford F-150, and the perennial underdog, the Toyota Tundra. It’s worth considering another obvious point about the Ridgeline’s unenviable marketing fate. Buyers of pickup trucks rarely seek to experiment. They are interested in a proven and understandable classical design. Nevertheless, our American colleagues liked the model! And not the last Car and Driver magazine gave it first place in a comparison test, where the entire honest mid-size company took part – Chevy Colorado, Dodge Dakota, Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma.
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Here are lines from that old material:
“So, is the Honda a car or a truck? Depends on what you mean by “truck”. In fact, neither one nor the other. But who cares, because clear distinctions are no longer needed. Let’s appreciate the Ridgeline for what it is: a new type of utility vehicle.
On the bumpy road to Mansonville, the Ridgeline scurried along with its rivals up and down the same rocky trail, but was the least comfortable. This is the only truck in the test with full-time all-wheel drive and no downshift, so it couldn’t go down grades with the ease of engine braking. We heard more unpleasant grinding sounds than in other pickups. However, a visual inspection did not reveal any damage.
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Inside is a symbiosis of smart devices and plenty of space. The large center console expands like an accordion and has numerous compartments. The rear seat turned out to be the most spacious and comfortable in the test. It is similar to a sofa with high cushions, plenty of shoulder room and a relaxing backrest angle. The Ridgeline was the only car that could seat three adults in the back. All seats are covered in grippy, durable nylon fabric. The radio, on the other hand, is located far from the driver’s seat, and the front door handles look like chrome shovel handles. But other than that, the ergonomics are top-notch.
Driving properties are appropriate. Although Nissan is considered very worthy in the group, Honda, according to one of the test drivers, plays in a different league. The suspension is stiff, but provides a clear and transparent connection between the driver and the road. We’re not talking about a sports car feel, but the truck is head and shoulders above its opponents. It topped the rankings in all subjective handling categories. Combine a chassis, cargo bed and large interior with a smooth, quiet and plenty powerful engine, and you have a winner.”
Second generation Honda Ridgeline
Honda 
Second generation Honda Ridgeline
Honda 
Second generation Honda Ridgeline
Honda 
Second generation Honda Ridgeline
Honda 
Second generation Honda Ridgeline
Honda 
Second generation Honda Ridgeline
Honda
As you may have guessed, the market results of the first Ridgeline are hardly outstanding. After such an epic failure, any other company would have dismissed the model and tried never to think about her again. But Honda decided not to just give up and in 2016 introduced a new pickup truck. The exterior is almost familiar, but from a mechanical point of view, the truck is true to itself: “three and five” is installed transversely, the rear axle is connected to side clutches, and in the body there is a well-thought-out separate trunk with drainage holes.
Sales are quite good compared to the pioneer: in 2023, as many as 52,001 copies were sold. The difference with the Toyota Tacoma is, of course, incredible—more than fourfold. But statistics are not always the primary and absolute evaluation criterion. “The Ridgeline is one of the best midsize pickups out there. It offers practicality rather than ostentatious luxury and is great for everyday use,” Car and Driver’s verdict was. Isn’t this proof that the company is doing everything right? /m
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