Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/816045
April 2017 | EquipmentWorld.com 78 power outlet are a nice leg-up at the party or jobsite. The 64-inch long bed – among the largest in the class of small crew cabs – sits above the wheels, so fender wells don't eat up much of the cargo space. The 50 inches between them, aided by eight strap- ping hooks, provide enough room to load full sheets of plywood, Sheetrock or 1,500 pounds of what- ever you may need on the job. How it drives Alabama spent much of the fall under historic drought conditions. That problem solved itself in the days before my Ridgeline test ve- hicle arrived, creating unexpected opportunities to push the all-wheel drive (AWD), which is no longer standard on new models. Ridgeline's AWD features four modes: Normal, Sand, Snow and Mud. You can choose one on the fly by pushing a button at the base of the console-mounted shifter. Honda's Variable Torque Manage- ment (i-VTM4) controls dynamic torque vectoring to send torque wherever it's needed the most. I took a fresh soupy trail only hours after a three-day soaking rain and powered through it with ease in Mud mode – and I don't mean "with ease for a Honda." I mean "with ease for a pickup." The truck's ground clearance is about 8 inches, which was a concern ini- tially but it proved to be more than enough for the trip. On pavement at highway speed, Ridgeline is rock solid. Its low center of gravity (72 +/- inch ride height) obliterates body roll, and the independent suspension pro- vides excellent road manners. The direct injected 3.5L i-VTEC V6 (280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque) is smooth and nimble, but agility noticeably dips in Econ mode, which when activated by a green, dash-mounted button dials back throttle response and optimiz- es the six-speed automatic transmis- sion's shifting patterns in an effort to boost fuel economy. Honda claims best in class 18 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway on AWD models and a combined 21 mpg. I actually did a little better on my 320-mile test, hitting 21.8 mpg, and I wasn't necessarily trying to save fuel at any point in the drive. Front-wheel drive models, Honda says, get 19/26 mpg and a com- bined 22 mpg. Honda says more than 50 percent of the front and rear chassis com- ponents have been re-engineered from the Pilot SUV, giving the truck a beefier suspension that allows for a tow rating of 5,000 pounds on AWD equipped models. That dips to 3,500 pounds in 2WD trucks, a configuration previously unavailable in first generation models. My AWD model pulled a 6-foot trailer loaded with lawn equipment like it wasn't even there. Among the towing hardware added to Ridge- line is a high-capacity radiator with dual high-power fans and a heavy duty transmission cooler, which is standard on AWD models. Nicely appointed The spacious, nicely appointed interior – again, borrowed from the Pilot – certainly doesn't feel mid-size. The wide seats and cabin offer more than ample leg and elbow room, even on the three- passenger backseat bench. The cab is amazingly quiet, and the engine is so smooth at idle, you'd swear it wasn't even running. There's lots of room for storage under the rear seats, which also fold up to accommodate larger items. My tester was also flush with cool safety tech like adaptive cruise, emergency braking, blind spot warning, lane departure warning and a backup camera. Honda's second attempt at a pickup is much more on target than its first, making a giant leap toward truck and away from Japanese El Camino. However, it still blends passenger car comforts with enough versatility to satisfy pickup buyers who don't do a lot of heavy haul- ing, but still need the workman capabilities a pickup offers. pro pickup | continued