Ridgeline does it different!

[Ridgeline4wd_Archive]

2006 Honda Ridgeline

By J.P. Vettraino

On Sale: Spring 2005
Expected Pricing: Upper $20,000 range


First it was Toyota, and then Nissan. Now Honda is after another piece of turf traditionally dominated by Detroit's Big Three.

As Honda Motor Co. continues its relentless quest to become a full-line automobile manufacturer, its next big release will be a big truck. The 2006 Ridgeline is bigger than any vehicle Honda has sold previously in the United States, including the seven-seat Honda Pilot and Acura MDX sport utilities.

The 2006 Ridgeline is what's become known as a Sport Utility Truck, in the fashion of the Chevy Avalanche. Ridgeline's cab has four full-size doors with a full bench seat in back, and room for at least five. Ridgeline's styling integrates its pickup bed nicely into a tight profile, yet Honda says that bed is at least five feet long with minimal wheel arch intrusion and enough room to haul two of the company's largest off-road motorcycles. Moreover, the bed is sure to extend into the cab with some pass-through mechanism, and Ridgeline will have a conventional half-ton payload.

Honda likes to do things a bit differently, and Ridgeline certainly does. Rather than a conventional truck-style ladder frame, it's built on what the company calls a box-frame/unibody. Its core is a fully boxed, ladder-style frame, but the cab and bed are welded together and to the box frame like the unibody on a sedan, rather than bolted in place. Ridgeline also has fully independent rear suspension instead of a truck-style solid axle. Honda claims these features deliver the best of both worlds: the durability and load-bearing strength of a ladder frame and the stiffness and vibration control of a unibody, as well as improved ride quality and more precise, responsive handling compared to the typical full-sized truck.

The Ridgeline will be powered by a variation on a familiar engine: the 3.5-liter V6 used in several vehicles, including the Pilot, Odyssey minivan, Acura MDX and RL sedan. In Ridgeline, it will likely be more powerful than ever, at least in the amount of load-pulling torque in generates. Horsepower should approach 300.

All Ridgelines will have a five-speed automatic transmission and an automatic four-wheel drive system similar in operation to that on the MDX. Standard safety features include anti-lock brakes, side curtain airbags and Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), Honda's electronic anti-skid, traction-enhancing system. This truck will no doubt follow the familiar Honda pricing policy: equipment will be added according to two or three different trim levels, with few if any individually priced options.

How much? For now, Honda is keeping its price plan close to the vest. Based on content and apparent production cost, an educated guess says Ridgeline will cover the spread of the current Pilot SUV ($27,350-$32,120). But because this is a new vehicle for Honda in a new market with a broad price spectrum, low-end Ridgelines may start a bit lower.

The Ridgeline will be built at one of Honda's North American plants, and sales are expected to begin by May 2005. Honda is developing a line of dealer-installed accessories for load hauling, appearance and off-road use.

Sourced from http://www.nctd.com/sneakpreview.cfm?Vehicle=2006_Honda_Ridgeline&ReviewID=66