Ten years after the original Ridgeline debuted at the North American International Auto Show, the second-generation model made its debut at the 2016 edition of the Detroit-based event. And you know what? It doesn't look half bad, which combined with improved versions of features that made the original so innovative put Honda in a good position to move a good number of trucks.
Unlike its predecessor's polarizing styling, the new truck ditches the high and sloping side rails, and adopts a more traditional three-box design. From the A-pillar forward, the Ridgeline looks like a blown-up CR-V with no mistaking of the family resemblance when it comes to the grille. Again, that's not a bad thing considering Honda is selling CR-Vs and HR-Vs like hotcakes.
Like the midsize Pilot crossover SUV, the Ridgeline is based on Honda's global light truck platform. Being a unibody instead of a full-frame as in other mid-size pickups like the Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins, Nissan Frontier, and Toyota Tacoma, Honda says the Ridgeline will deliver superior on-road ride comfort and NVH. The 3.5-liter V-6 and six-speed automatic transmission combo is also shared with the Pilot, though Honda has not released output information for the Ridgeline yet.
Unlike the original, the new Ridgeline will be offered with either front- or all-wheel-drive. The latter features torque vectoring capabilities, and different settings including Normal, Sand, Snow and Mud modes
Innovative features like the dual-action lift gate and in-bed trunk now with a fully flat floor returns. The bed itself has a 4-foot wide flat space between the rear wheel arches to enable owners to haul items like sheets of plywood and drywall flat. The composite, scratch-resistant bed also features an available 400-watt AC power outlet, a 540-watt in-bed audio system, and is standard with eight 350-pound tie-downs. The power source and audio system may come in handy the next time you throw a tailgate party.
Honda also points out that the new Ridgeline is a capable mid-size truck with an estimated payload capacity of nearly 1,600 pounds. Final figures will come at a later date.
Inside, the Ridgeline will offer leather trim, tri-zone climate controls, push button start, and a color TFT center display. An 8-inch Display Audio touschscreen infotainment system is available, and compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The rear 60/40-split seats can fold-up adding to the Ridgeline's cargo carrying capabilities inside the cabin.
Optional safety features include lane-departure warning that will beep when the car senses you drifting out of a lane, forward-collision warning to alert drivers of a potential crash, collision-mitigation braking that will slow the vehicle to reduce the severity of an unavoidable impact, road-departure mitigation that automatically dials in slight steering inputs to keep you in a lane, and lane-keeping assist.
All Ridgelines will come standard with a rearview camera system, while premium trims will offer Honda's LaneWatch system that displays the image of the vehicle's right side blind spot on the center screen or a blind-spot monitoring system.
A Honda spokesman said addition details on the 2017 Ridgeline will be releases as we get close to the on-sale date, which is currently planned for this spring.
Source : http://www.cnet.com
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