In 2014,
Honda pulled the Ridgeline from the market. Honda was following the trend in
which the midsize pickup was disappearing. Gone were the Ranger, the Dakota,
the Colorado and the Canyon, with only the Frontier and the Tacoma remaining.
But the people demanded, and Ridgeline is coming back!!
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| All New 2017 Honda Ridgeline |
Now, with
the resurgent of the midsize pickup trucks, the 2017 Ridgeline is completely redesigned.
Using styling of the car-based Pilot, the new Ridgeline has lost some of its
old characteristics. Gone are the boxy fender flares and the “flying
buttresses” behind the cab. But still retains its crossover roots with the
most, in class, interior cargo space with the rear seats folded. Along with its
dual-action tailgate, that opens to the side for easier access to the in-bed
trunk.
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| Redesigned Dashboard |
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| Dual Swinging Tailgate with In-Bed Trunk |
The
Ridgeline is tech-heavy, having adaptive cruise control, which automatically
brakes or accelerates to maintain a set distance with the vehicle ahead of you.
Lane-keeping assist helps you stay in your lane and Garmin Navigation helps you
find where you want to go. Honda retained some hard buttons on the center
stack, unlike some recent models. Environmental controls are reasonably
intuitive with toggles for dual-zone temperature selection. I'm getting more
used to the 8-inch touch-screen infotainment interface with its strip of
controls on the left, though I still don't like the bar-graph volume control
and some functions are slow to react.
The
Ridgeline has impeccable carlike driving dynamics, It has a respectable degree
of truck functionality, and it has an interior cabin as roomy and comfortable
as a SUV.
