2018 honda ridgeline roof rack iinstructions

The Ridgeline has a center bed reinforcement, hydraulic suspension bushings, dual-action dampers, and, when equipped with all-wheel drive, a rear torque-vectoring system that uses electrohydraulic clutches to move power side to side. It sits lower than its competitors, drives more controlled, and rides more smoothly. The Ridgeline drives like a car, or at least a crossover SUV. The structure gives it a definite advantage in terms of driving character. That makes it a front-drive-based unibody vehicle, unlike all of its rivals, which are more rugged, rear-drive body-on-frame trucks. The Ridgeline is based on the Honda Pilot SUV. It can’t pull like some competitors, but it’s smoother and more composed on the road than any of them, earning it a 7 for performance in our book. If you're hauling the family or even towing a mid-size boat, the Honda Ridgeline will work for you. Unlike the Pilot, however, and more like a truck, the Ridgeline has a transmission lever instead of push-buttons. The wide instrument panel has a pair of analog gauges with a digital readout between them. A pleasant wing shape defines the dash, and it features either a small or a larger touchscreen in the center stack, along with tightly grained, soft-touch plastics. Inside, the look is almost a carbon copy of the Pilot. Move to the front, and the Pilot’s face is obvious as well, though this differs from rivals because it sits lower. The Ridgeline is closely related to the Honda Pilot and the Pilot’s outline is easy to spot from the rear doors forward. This stronger metal permits the use of near-vertical rear glass and near-horizontal bed sides. The Ridgeline’s traditional truck shape is made possible by high-strength steel. Instead of a flying buttress cab-to-bed transition, the second-generation Ridgeline has what looks like a traditional pickup bed, though it is still integrated with the cabin, instead of separate. An attractive interior helps up our score to a 7 for styling. The look works in general, though it’s a bit generic.

It has a typical crew-cab truck profile that is paired with the current Honda corporate grille taken directly from its current SUVs. However, Honda makes buyers pony up more than $40,000 to get those features.įor its second go-around, the Honda Ridgeline looks more like a traditional pickup, even though it isn’t. Unlike most rivals, the Ridgeline does crash well and it offers a nice spate of active safety features.

And while it can tow a decent 5,000 pounds, that’s 2,000 pounds short of the competition.įuel economy is decent at 21 or 22 mpg combined, but that’s not really better than the class average and Honda makes no hybrid or diesel option available. The Ridgeline has some modes that deal with different terrain through electronics but it doesn’t sit high enough or offer knobby tires, off-road shocks, low-range gearing, or tight approach and departure angles to make it an off-road warrior. The trade-off is some ultimate towing and off-road capability. Its 3.5-liter V-6/6-speed automatic combination is also smooth and responsive. The Ridgeline sits lower, rides more smoothly, and feels more controlled than its bouncier competitors. The driving character is also superior to the rest of the class. The Ridgeline’s cabin is better appointed and more comfortable than anything you’ll get from a rival mid-size pickup, wonky infotainment system aside. Same goes for the interior, and that’s a good thing for buyers.

While the profile is now that of a traditional crew cab pickup, the look from the rear doors forward is very influenced by the Pilot. Honda bases the Ridgeline on the unibody platform of the Pilot crossover SUV.

2018 honda ridgeline roof rack iinstructions