One exception is the Chevrolet Avalanche, to which the Ridgeline is often compared. There’s no gap between the cab and the box, which is universal among other pickup trucks. What I like about the Ridgeline is that it looks like one solid piece when viewed from the side. Power and Associates study revealed that polarizing car styling sells better overall than do designs that elicit no strong reaction in either direction. Why? Because others really like it, and a J.D. The fact that some people hate the way the Ridgeline looks is very good news for Honda. The base is called the RT, followed by the RTX and RTS. I tested a Ridgeline RTL with leather, the top trim level. By Honda’s estimation, only about 31 percent of the Ridgeline’s components are shared. The result is a space-efficient vehicle that’s free of the body twist common to pickups yet is capable of doing real work. It starts with a similar unibody structure but is reinforced with a ladder-style steel undercarriage akin to the frame of a body-on-frame truck. The Ridgeline disproves the conjecture that Honda’s first pickup truck would be little more than a Pilot sport utility vehicle notched and fitted with a cargo bed. But it’s my job to evaluate the vehicle on its own merits, and that’s what I’ll do. If you’re one of the folks who has cried that most people don’t need SUVs, you’re sure to be offended by this latest trend. Whether it was by gut instinct or careful study into pickup truck owners and their habits, the Ridgeline’s North American developers arrived at what is arguably the best execution of a pickup for an important type of buyer - those who have adopted the rural American workhorse as the latest alternative people-mover.

2008 honda ridgeline roof rack