2008 Honda Ridgeline

While crossover designs are the all the rage for SUVs, this concept is also trickling into the pickup truck market. The Honda Ridgeline is a good case in point. Conventional wisdom tells us that a truck should have a big V8 engine and a body-on-frame construction. Anything else just can't cut it, right? Well, Honda is anything but a conventional company, having developed a number of breakthrough engineering achievements over the years—the CVCC engine, robotic technology, and a new low-emissions diesel, to name just a few. So when news of a pickup truck from this innovative company leaked, nobody was surprised by its unusual design, combining pickup practicality with agile, car-like handling.

Styling

Honda's first pickup truck is smaller than most, with only a five-foot-long cargo bed, emphasizing creature comforts instead. In addition to a five-passenger, four-door cabin, the design has features unusual to pickups, such as an independent rear suspension and unibody construction. Based on a modified Honda Pilot platform, the Ridgeline eschews the traditional, "three-box" truck layout (engine compartment, cab, cargo box) by offering a bed that's built right into the cab. The resulting increase in body stiffness allowed Honda to tune the truck for a softer ride, enhanced by its independent rear suspension.


While some might wonder if this chassis design is appropriate for heavy-duty use, note that the Ridgeline uses an architecture that combines the techniques of both unibody- and full-frame construction to create a torsionally rigid chassis. Although it shares some of its running gear with the Honda Pilot, fully 90 percent of the Ridgeline is unique and should not just be considered the pickup version of Honda's SUV.


As for the soft-riding independent rear suspension, Ford now uses that type of system on its Sport Trac (yet another crossover pickup design), which shares some other similarities with the Ridgeline in overall configuration.


Another innovative aspect is the cargo box, made of dent-resistant plastic with a steel-reinforced, raised floor that houses a covered well at the rear (no bedliner needed here). For convenience, this under-bed storage area locks just like the doors with the press of a button on the key fob, and can hold a 72-gallon cooler. And there's a drain plug in the bottom in case the well needs to be hosed out or you want to fill it with ice for a tailgate party. Speaking of the tailgate, it drops down or swings out for more versatile access. Six large tie-down cleats help to secure cargo.