Nothing.
As a previous Accord V6 and Pilot owner I was a little worried about acceleration, and in town it does feel a little laborious unless you keep it in D3 or lower.
In the mountains and on dirt trails it is far superior to the pilot and any other 4WD I have owned, though I wouldn't want to take it off road.
On twisty roads it handles more like a sedan than any truck. Lots of passenger room and the in bed trunk is a marvelous feature.
I don’t think this vehicle competes with “real” pick-ups. How many sheets of plywood can it carry? How about bales of hay or maybe a motorcycle?
Yeah, that "bed trunk" is a marvelous idea at first, but not so well thought out. It holds the spare tire.
So, what happens if you have a load of something in the bed and get a flat?
How many bales of hay do 85% of all trucks tow, or sheets of plywood, and how many own motorcycles? What is not considered about trucks is that most of them are driven around and used only occasionally for hauling. This niche that Honda has made with the Ridgeline is truly something that the domestics have to live up to. Reliability? Hello, only Toyota could probably meet or exceed the Ridgeline!!! Ride quality-- the Ridgeline will win and that is where it is a winner.
Domestics have had 4 door 4x4 pickups with small beds for quite some time now. So I don't think the ridgeline is anything special.
That's great and all, but from everyone I've spoken to who actually drives a truck, the Ridgeline is just inadequate. Domestics having something to live up to? Yeah, just like the Corvette has to live up to the precision and speed of the Civic, and those crappy Cadillacs just don't measure up to the refinement of an Accord. Yeah, I could read Lemming Motor News too (also known as Motor Trend/Car & Driver/ Road & Track), but then I'd forget that if I ever actually have need of a truck, I'll be sad when my 3.5L V6 (ooohhh) can't seem to out-pull any domestic (oh, wait. Maybe the Ranger base model, or an S-10 2.2.). Chevy's base engine is a 4.2L straight-six. And it's considered the bare minimum for a work truck, but if you want to tow, you'll want the 6.0L V8, or the 8.1L, for heavy towing. I know every time Honda makes anything, it's automatically ten times better in every respect than anything American, but since your Civic beats our Viper, and your Accord beats our DeVille, can't we at least be better at trucks? Funny how you never see a Ridgeline actually hauling or pulling anything. My car doesn't have a trailer hitch either.
Now, before I begin this comment, let me just say that I'm a big Honda fan: I drove a Civic during my college years, and it served me well. But Honda's missed the mark with the Ridgeline. First of all, it's ugly. That sloping bed-wall on the sides is just plain ugly and totally impractical...how're you expected to reach over it? Next, the "trunk under the bedliner" might be a neat idea, but we all know that eventually these lids begin to leak. Thirdly, the Ridgeline is completely underpowered... the V-6 just doesn't cut it (at least Toyota's got it right... offering the new 5.7 V-8). I don't know how this "truck" was named truck of the year in some pulications. This vehicle just simply misses the mark. Ford, Dodge, and GMC all offer trucks that beat the Ridgeline in just about every category. If the Big Three want something to worry about, they need to watch out for the upcoming full-size Toyota Tundra.
The last responder was right on. The big three face more of a challenge from the Toyota Tundra and the Nissan Titan than they ever will from the Honda Ridgeline, when it comes to truck sales. It appears to me that Honda tried to copy the looks from the Chevrolet Avalanche when designing this truck.
You must remember that the first unitized frame for truck, patended Uniframe by Jeep in 1984, is now used as a so-call modern design by Honda. You can pretend to be a leader in design, but forget you're a follower.
Get real, imports have taken over compact cars, sports bikes, luxury cars, rwd sports cars, and minivans. They've only just started in the full-size truck segment. The domestics have like 50 years of experience on them.
The Ridgeline may be a little under-powered right now, but it's already surpassed the big three in reliability, innovation, and quality. It's just a matter of time before the Ridgeline, Titan, and Toyota are outperforming the domestics in every aspect. Some people just can't handle that reality.
How can you say honda is innovative? The 4 door truck is nothing new, like I said before and to think honda is so great for doing so is just stupid.
I have heard that Honda will produce a V-8 Ridgeline by its 2011 redesign. How does that sound to you all?
I just traded my 2004 Silverado for one. I may use my Acura TL less or not need it anymore. Nice Truck!
You can tell where the reviewer is coming from by attempting to compare a Pilot to a real truck. If that is his benchmark, he probably is totally infatuated with the Ridgeline and believes that it is a serious pickup. However, it is not. I agree with one of the other comments, though, as far as people not actually using trucks as trucks. The Ridgeline fills the niche for people that want to pretend they need a pickup, but will never use it, just like people that buy a Pilot to pretend they need an SUV or 4x4 but will never use it. They might haul three arbor vitae shrubs home from Wal-Mart and drive on the lawn, and think they are going "off-roading".
Sounds like a great "innovation" on honda's part, copying everyone else. Good for them.
I agree on the Walmart comment. Having a new full size pickup I rarely ever utilized its capabilities. I still use my Acura sedan a lot, but its nice to have car like handling, lots of options and the bed size has not been a sacrifice. Most of what I ever carried fits fine. I had a Class 3 hitch before never towed anything never went other than on a dirt road once in a while. If a full size truck is what you need...fine. I never liked the handling of my full size truck... I changed wheels, tires etc. but coming from a sports sedan it was still a compromise. I didn't switch for fuel savings. Some people do not need a 4 x 4 or a big bed really at all...