– 2017 Honda Ridgeline Pickup Truck Review of Specs / Features / Pictures & Videos –
Honda just made a huge announcement at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show! They have been teasing us for quite some time that an all new Ridgeline was on the way and of course with manufacturers teasing the public – rumors are right behind. Here’s an in-depth look into the 2017 Honda Ridgeline press release…
↓ VIDEO: 2017 Honda Ridgeline Unveiled at the 2016 Detroit Motor Show ↓
- 2017 Ridgeline brings Honda innovation in technology, design and packaging to the midsize pickup truck market
- All-new Ridgeline delivers superior driving dynamics in combination with the largest interior space and most versatile bed in a midsize 4-door pickup
- Honda-exclusive features including In-Bed Trunk®, dual-action tailgate and the industry’s first in-bed audio system make Ridgeline the ultimate tailgating vehicle
Honda today unveiled the all-new 2017 Ridgeline truck at the North American International Auto Show, once again challenging conventional thinking in the pickup truck market with Honda-exclusive features, design and technology that help Ridgeline set new benchmarks for versatility, capability and comfort in a midsize pickup.
“We are bringing our unique technology and original thinking to the market in a new and challenging concept for a Honda pickup,” said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “We think we’ve got a better idea, a truck that uses its unibody construction and Honda packaging magic to deliver more of the things that many of today’s truck customers want and need with none of the things they don’t.”
Designed, developed and manufactured in America, the new Ridgeline will launch in the first half of 2016 with a combination of features and capabilities unlike anything else on the market today, including:
- Superior on-road performance – with the segment’s best handling, ride quality, cabin quietness and all-weather traction capabilities – courtesy of its unibody construction, sophisticated chassis, and available i-VTM4™ torque-vectoring AWD system
- Class-leading space – with the largest and most versatile cabin and the only 4-foot-wide flat bed space in the midsize pickup segment, along with payload capacity rivaling top competitors
- Innovative and class-exclusive features, including an In-Bed Trunk™, dual-action tailgate and the industry’s first in-bed audio system – making Ridgeline the ultimate tailgating vehicle
- Targeted top-in-class acceleration, EPA fuel economy ratings and third-party collision safety ratings, and featuring Honda’s next-generation ACE™ body structure and available Honda Sensing™ suite of safety and driver-assist technologies
- Leading edge connectivity with 8-inch Display Audio featuring Apple Car Play® and Android Auto™ compatibility
Advanced Chassis, Powertrain and All-Wheel-Drive
The new Ridgeline is based on Honda’s Global Light Truck platform with its rigid yet lightweight unibody construction, next-generation ACE™ body structure and sophisticated, fully independent suspension, delivering a higher level of ride and handling refinement than conventional body-on-frame designs. The Ridgeline will be powered by a 3.5-liter, direct-injectedi-VTEC™ V-6 engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, providing top-in-class powertrain refinement and targeting best-in-class acceleration performance and segment-leading EPA fuel economy ratings.
The Ridgeline also will be available for the first time in both front-wheel and all-wheel-drive configurations. All-wheel-drive models will utilize Honda’s i-VTM4™ torque vectoring AWD technology, featuring Intelligent Terrain Management with Normal, Sand, Snow and Mud modes, providing robust medium-duty off-road and towing capability with superior on-road, all-weather handling, traction and performance.
Sophisticated, Versatile and Spacious Cabin
Inside, the Ridgeline boasts the largest, most versatile and sophisticated cabin in a midsize 4-door pickup, featuring high-grade materials and finishes, available leather trim and all the latest technologies that Honda has to offer, including tri-zone climate control, push button start, a full-color TFT center meter and available 8-inch Display Audio touchscreen with Apple Car Play and Android Auto compatibility.
The Ridgeline’s 60/40-split and folding second-row seat provides the ultimate versatility for people- and cargo-hauling utility. With the seats folded down, the Ridgeline will comfortably carry up to five people while still accommodating long items, like a set of golf clubs, under the rear seat. Folding up one or both sides of the 60/40-split seat bottom opens up the back to carry tall and bulky items.
A Bed Like No Other
The Ridgeline bed offers pickup users unmatched versatility in a midsize 4-door pickup. At 5′ wide and 5’4″ long (5.4 inches wider and 4 inches longer than the previous generation Ridgeline), the 2017 Honda Ridgeline has the only 4-foot wide flat bed space (with 48 inches between the rear wheel arches) in the midsize pickup class, allowing for flat hauling of items like plywood sheeting or drywall. The Ridgeline will also offer payload capacity rivaling top competitors, approaching 1,600 pounds, with final specifications to be released closer to launch.
The composite, UV-stabilized and scratch-resistant bed also boasts a number of available Honda-exclusive features that add to its incredible versatility, including an In-Bed Trunk™, dual-action tailgate, available 400-watt AC power inverter and the industry’s first in-bed audio system.
The Ridgeline’s standard, lockable In-Bed Trunk provides secure storage space with no compromise to bed utility and now features a fully flat floor while still including a drain plug for easier cleaning and evacuation of water from the trunk. The dual action tailgate is hinged both at the bottom and along its left side, opening down or to the side, which enables easier loading and unloading of heavy and bulky items without having to reach over the open tailgate. The bed also features eight 350-pound tie down cleats and an available 400-watt power inverter, located behind an access panel in the right bed wall, with the capacity to recharge power tools or energize a tailgate blender or flat screen TV.
A first for any pickup, the new in-bed audio system, together with the In-Bed Trunk and available 400-watt power inverter, makes Ridgeline the ultimate tailgating vehicle. The new in-bed audio system utilizes six exciters located inside the bed walls, in place of conventional speakers, pumping out sound from the Ridgeline’s audio head unit, with up to 540 watts of power.
Top-Level Safety Performance
Featuring Honda’s next-generation ACE™ body structure, advanced airbag systems and available Honda Sensing™ suite of safety and driver-assist technologies, the new Ridgeline will target the highest available collision safety ratings – an NCAP 5-star Overall Vehicle Score from the NHTSA and a TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating from the IIHS. Honda Sensing™ technologies available on the 2017 Ridgeline include Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) and Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS). All Ridgeline models will feature a multi-angle rearview camera as standard equipment and upper trims will be available with either Honda LaneWatch™ or Blind Spot Information system.
Ridgeline Development and Manufacturing
Like the first generation Honda Ridgeline, the all-new 2017 Ridgeline was designed and developed by Honda R&D Americas and will be produced by Honda Manufacturing of Alabama in Lincoln, Alabama.
About the Honda Light Truck Lineup
Honda set an all-time record for U.S. sales of light truck models in 2015, up nearly 12% from 2014 to 661,188 SUVs, CUVs, pickups and minivans, and besting the previous record of 602,123 Honda-brand light trucks sold in 2006. Honda’s sales success was driven by an unprecedented cadence of new light truck offerings starting in the fall of 2014 with the freshened 2015 Honda CR-V, which was named Motor Trend 2016 Sport Utility of the Year and was America’s best selling SUV again in 2015. In 2015, Honda launched the all-new HR-V crossover and the third generation Pilot SUV. In December, the Pilot was names as a finalist for the 2016 North American Truck/Utility of the Year award.
In 2016, Honda will continue the fortification of its light-truck family of vehicles with the new Ridgeline and a fully redesigned Odyssey minivan. Honda was named the “2016 Best SUV Brand” by U.S. News and World Report, and the Pilot, CR-V, HR-V and Odyssey each has earned a “Best Buy” award from Kelly Blue Book for 2016. The 2016 Pilot and CR-V have received a TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for model year 2016, while the 2016 Odyssey minivan has earned a TOP SAFETY PICK rating.
A few other key points that Honda has yet to announce the details on:
- 2017 Honda Ridgeline Horsepower: TBA
- 2017 Honda Ridgeline Towing Capacity: TBA
- 2017 Honda RidgeLine Bed Capacity: TBA
Honda is saying they will release those details once we get closer to the 2017 Ridgeline release date.
↓ VIDEO: Honda Ridgeline Baja Truck in Action ↓
EXECUTIVE REMARKS
John Mendel – Executive Vice President, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Good afternoon everyone and thanks for joining us.
A year ago on this stage we declared 2015 as “The Year of Honda.” And honestly, it wasn’t intended as a big brag, but rather as an acknowledgement of what was to come, an incredible cadence of new products that reflected the really big dreams we have for our customers.
Today, we culminated this extraordinary year with the North American Car of the Year award for the 2016 Honda Civic Sedan. And we very humbly want to thank all of the journalists who selected the Civic for this honor and who nominated our Honda Pilot as a finalist for truck of the year. Tony Swan summed it up best this morning when he said that there are no bad cars anymore. And I want to acknowledge the competition we faced from the other finalists from Chevy, and Mazda, and the host of other great new products. Ten years ago, we accepted this award for the 2006 Civic.
This all-new 2016 Civic was the most ambitious remake in the 43-year history of our top-selling vehicle globally. And I want to thank our R&D associates in Ohio, California and Japan and our manufacturing associates in Canada and Indiana who worked as one Honda team to create this all-new Civic.
Fortunately, it’s not the end of the story for our 10th generation Civic because we’ll continue to rollout additional variations of the Civic lineup this year and next.
Of course, the Year of Honda also was brought to life in pinnacle products like HondaJet, the Acura NSX and Clarity Fuel Cell and innovative new products that we delivered to our customers.
That includes not only the award-winning Civic, but the HR-V, our new gateway crossover model, a third-generation Pilot, which today is the fastest growing model in a very competitive segment, the ’16 Accord, which we’re proud to claim as aCar and Driver 10 Best car for an unprecedented 30th year.
Of course, we were also happy to report last week that we posted a new all-time sales record for total American Honda and for the Honda brand in 2015. And we did it our way, with innovative, class-defining products sold one customer, one car at a time. And employing marketing strategies that reinforce our customers’ trust in Honda products that are consistently at the top of rankings for low cost of ownership and long-term value retention.
In fact for the third straight year we’ve earned retail sales crowns in four key segments. Accord, Civic, CR-V and Odyssey, and CR-V racked up its 11th year and 3rd consecutive year as America’s outright best-selling SUV.
With a record 2015 behind us, we will look to carry our ‘Year of Honda’ momentum into 2016, with what Merrill-Lynch has identified as the most ambitious new product cadence in the business, including the continued roll out of our 10th-generation
Civic lineup and an even more powerful and fuel efficient Accord Hybrid.But what brings us here today is another addition to our truck line-up, one that will benefit from the steady drumbeat that started with the launch of the freshened CR-V in 2014, and was followed by the launch of the HR-V and Pilot last year.
Today, we have the world debut of the newest addition to the Honda truck lineup.
And to take us there, it is my pleasure and honor to welcome someone who knows a thing or two about Honda light truck products. A veteran of Honda R&D who helped lead the development of several iconic Honda models for North America including Odyssey and CR-V.
Today, he leads Global Honda bringing to the challenge a wealth of experience gained from his work in Japan, Europe, China and right here in the U.S.
Please welcome the president and CEO of Honda Motor Company, Mr. Takahiro Hachigo.
Takahiro Hachigo – President and CEO, Honda Motor Co., Ltd
And good afternoon, everyone.
I want to begin by thanking the members of the media who selected Civic as the Car of the Year. Civic was created by a global team with Honda’s R&D and manufacturing teams in North America playing a key role. Thank you for recognizing their efforts.
Honda is a different kind of company. We make many types of products and technologies. Some give people mobility. Some make their lives easier by helping them “get things done.” Some give people joy and excitement.
We see our purpose as making things that change people’s lives in a positive way.
This is the reason Honda exists. And my commitment and my passion is to rekindle this as the core value of Honda to our customers and society. This can mean big
dreams.And we reached a major milestone in the history of Honda taking Honda mobility to the skies with the first customer deliveries of the Honda Jet.
This year, we will launch the new Clarity Fuel Cell first in Japan in just a few months and later this year in America. This new platform will underpin a new Plug-in Hybrid model coming to market by 2018, as we build momentum for these pinnacle environmental vehicles. But creating new value for people requires innovation on many levels.
Years ago, the Honda Odyssey was this kind of project. We were not creating just a new vehicle. It was the foundation for a new business direction for Honda. And step-by-step we have continued to advance our light truck business. This steady growth, powered by Honda R&D and manufacturing operations in this region has enabled us to meet the needs of our customers.
And last year, Honda associates in North America set a new record for both auto production and sales. I am very proud of their efforts.
But the expansion of production across all six Honda regions in the world presents us with new challenges to manage.
In the coming days, we will work to advance a “complementary supply system” to meet the needs of customers in each local market and, supplement the needs of customers
in other regions.This year, we will begin to supply customers here with the Civic 5-door from Europe.
And we have added the HR-V to the number of models we export from this region to Europe.We also must make more efficient use of our existing capacity in North America.
To create more capacity for light truck models, last year, we announced a plan to
dual source the Acura MDX in Ohio.Today, we are announcing plans to change production at our first plant in Mexico from CR-V to HR-V to meet demand for our new crossover. And we will add production of the CR-V in Indiana.
In this way, we will work to meet strong demand for our light truck products. This will enable us to continue to grow in North America, the largest and most important market for Honda globally.
Today, we take the next step in this effort with the introduction of the 2nd generation Ridgeline.
I was working in the U.S. when the first generation Ridgeline broke new ground. Unique features like the in-bed storage trunk and a 2-way tailgate were simple ideas to make people’s lives easier. And this helped Ridgeline win the Truck of the Year award 10 years ago.
Now, the all-new Ridgeline will propose new ideas from Honda engineers in America
for what a pickup truck can do for people.Ladies and gentlemen it is my pleasure to introduce the all-new 2017 Honda Ridgeline.
John Mendel – Executive Vice President, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
The words “cool, tough and athletic” define this refreshing new look for the pickup segment. This new Ridgeline also brings our unique technology and original thinking to the market in a new and challenging concept for a Honda pickup.
But at the same time, it’s more traditional 3-box truck profile better communicates its true-truck capabilities. Because, let me be clear here, this is a real truck, with payload and hauling capabilities that rival the top competitors in the midsize pickup segment.
This Ridgeline isn’t just about doing what other trucks can do, it’s about creating new value and new capability for the customer.
On the turntable is a silver RTL-E model and it’s flanked on the left by our new Black Edition that will serve as a new top trim in the lineup.
On the right is our Baja Ridgeline, fresh off its class-winning performance in the
2015 Baja 1000.In developing this new Ridgeline we looked across the full spectrum of today’s truck and SUV buyers, and for many customers, their truck isn’t about the job site, it’s about their active, outdoor lifestyles. That means weekend sporting events and tailgates, runs to the desert or out to the country with your dirt bikes and family and friend excursions to the mountains or the lake with toys in tow.
For these buyers, the capabilities of a pickup, mainly hauling and towing dirty and bulky cargo, come with a whole bunch of fundamental compromises inherent to their body-on-frame designs. So what do we mean by that? Lack of interior flexibility, everyday drivability, maneuverability and road manners, to name a few.
For these buyers, we think we’ve got a better idea, a truck that uses its unibody construction and Honda packaging magic to deliver more of the things they really want in a truck, with none of the things they really don’t.
So let’s dig into the details a bit more, starting with our Global Light Truck platform, both rigid and lightweight, with advanced collision protection and a sophisticated and sturdy fully independent suspension.
The reality is that most truck buyers spend the vast majority of their time on the road where body-on-frame construction is nothing but a punishment. Ridgeline comes to the rescue with a level of ride comfort, steering precision, maneuverability and handling that far surpasses the competition.
Under the hood the Ridgeline is powered by the same great 3.5-liter i-VTEC V6 that powers the new Pilot. With this new powertrain, Ridgeline will deliver medium-duty towing capability in combination with the best acceleration andthe highestfuel economy in the midsize truck segment.
And for the first time, our expanded Ridgeline lineup also will include the option of front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive. And AWD models will employ our i-VTM4 system with Intelligent Terrain Management featuring Snow, Mud and Sand modes. It’s the only active torque vectoring system in the midsize pickup market.
The innovation continues on the inside, where Ridgeline offers the largest cabin space in the midsize segment, with a higher level of comfort and sophistication than anything in the market today.
And with its split-folding rear seat and class leading under-seat storage, Ridgeline can handle just about any combination of people and cargo you can imagine. It’s the most versatile packaging in the segment.
Moreover, Ridgeline will offer all the latest and greatest tech that we have to offer, everything you see here, including Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ compatibility.
And with our next-generation ACE™ body structure and available Honda Sensing™ suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies, Ridgeline will target the highest available NCAP and IIHS crash test ratings.
In back, in the bed, the Ridgeline gets bigger, better in every imaginable way. The longer, wider bed, with the only 5-foot wide flat bed space in the segment, is ideally suited for hauling plywood or drywall.
And while we’re still finalizing payload capacity, we expect it to rival best in the segment, approaching 1,600 pounds.
Add to that eight 350-pound tie downs and a new bed-side storage compartment with an available 400-watt A/C power port, to charge your power tools, your tailgate blender or a flat screen TV, whatever you’re in to.
And like the original, we’ve retained and improved on two of Ridgeline’s most innovative and still truck-exclusive features that Hachigo-san mentioned a moment ago, the dual-action tailgate, and lockable In-Bed Trunk. But this time around, the In-Bed Trunk adds a fully flat floor to make that post-game cleanup even easier.
And keeping with the tailgate theme, we’ve got another industry first feature, the world’s first In-Bed Audio System. Now, you can’t see it, there are no speakers to get bashed and scraped when you’re hauling mulch or lumber. But you can hear it. Especially with its 540-watt audio system, it’s good old-fashioned Honda engineering magic.
Next up for Ridgeline is a starring role in Honda’s big commercial in Super Bowl 50.
It’s the Honda of trucks, fully capable and confident, but altogether new and innovative.
Thanks everyone for your time and attention here this afternoon.
