Look at That

What is it we see on the horizon; could it be a new Honda Ridgeline?  It certainly appears to be a new model of the Ridgeline that is being offered for 2017 and the second generation of this pickup truck.  The first generation of the Ridgeline was one that offered us a unique looking vehicle that was eventually followed by Chevrolet with a unibody style that seemed to only be perfected by Honda as the vehicle sold well even though it offered a bit of an unconventional look.  For this new generation we see something a bit different.

Looking at the phots of the new Ridgeline it’s easy to quickly see this is a pickup truck that may be built to compete against midsized trucks such as the Colorado, Canyon, Frontier and Tacoma.  Taking on a more conventional shape with a traditional size front and a truck bed that is easily recognizable Honda did not depart from the unibody build of the Ridgeline to join the conventional architecture styles of other models.  The Ridgeline will also keep its independent rear suspension to be an easy to drive model that will perform well on any road for you.

Why has this been so long in coming?  While the original Ridgeline found a segment of the market that other trucks did not the first generation soon came under scrutiny because of a lace of actual utility performance.  A truck needs to be able to offer the right balance between work and fuel economy and the first Ridgeline could not offer this, which let those who needed a truck for work purposes to the traditional stylings.  With the more accepted build this new Ridgeline should gather some of those fans back to it and in a segment that has begun to grow again, 2017 just might be the right time for this truck to appear.

The idea of a unibody truck that has an independent rear suspension that handles better than those with solid axles the Ridgeline could be poised to take some of the market from other popular namesakes just by having great underpinnings and the body style that shows it’s a truck to be taken seriously.  The expectation is this will be a FWD truck that can tow up to 7,000 pounds with some of the same platform features the current Pilot enjoys.  Having a FWD truck that is capable of this might just make this one of the most popular models for the weekend warrior that needs a truck for their “honey do” lists.

Another taking from the Pilot is the engine that is expected to be inside the Ridgeline engine bay.  This should be a 3.5-liter V6 that will show up with nearly 300 horsepower and offer a four-wheel drive model that can make this a fun off roader to be a challenger for the Tacoma.  This engine is to be attached to a ZF nine-speed automatic transmission for most models, but a six-speed manual is expected to be available as well.

We can look forward to the possibility this truck will show itself in all its glory at some of the early 2016 auto shows as it has an early in 2016 arrival date to dealerships to be part of the 2017 lineup and be one of the first midsized trucks released for that model year.  You can expect to pay around $30,000 for the new Ridgeline, which is in line with the competition on the market today.  If you feel a unibody truck is the way to go and enjoyed the first generation of the Ridgeline this is one to pay attention to.  As it appears this will be a more capable and useful vehicle than the last offering, giving us a great competitor from Honda in a segment full of highly admirable trucks.