2017 Honda Ridgeline: What's It Like to Live With?

What do you want to know about?

• Introduction
• Monthly Update for January 2017
• Monthly Update for February 2017
• Monthly Update for April 2017
• Performance Tested
• Monthly Update for May 2017
• Death Valley Post-Mortem
• Putting a Tent in the Bed
• Monthly Update for July 2017
• My Favorite Midsize Truck
• Monthly Update for August 2017
• Monthly Update for September 2017
• Monthly Update for October 2017
• Monthly Update for November 2017
• Wrap-Up

Introduction

What Did We Get?
As recently as three years ago, the midsize pickup market consisted of just two trucks:  the Nissan Frontier and the Toyota Tacoma, neither of which had been fully redesigned in more than a decade. But the introduction (or reintroduction, you might say) of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon in 2015 and then Toyota's redesigned 2016 Tacoma breathed some life into the once-stagnant segment. For 2017, we have another reintroduction: the new Honda Ridgeline.

Like the previous-generation Ridgeline (sold from 2006 to 2014), the new model is a distinctive choice for a midsize truck. The rear seat is quite roomy, providing a nice middle ground between mid- and full-size crew-cab pickups in terms of legroom. The rest of the cabin shares its overall design and technology with Honda's Pilot crossover SUV and features materials of a higher quality than you'll get from competitors.

With our decision to get a Ridgeline cemented, we consulted the trim list to determine which features we'd want for our 12-month test.

What Options Does It Have?
Every 2017 Honda Ridgeline comes in a crew-cab body style with a 5-foot-4-inch bed, a six-speed automatic transmission, and a 3.5-liter V6 with 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque.

Seven trims are available: RT, RTS, Sport, RTL, RTL-T, RTL-E and Black Edition. The first five come in front- or all-wheel drive, while the RTL-E and Black Edition are strictly AWD only.

Jumping from one trim to the next typically involves a modest price increase for a few more features. Not so between the RTL-T and RTL-E. For one, the RTL-E comes standard with the pricier AWD configuration, and it adds a considerable number of safety and luxury features to the Ridgeline. These include forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, LED headlights and cargo lights, a sunroof, a heated steering wheel and parking sensors. The range-topping Black Edition offers a few cosmetic changes inside and out, and we didn't feel these additions were worth an extra $1,500.

After some price versus features debate, we chose the RTL-E. We think it suits the Ridgeline's character as a roomier, more comfortable, less truck-y alternative to midsize pickups such as the Colorado and Tacoma.

Like most Hondas (and unlike every other pickup), features are directly tied to the trim level and there aren't any factory-installed options. Some dealer-installed accessories are available, such as a CD player and a storage bin located under the rear seats, but we opted not to get these. With a $900 destination charge, our 2017 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E rings in at $42,270.

Why We Got It
Honda's take on what a pickup should be like is unique. It's the only vehicle in its class to have carlike unibody construction and a fully independent suspension. The combination gives the Ridgeline a more comfortable ride quality than other traditional pickups with their body-on-frame construction and solid rear-axle suspension. Out back, the tailgate is hinged on the bottom and the left side, so you can drop it down or swing it open depending on your needs. There's lockable under-bed storage, and the high-end RTL-E even includes audio speakers in the bed for tailgate parties.

A potential drawback to the Ridgeline is its reduced towing and off-road abilities, at least compared to those of rivals. Will the Ridgeline's more carlike demeanor win the day, or will we pine for the more rugged approach of a traditional pickup?

We look forward to seeing how this road-happy midsize truck stacks up in the same yearlong test to which we've subjected the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and 2016 Toyota Tacoma.

Follow our 2017 Honda Ridgeline on our long-term road test and Instagram's Edmunds Long Term Cars for our latest thoughts, photos and impressions.

The manufacturer provided this vehicle for the purpose of evaluation.

Monthly Update for January 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
A number of editors have been eyeballing our new 2017 Honda Ridgeline since the day it arrived, and there's been a lot of water-cooler talk about schemes involving camping and other outdoor activities. But January was very wet. With one exception, none of that talk has produced much real action. I expect we'll see some of those plans come to fruition in the warmer and drier months to come.

Even so, the Ridgeline has managed to accumulate nearly 3,500 miles in its first six weeks in our possession. Some of those miles came during routine commuting, of course. But it has also seen its share of day trips, at least one local canyon run in the mountains, a bit of muddy off-roading and an extended thousand-mile road trip to the north-central California coast.

Travis got his hands on the keys first, and he commuted to work a couple times, drove it on a short weekend trip, and finally sought out some dirt and mud at the nearby Rowher Flats off-highway vehicle (OHV) area. Other editors did much the same, only without the dirt and mud.

So far, I'm responsible for more miles than any other driver — at least 1,500 of them. My first weekend with the truck was a mix of commuting, errand-running and an early-morning trip into the local mountains north of Glendora. I was so impressed that a couple weeks later I snagged the keys again for a business trip north to Palo Alto. Not content with a mere freeway blast, I mapped out a long scenic route that grafted on a couple hundred miles of twisting two-lane mountain roads, which is not the sort of road you need to shy away from when driving a Ridgeline.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
Like the driving itself, the Ridgeline's fuel economy was all over the map. Travis' trip to the OHV area netted a worst-tank of 15.2 mpg, and his local commuting pretty much matched the Ridgeline's city rating of 18 mpg.

A number of tanks have exceeded 21 mpg, the truck's EPA combined rating, and my road-trip average came in at 21.6 mpg, including the longest observed range so far — 380.1 miles. The best single tank so far belongs to Cameron Rogers, though his mark of 22.2 mpg seems certain to fall in the coming weeks and months.

All of those figures are based on real calculations, i.e. miles driven divided by gallons added. But the on-board mpg meter is telling a different and more optimistic story, which is a nice way of saying it lies. Compared to our calculated mpg figures, the meter consistently reads 7 percent (about 1.2 to 1.5 mpg) too high. Only once in 10 recorded tanks has it gone the other way, and I think that only happened because someone forgot to reset the meter.

Average lifetime mpg: 19.9
EPA mpg rating: 21 combined (18 city/25 highway)
Best fill mpg: 22.2
Best range: 380.1 miles
Current odometer: 3,608 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
Nope. Check back in a month or two.

Logbook Highlights

Performance

"This is one smooth-handling and nimble machine. It feels nothing like a truck on the tight winding roads of our local mountains. And the six-speed automatic feels like a willing partner whether I'm cruising, putting the spurs to it or just pulling out to make a pass. As I first learned in a Pilot vs. Pilot comparison test, this gearbox feels light-years more predictable and dialed-in than the bothersome nine-speed that comes in the Touring and Elite versions of the Pilot. Best part is that Ridgeline buyers don't have to fret over which version to get because all of them have this six-speed transmission." — Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing

"First time driving the redesigned Ridgeline. Always amazes me how every Honda seemingly drives like an Accord. That's not a knock. The consistency is impressive. Even the original NSX was docile enough that a timid family-sedan driver could manage it. The Ridgeline feels the same. Carrying a little bit of speed into a left-hand turn at a signal, I liked the Ridgeline's balance and stability. There isn't the same feeling of lateral weight transfer you get when driving a pickup. Feels even better around a turn than the Pilot." — Dan Frio, Automotive Editor

"I'm not much of a rock crawler when it comes to off-roading. Big hills, bumpy fire roads and going through puddles full-tilt is more like it. Turn the traction control off and spit a little bit of mud sideways — that's the kind of off-roading I enjoy. The Ridgeline may be based on a crossover SUV, but it's happy to be treated like a truck. Plus, it's more comfortable on the ride home than the other two trucks in our fleet right now (Tacoma and Titan XD). Articulation isn't one of the Ridgeline's strong suits, but it doesn't matter much to me. This is a great truck for the kind of driving I enjoy." — Travis Langness, Automotive Editor

Comfort

"Unlike traditional pickups, the Ridgeline doesn't suffer from a nervous ride quality when the bed is empty. On the highway, headed out to Palm Springs, the Ridgeline unsurprisingly felt much like the Pilot. Relatively smooth, quiet and composed." — Mark Takahashi, Automotive Editor

"If you'd asked me in the first couple hours of my trip to the Bay Area, I'd have said the driver's seat feels exceedingly comfortable and supportive. And it is. But something changed on the way home, and I'm not sure if it was me or the truck. The lower cushion started to feel too long, the squarish edge behind my thigh too sharp. I actually had to get out and walk around for five minutes a couple of different times. Weird that 500-mile northern leg of the journey failed to give me the same impression. You can bet I'll be keeping my eye on this in the future." — Dan Edmunds

Technology-Audio

"If you've read any of my Honda Pilot comments, you already know what I'm going to say about the Ridgeline's stereo. The virtual volume slider is laggy and awkward to use, and the attention-sucking 'map' and 'source' virtual buttons are too small and close together. It's even worse here because this truck is likely to spend more time on dirt roads, where those buttons become moving targets." — Dan Edmunds

"The voice recognition in our Ridgeline is really quite good. Even better if you use Siri through Apple CarPlay. With the Honda system, you have to follow prompts. With Apple CarPlay, you can use normal English. Both methods easily and accurately accepted my voice commands, even when I tried my best (worst) George Takei impression (video to come)." — Mark Takahashi

Cargo Space

"I haven't hauled much of anything in the trunk except a large 30-pound bag of dog food. It looks so tiny in there. But there's more going on in this picture. Travis' mud antics made the bed filthy, but none of the muck (or pressure-washer runoff from the car wash) got past the trunk seals. So clean inside! What you can't see is the sickeningly overpowering new-car funk that is wafting out of that trunk. Those uber-tight seals that kept the mud out are also locking in all of the outgassing fumes from the brand new plastic and spare tire. Do not under any circumstances put anything alive in there!" — Dan Edmunds

Monthly Update for February 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
This month our 2017 Honda Ridgeline saw mostly local, in-town use. Various editors got familiar with the relatively new truck on their daily commutes, which meant plenty of stop-and-go traffic and tight parking spaces. We hauled a few things along the way, too, so the cargo bed wasn't always empty. More often than not, we were impressed with how well the Ridgeline handled daily-driver duty.

It wasn't all city traffic and coffee stops, however, as Director of Vehicle Testing Dan Edmunds took the Ridgeline on an extended run to Oregon to stretch the truck's legs a little. He got a much better idea of the Ridgeline's range and fuel economy, along with plenty of insight into how it feels after several hours in the saddle.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
Dan's road trip to Oregon helped boost the Ridgeline's overall average above the 20-mpg mark. That trip also resulted in two other milestones. First, Dan logged our first tank of over 400 miles, which is a pretty solid achievement. That same tank registered an average of 24.5 mpg, so this truck is definitely capable of hitting its EPA highway rating under the right circumstances.

Average lifetime mpg: 20.5
EPA mpg rating: 21 combined (18 city/25 highway)
Best fill mpg: 24.5
Best range: 406.6
Current odometer: 7,079

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights

Cargo Space
"Photo Editor Kurt Niebuhr has an older Yamaha motorcycle that needed transporting from our photo/video studio in Marina del Rey. According to Honda when it dropped the Ridgeline off, this is exactly what this truck is made for. We arrived without incident and the Ridgeline performed as expected. We did have one strap casualty, though we chalked that up to cheap manufacturing of the strap. It's easy to imagine loading a bike and heading to the desert for a weekend excursion without concerns about space." — Mike Massey, Vehicle Testing Assistant

"I was all set to transport this 4-by-8 plexi sheet in our long-term Titan XD, but it had already been spoken for. Thankfully, the Ridgeline was available and, as it turns out, better suited for the job. The lack of protruding wheelwells into the bed allowed the sheet to lay flat and the smart placement of tie-down anchors made the job even easier." — Mark Takahashi, Automotive Editor

Comfort
"Took the Ridgeline on a golf outing with a couple friends to a course about an hour from home. Needless to say, it was easy to throw three sets of clubs in the back. Even easier than in an SUV, since we could just toss them over the side. Along the way, the poor sap who had to ride in the back actually didn't have it so bad, as he remarked that there was plenty of room to stretch out. Along the way my passengers noticed that the ride quality is about as smooth as you could ask for from a truck. It's also exceptionally quiet. So quiet that one of the guys was able to call in for an impromptu conference call on the way home. None of his colleagues seemed to notice that he was cruising down the notoriously bumpy 405 freeway." — Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor

Technology-Audio
"The infotainment screen in our Honda Ridgeline is covered with a plethora of fingerprints. It's almost impossible to see the screen in direct sunlight. It would take constant maintenance to prevent this buildup. Or if you prefer, you could live on the edge and play a guessing game as to what function you're manipulating on the screen." — Mike Massey

Storage
"Love the storage compartment under the cargo bed floor. I put three Trader Joe's bags in there tonight and could have fit six, and the flip-up cover is lightweight and easy to use. You get both a truck and a trunk with the Ridgeline. Pretty cool." — Josh Sadlier, Senior Manager, Content Strategy

Monthly Update for April 2017

During the last few months, our long-term 2017 Honda Ridgeline has been used around town mostly, carrying the occasional bike and hauling groceries. In other words, it hasn't exactly been getting pushed to its limits.

But that doesn't mean we haven't continued to dissect every aspect of this midsize truck. Several editors have found areas that they wish were better designed, while others have grown to like the Ridgeline's surprising level of comfort and convenience. It's a truck that doesn't reveal its character until you drive it for a few hundred miles, so in many ways we're just getting started.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
In the last month, lifetime fuel economy average dropped just a tad, from 20.5 to 20.2 mpg. That's still hovering pretty close to the EPA's combined rating of 21 mpg, and with a few road trips in its future, we expect that number to start creeping up.

Average lifetime mpg: 20.2
EPA mpg rating: 21 combined (18 city/25 highway)
Best fill mpg: 24.5
Best range: 406.6 miles
Current odometer: 7,814 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
The Ridgeline hasn't needed any maintenance yet but the "A1 Service Due Soon" light is on, so it won't be too long before its first oil change.

Logbook Highlights
Interior
"Honda needs to hire away some interior designers from Audi already. This Ridgeline steering wheel is a mess. This is approaching some unnecessary race car-level of complexity. There's a button to turn cruise control on and off. This could be relocated to the thumb paddle. You've got a button to turn on and off lane departure warning. You've got three buttons that cycle through various information screens and menus, and a reset for various metrics like trip meter. overfunction overkill." — Dan Frio, Automotive Editor

Comfort
"These are probably my favorite seats in the midsize-pickup class. I love the split-heating element on the GM twins (Colorado and Canyon) but for long-distance comfort, these Honda seats are hard to beat. Seating position is good, too — you have a commanding view of the road without feeling like you're on a jacked-up barstool. This is how modern trucks should feel on the inside." — Travis Langness, Automotive Editor

Technology-Audio
"Minor-est of grievances: The Ridgeline doesn't indicate at what speed you've set cruise control. Many other systems do. When you set the speed in the Ridgeline, it tends to fluctuate plus or minus 1 mph. Don't know why this bothers me, but it does." — Dan Frio

"I think I'm becoming entitled, but if I can't have a front-mounted camera, I, at the very least, want an accurate parking sensor graphic. What constitutes a parking assistance graphic in the Ridgeline isn't very helpful in tight spaces. You get the same three lines no matter how close you are, a lot of beeping and more than enough apprehension about scratching the paint. It's not the end of the world, but if the technology exists ..." — Kurt Niebuhr, Photo Editor

"For a feature that will be government-mandated in 2018, rearview cameras are getting surprisingly good and competitive. I'm pretty impressed with the quality and clarity of the Ridgeline's camera view, especially at night. Also cool that it gives you a choice of camera perspectives (fixed width, fish-eye, etc). I'm now curious to see how well this works while backing up to a trailer." — Dan Frio

Miscellaneous
"It's tempting to mock the Ridgeline as a faux truck, a trucklet or a 'Ridge-Lite' because it's based on a front-drive platform, with AWD an optional afterthought. One benefit to that architecture? A flat load floor in back. When paired with flip-up rear seats, the Ridgeline offers an exceptional cargo void to complement whatever else goes in the bed." — Dan Frio

Performance Tested

A lot has changed between our first-generation, long-term 2012 Honda Ridgeline and the fully redesigned 2017 Honda Ridgeline. One of the biggest changes is under the hood. The old 3.5-liter V6 and its 250 horsepower and 247 pound-feet of torque were replaced by a more modern V6 with more power and torque, 280 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque to be exact.

We spent a morning at our test track to see just how the added power has changed the Ridgeline's performance numbers. Read on for the details.

Vehicle: 2017 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E
Odometer: 2,168 miles
Date: January 17, 2017
Driver: Kurt Niebuhr
Price: $42,270

Specifications

Drive type: all-wheel drive (AWD)
Transmission type: 6-speed automatic
Engine type: non-turbocharged V6
Displacement: 3,471 cc/211.8 cu-in
Redline: 7,000 rpm in L
Horsepower: 280 hp @ 6,000 rpm
Torque: 262 lb-ft @ 4,700 rpm
Brake type (front): one-piece ventilated rotors with two-piston sliding calipers
Brake type (rear): one-piece solid rotors with single-piston sliding calipers
Suspension type (front): MacPherson struts with 25 mm solid stabilizer bar
Suspension type (rear): multilink with 26.5 mm tubular stabilizer bar

Tire size (front): 245/60 R18 105H
Tire size (rear): 245/60 R18 105H
Tire brand: Bridgestone
Tire model: Destination
Tire type: regular

Test Results

Acceleration:
0-30 mph: 2.7 seconds (with TC on: 3.1 seconds )
0-45 mph: 4.6 seconds (with TC on: 5.0 seconds )
0-60 mph: 6.9 seconds (with TC on: 7.5 seconds )
0-60 mph with 1-ft rollout: 6.7 seconds (with TC on: 7.0 seconds )
0-75 mph: 10.3 seconds (with TC on: 11.0 seconds)
1/4-mile: 15.17 seconds @ 90.82 mph (with TC on: 15.46 seconds  @ 89.80 mph)

Braking:
30-0 mph: 31 feet
60-0 mph: 118 feet

Handling:
Skidpad lateral acceleration: 0.78g (0.74g with ESC on)
RPM @ 70 mph: 2,000

Comments

Acceleration comments:
Getting straight in and mashing the pedal reveals a delay of about a second before the Ridgeline gets going. But once under way, the motor pulls very well to 6,500 rpm. VTEC does kick in (y0!) around 5.5K, but it's more noticeable to your ears than anything else. Smooth and sonorous, this has to be one of the best all-around V6 engines on sale today. Brake torqueing it up to around 3K helps the launch tremendously. Shifts are as smooth as you'd like, and traction is never an issue.

Braking comments:
Honda has done a pretty good job taking the panic out of panic braking with the Ridgeline. Every stop was straight, true and confident. While the tires were talking quite a bit, they were never distracting, much like the ABS, which was fairly quiet. The pedal firms up nicely under full pressure, and while there is some dive under hard braking, it's never excessive.                                                         

Handling comments:
Thanks must be given to the thin front roof pillars and the short hood because the Ridgeline has great visibility, especially for the class. It's clear there's been a lot of chassis development and suspension tuning going on because the Ridgeline shrugs off the lack of a back half without compromise. Compared to a Pilot, the absence of all that metal and glass is noticeable, but safe and predictable understeer remain the norm. ESC is never truly off, although selecting Sand mode loosens the reins a bit and lets you have a little more steering angle. The front tires fold early, but ESC is ever vigilant if you try to upset the chassis with a deliberate and aggressive lane swerve. Like the brakes, there's plenty of confidence to be had.

Monthly Update for May 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
In May, we mostly drove our 2017 Honda Ridgeline as an average owner would, around town and to work and back. There were two exceptions to this, however. First, we took the Ridgeline to our testing track to evaluate its performance, and our test driver praised its strong V6, capable brakes and surprisingly handling prowess.

Later in the month, the Ridgeline went on a special road trip that, based on what happened, merits its own post, so stay tuned for an update on this in the coming weeks. As a result of that trip, you'll notice that our logbook comments were a little thin this month.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
In the last month, the Ridgeline's lifetime fuel economy average dropped a tick, from 20.2 to 19.9 mpg. A few 16 and 18 mpg fill-ups will do that. Nevertheless, we're still in striking distance of the EPA's combined rating of 21 mpg, so this number could get better in the coming months.

Average lifetime mpg: 19.9
EPA mpg rating: 21 combined (18 city/25 highway)
Best fill mpg: 24.5
Best range: 406.6 miles
Current odometer: 9,265 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
Scheduled. More on that in the subsequent post to come.

Logbook Highlights

Comfort
"I was very impressed with this truck over the weekend. It was more comfortable and more refined than our Toyota Tacoma. I'd definitely recommend this truck to someone looking for a light-duty truck for daily driving." — Ron Montoya, senior consumer advice editor

"Compared to our Tacoma, the Ridgeline rides like a luxury car. It doesn't have the skittish nature of the Tacoma and even the steering feels more precise. Thankfully, the brakes on the Ridgeline are more easily modulated, too. Drive the two trucks back to back, and I would be surprised if anyone preferred the Tacoma." — Ed Hellwig, senior editor

Miscellaneous
"The Ridgeline's looks might be the one thing that holds it back from greater success. It's a Honda Pilot with the rear chopped off. You can't say that about its competitors. The Toyota Tacoma and Chevy Colorado aren't styling masterpieces, but they look like a truck should and aren't based off another vehicle." — Ron Montoya

Death Valley Post-Mortem

I wasn't working for Edmunds back in May 2005 when one of our staffers drove into Death Valley National Park to see the famous "sliding stones" that mysteriously move about the surface of a remote dry lake called the Racetrack. He drove a 2006 Ridgeline we'd just bought for our long-term fleet because it seemed like the right job for the new 4WD pickup.

The 54-mile round trip on the remote washboard dirt road to the Racetrack seemed to go well enough, but once he returned to pavement it became clear something was seriously wrong. All four shocks had given out, but the dealer refused to believe the damage wasn't the result of a badly landed jump or some other imagined type of abuse. The dealer eventually replaced them under warranty anyway, but with a "one-time-only goodwill" proviso.

Fast-forward to 2016 in San Antonio, Texas, where the 2017 Honda Ridgeline was introduced to the press. There I met an engineer who'd actually dealt with the aftermath of our 2005 Racetrack trip. Those blown shocks apparently made it into his group's hands, and what they learned was incorporated into the design requirements for this new second-generation truck.

With that in mind, we went back and repeated the journey with our 2017 Honda Ridgeline long-term truck. Along the way our Ridgeline's right rear shock developed a leak and lost effectiveness. But the other three dampers came through with flying colors, and the wounded shock wasn't completely dead.

Once it cooled and we got back onto pavement, it seemed to recover and do its paved-road job as well as it ever had. In fact, if we had been in pure tourist mode like the previous outing 12 years ago we might not have suspected anything had happened.

This was a huge improvement, even though one shock was a little worse for wear. In isolation, the result may have been dulled by a tinge of disappointment, but the other two trucks — our long-term 2016 Nissan Titan XD and 2016 Toyota Tacoma — that came along to support the effort fared much, much worse. Next to them, this seemed like a clear win.

The new 2017 Ridgeline has something the first-generation truck did not: amplitude reactive damping. In short, this means the new truck's shocks contain two internal valve circuits: one that operates when wheel motions are small and another that joins in as they grow larger.

This difference expands the performance envelope of the shock absorber. With this extra variable in play, the tuning engineer isn't forced to make as many compromises. Trust me, this is a big deal. I was the guy tuning shock valves in my last two jobs before coming to Edmunds. The process is a black art that boils down to managing compromises imposed by hardware limitations — particularly when you're tuning a truck, which is expected to work on a wide range of surfaces.

The precise details of how the second-generation Ridgeline engineers took advantage of this added functionality are not known to me, but I can hazard an educated guess. Our washboard road inputs, vicious as they were in terms of sheer unrelenting repetitiveness, were not terribly large — a little more than an inch at the tire. The shock, in turn, only experiences three-quarters of an inch or so because of its motion ratio, its specific mounting position along the length of the suspension's lower control arm.

It may well be that this amplitude was not sufficient to fully engage the second circuit at least some of the time. If so, this basically amounts to a bypass that allowed the shocks to flow with the surface rather than fight against it. On a surface like this, a little less damping force than you might otherwise want for a deep pothole strike might be just what the doctor ordered because damping force equals heat, and too much heat leads to shock absorber failures.

We might be able to guess where the line is drawn by studying why the left rear shock fared better than the right rear. Like many of its kind, this dirt road wasn't as wide as a paved two-lane road, so the left tire ran down the middle over waves shaped by two-way traffic. Meanwhile, the right tire ran closer to the edge where the waves could only be shaped by travel in a single direction. The left shock probably benefitted from waves that were less jagged, slightly shorter or possibly both.

Because it was still drivable, we called the dealer before we took it in. It would take five days to get the part. Without seeing the truck, the dealer couldn't tell us if it would be covered by warranty but agreed to order a shock and sort out the payment when we came in. To avoid the possibility of another five-day wait, we suggested the staff order both rears in case the left one had suffered some damage we couldn't yet sense or see.

After looking at the truck, the dealer agreed that the repairs would be covered by warranty. Moreover, it decided to change both shocks. Not because anything was wrong — the dealer confirmed there wasn't — but because Honda HQ had requested it so folks there could study the difference. They didn't know about our trip before we went, but they must have sniffed it out during the dealer visit. As with all warranty repairs, this one cost us nothing but time.

Since then we've driven our Ridgeline another 1,300 miles. It feels exactly the same as it did when it was new, and that's pretty much how it felt when we came off the road to the Racetrack and got back on normal pavement.

Putting a Tent in the Bed

When the folks from Honda dropped off our long-term 2017 Honda Ridgeline at the Edmunds office a few months ago, they gave us a walk-around of the vehicle. They pointed us toward cool features like the in-bed storage bin, the stereo drivers that pulse sound through the bedliner, and the side- and bottom-hinged tailgate. Toward the end of the conversation, though, something else interesting came up: camping.

I love camping. I wish I were camping right now. I think I'm going to plan a camping trip as soon as I stop typing. I wonder how hot it is in Joshua Tree this weekend? Maybe something in the mountains will be more livable. I fear I've gotten off topic. ... My interior monologue aside, our Ridgeline tour guides mentioned the available accessories for the Ridgeline, one of which is a tent that fits over the bed of the truck. I was intrigued.

After a few emails and a week of waiting, Honda shipped us the Ridgeline-specific camping gear to give it a try. Retail price for the tent is $350, which seems like a lot for a tent, but this one has a few specific advantages over the standard four-post tent you can get at REI:

1. You aren't sleeping on the ground.
2. It can fit a full-sized inflatable mattress.
3. There's a plug in the bed of the Ridgeline so you can fill up the air mattress quickly and easily.
4. There's a cooler/storage container right beneath you and a handy zipper opening to access it.
5. You aren't sleeping on the ground.

Our recent trip to Death Valley was the perfect place to test the Ridgeline's tent, so I made sure to pack it alongside all the other gear. Dan Edmunds and I did a practice run setting up the tent in the Edmunds garage, and once we had the hang of it, setup only took a few minutes. Crisscross a few tent poles, strap down the sides, and you've got a home for the night.

Dan Edmunds was the first to try it out and he said it was as comfortable as you could expect from an air mattress setup on your floor at home (i.e., not perfect but far better than a thin, rollout sleeping pad).

While I'm fully aware of the irony of touting the virtues of sleeping off the ground and simultaneously expressing my love of camping, I think of this tent as more of a road trip tool than a Pacific Crest Trail shelter. It's great for cross-country journeys full of rest-stop overnighters. It's not an alternative to a 2-pound ultralight backpacking tent; rather it's vastly preferable to sleeping upright in the driver's seat and waking up with a cramp in your neck.

The tent packed up even quicker than it set up, and it stows away nicely under the rear seat in a handy bag. This is an item that I'd absolutely add to my must-have list if I owned a Ridgeline. Chevrolet has a similar tent ($270) available for the Colorado, and there are dozens of aftermarket solutions if you want to go glamping in a Tacoma, so Honda isn't the only one providing a nifty roadside camping solution. That's a bandwagon I'm happy to jump on, and just another excuse in a long line of excuses that will get me out of the city for the weekend.

Monthly Update for July 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
Seven months into testing our long-term 2017 Honda Ridgeline and it's still a sought-after vehicle for a variety of reasons. Sure, we've got a few complaints here and there, but it's mostly praise from the team. After last month's Death Valley escapades, the Ridgeline had one of its busiest months yet, adding more than 2,300 miles to the odometer and setting a new personal best for mpg. Many of the miles were in town, but we also took the truck tailgating and on a mini road trip to the mountains.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
This month, we averaged 21.4 miles per gallon over 2,362 miles. We filled the Ridgeline's tank eight times, with a best fill of 25.8 mpg. That's a new record for our Ridgeline and just over the highway EPA rating of 25 mpg. Our lifetime average currently 19.8 mpg, which is a bit shy of the 21 combined rating, but we've got a few road trips planned that should help things out.

Average lifetime mpg: 19.8
EPA mpg rating: 21 combined (18 city/25 highway)
Best fill mpg: 25.8
Best range: 406.6 miles
Current odometer: 12,093 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights
Performance
"For a hot minute, I looked for a Sport button in the Ridgeline, and I was disappointed I didn't find one. The throttle response was worse than I remembered, taking all kinds of pedal input to get it going. On the highway it felt sluggish and underwhelming. Then, I noticed the little green leaf that was lit up on the dashboard. Aha! The Econ mode was selected! The moment I turned it off, the truck felt better. The six-speed automatic felt like itself again. The 3.5-liter V6 was alive. This is the way to drive this truck: Econ mode, off." — Travis Langness, automotive editor

Comfort
"Since Friday afternoon, I have marveled at how comfortable the Ridgeline is. It is great as a commuter vehicle and has excellent room for passengers all around. I know other editors have commented on this already, but seeing as I am unaccustomed to driving a truck this easygoing on the road, it was a real surprise. The harsh truck ride I expected is not present at all." — Rex Tokeshi-Torres, vehicle testing technician

"I continue to be impressed by how comfortable our Ridgeline is. I'll echo Rex's comments that this is the perfect commuter truck. There's plenty of people out there who just like driving a truck for how it looks and won't use much of its utility. This isn't the toughest-looking truck out there, but in this size class, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more composed and easy-to-drive vehicle." — Ron Montoya, senior consumer advice editor

Interior
"The Ridgeline has two memory settings for the driver's seat. If you're driver No. 2, however, the vehicle won't remember that you drove it last. It will always default to driver No. 1. It's a problem quickly solved by the press of a button, but it's a bit annoying if you're in the second profile." — Ron Montoya

Technology-Audio
"I'm a tech guy. I love technology — especially when it comes to making your life easier. Being able to integrate your personal tech (cellphone) into a variety of vehicles has been a dream come true. That being said, I have a couple of things to nitpick regarding technology features in the Ridgeline. 1) With an Android phone, the Ridgeline's Bluetooth audio (A2DP) loses connection intermittently. I have to disable Bluetooth on my phone and then re-enable it to play music again. Though this could potentially be attributed to the most recent update for Android OS. Stay tuned regarding this issue. 2) 'Leave me alone. I know what I'm doing' — While cruising down the street with my left hand grasping the top of the steering wheel, the wheel starts to shake slightly and I get a notification in the instrument panel that tells me that the road 'requires steering.' I'm on a road with a slight curve. I was going 35 mph, wasn't veering off in any direction (staying in my lane), and there was nothing around me. The notice went away when I put my hands at 2 and 10." — Rex Tokeshi-Torres

"I'm driving down Highway 18, at about 60 mph on cruise control. Twice now the forward collision warning has given me a false alarm. Both times the steering wheel vibrated and the big 'BRAKE' warning light flashed in front of my face. Thing is, nobody is ahead of me. It's a straight road. There are no obstructions. Sure, it's a two-lane road, but the lanes are wide. The few oncoming cars I'm encountering are staying centered in their lane, and so am I. Other times during the weekend it issued single warning chirps while driving straight for no good reason. Our Pilot did the same thing. I don't get it. Honda Sensing sounds like a good idea, but it sees ghosts and I don't trust it. Hello 'Off' button." — Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing

Miscellaneous
"This thing is a tailgating machine. The bucket in the bed of the truck functions excellently as a cooler and the in-bed speakers (drivers connected to the bed liner) are good enough for some parking-lot music. Stack all that on top of the fact that there are tons of underseat storage in the back seat for folding chairs, and you've got a truck that should be welcome at any baseball game." — Travis Langness

My Favorite Midsize Truck

Our long-term 2017 Honda Ridgeline has its fair share of quirks. The touchscreen system drops out from time to time, the lack of a volume knob is irksome, and thanks to a low-hanging front air dam, the truck can't even make it up our RTI (suspension articulation) ramp. It doesn't look very truckish to my eyes either (it's probably the most common complaint about the Ridgeline), and it has a marginal tow rating that most decent crossovers can easily match. But after an 1,800-mile road trip, the Ridgeline has cemented itself as my favorite midsize pickup.

My four-day weekend excursion went from Los Angeles to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to Salt Lake City and back to Los Angeles. I took several main highways but lots of back roads and stopped in places such as Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park and Nevada's Salt Flats, taking in all sorts of gorgeous scenery along the way.

The first stop was a dispersed campsite in Arizona. I used the Ridgeline's accessory tent and made camp in Jacob Lake about an hour north of the Grand Canyon. When I arrived on day one, it was pouring rain: lightning, thunder, the whole deal. I thought about sleeping in the back seat of the truck but weather forecasts said things would clear up soon, so I waited it out. Finally, three hours later, the rain stopped, but I had another problem — it was now 11 p.m. and pitch black outside.

The first two times I set up this tent it was in pretty well-lit situations. This time, the sun had gone down two hours before I even parked and there wasn't much I could do about it. I put on my headlamp, left the truck's headlights and cargo lights on, and went to work. Seeing the tent poles' color-coding was difficult and some felt like they just didn't fit in their assigned areas. Eventually, after some grumbling and a few deep breaths, the tent was set up in the back of the truck and I inflated the full-size air mattress inside. The fact that I could avoid sleeping in a tent on the soaking-wet ground revealed itself as a massive advantage over a traditional tent. It's a trade-off in setup difficulty versus comfort that I'd happily make again.

After my brief overnight stint in the Ridgeline's tent, I headed for my second destination (and a hotel room) in Salt Lake City. The first bit of road out of Northern Arizona toward Salt Lake is a beautiful, winding bit of asphalt. Once you reach Interstate Highway 15, the going gets a bit less entertaining but there are still some great views. The Ridgeline was extremely comfortable on both roads and not just by truck standards. It has a quiet cabin and excellent seats, which result in almost zero road-trip fatigue.

Along the way, I got plenty of use out of the Ridgeline's big cabin and the fold-up rear seat. With the seats folded up, there was plenty of room to accommodate my overpacking habits. I used two giant bins to carry around my camping gear and food (way more than I needed), and it was all stored inside the cabin away from curious critters while I was camping. Getting the bins in and out of the back seat was a bit tough, however — the back door does not open nearly far enough for my taste. Here it is, opened to its maximum distance and still pretty tight, even for passengers to pass through.

One of the Ridgeline's other party-trick features is the bucket underneath the bed. I used it for trash storage and washing off my muddy gear, and just a few weeks before, it was my part-time cooler. The bucket has a small drain at the bottom that you can leave open while water runs out and it's weatherproof. This is the kind of feature you don't know you need until you get to use it, then you feel like you can't live without it.

Sunday's drive home was the longest day of the trip. Going from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles normally takes you through Las Vegas, but I wanted to stay away from the Sunday Vegas-to-L.A. crowd. I opted to go around, adding about two hours of driving to my already 10-hour day but theoretically avoiding two hours of congestion. Everything went according to plan.

There were wide-open highways, with hours of curvy back roads and no real traffic to speak of along the extended route. The Ridgeline was legitimately enjoyable in corners with almost none of the body roll you'd experience in a Colorado or Tacoma. Steering response is more than adequate for a pickup, and midcorner stability when you hit a bump is extraordinary. When I finally arrived home, I was reminiscing about a genuinely joyful driving experience rather than complaining about a bumpy ride.

At the pump, I didn't set any records for our long-termer, but mileage was decent. With no regard to light-footing it or taking it easy on the Ridgeline, I averaged 23.6 mpg. That's just shy of the EPA's 25 mpg highway rating. With all of the highway passing, elevation changes and spirited back-road driving I did, that number stuck out as laudable to me. And it's just one of the many things I find impressive about this truck. Sure, I'd probably mess with the look a bit if I owned one (new grille, meaner-looking wheels, maybe a roof rack) but I wouldn't change the way this thing drives.

"That's it," I thought aloud before I collapsed on my couch. "The Ridgeline is my favorite midsize truck." I can deal with the lack of a volume knob, I can handle the occasional infotainment glitch, and I simply don't tow big enough loads to need more than 5,000 pounds of trailer capacity. And if those are the Ridgeline's biggest flaws, they're easily outweighed by the fact that I'm a happy camper after an 1,800-mile drive through the American West.

Monthly Update for August 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
In the last month of summer, symbolic or otherwise, we made real use of our 2017 Honda Ridgeline, adding 3,445 miles to the odometer. Most of those came at the hands of Travis, who took it on a Los Angeles-Salt Lake City loop, with Grand Canyon camping and Vegas-avoidance backroads along the way. His trip accounted for 1,900-plus miles of the August odometer, and you can read his excellent account of that trip here.

I, too, took the Ridgeline for some camping, although nowhere as remote as Travis' destinations (although with another dad and three girls ranging from 8 to 12 years old, I'd argue just as wild. ...). And my run up to Kings Canyon National Park did not originally include the Ridgeline. It was a last-minute replacement — and lifesaver — for a trip that started with a Mazda CX-9 that proved just too small for a camp party of five.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
This month we averaged 21.2 miles per gallon over 3,445 miles. It was an unusually heavy month, and while our average mpg was about the same as last month, all those miles and long ranges helped bump up the Ridgeline's lifetime average from 19.8 in July to 20.1 mpg now.

Our best range for the month was 397.3, just 6 miles shy of the best range we've had in the test so far. Meanwhile, the onboard mpg meter thought we averaged 22.9 mpg in August. Wishful thinking.

Average lifetime mpg: 20.1
EPA mpg rating: 21 combined (18 city/25 highway)
Best fill mpg: 25.8
Best range: 406.6 miles
Current odometer: 15,541 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights

Performance
"Other than the Ridgeline's competency, the main thing I've heard about it around the office is how carlike it is. I finally drove it for myself, and after months of hearing this stuff, I was surprised at how trucklike the Ridgeline is.

"The seating position, the angle of the steering wheel and gauge cluster (I really dislike the gauge cluster, but that's a different post), the height and visibility, the size of the thing (which its somewhat unfortunate design hides), the jiggle of an unloaded bed (although it's very muted in the Ridgeline) — it's a truck. It's easy to drive and comfortable, but its truckishness still comes through, at least for me. Somehow, this is what we've come to: The biggest surprise a pickup truck has to offer is that it's a truck." — Will Kaufman, associate automotive editor

"I'm with both Travis and Brent on the Ridgeline. It's also my favorite midsize truck, yet not a truck I lust after. I could very well see owning the Ridgeline and using it for a lot of outdoor activity: surf, camp, ski, light-duty home improvement. It's just so easy to drive everyday, so easy to hop in and out of, so easy to use in the real world.

"But I'd also need a 'real' truck parked next to it, something simple: a Ram 1500 Work Truck, single cab, front bench seat. Something that can tow, something that can haul, something that can do dirty work. Not a realistic situation for most people, of course. I'd advise anyone to get the Ridgeline first, see if it fits their needs, and if not, trade it in on a full-sizer or one of the midsize go-tos: Tacoma, Colorado, Canyon." — Dan Frio, automotive editor

Interior
"The Ridgeline's small-item storage areas are very useful. The big center console bin is great. You can put all sorts of stuff inside, as expected, but you can also use the sliding top in its closed position as a convenient tray. The Ridgeline also has a small cubby ahead of the gear shifter and big storage pockets in the front doors. It's a Container Store on wheels." — Brent Romans, senior automotive editor

"After drafting the Ridgeline in to save a potentially disastrous camping trip in a cramped CX-9 (we made most of the arrival leg in the CX-9, only to meet up with Editor Brent in Fresno to switch into the Ridgeline before heading into the mountains; that's us frantically unpacking and repacking in the photo below), I was surprised to hear the three young girls — the three most affected by the cargo cramp of the CX-9 — say that they felt the CX-9 actually felt a little wider and roomier than the Ridgeline. They were still plenty happy not to have to spend the rest of the ride with sleeping bags and camping tools placed around their feet like in the CX-9." — Dan Frio

"There's a rattle coming from our Ridgeline's dashboard. You wouldn't expect that coming from a new Honda. My guess is that it developed after our admittedly extreme Death Valley suspension torture test, so I don't think it's indicative of sloppy build quality. For what it's worth, though, I also drove our long-term Tacoma recently, which was also in the test. No interior rattles." — Brent Romans

Cargo Space
"The bed trunk/bed well, whatever you want to call it, is money. Like Travis writes, it's a feature that, once you have it, you can't imagine not having it, especially when you're doing outdoors stuff. Here, a tent, a pop-up shelter, two sleeping pads, a folding chair, a yoga mat, and a backpacker's rod — no problem. That you can lock it is icing." — Dan Frio

Miscellaneous
"I'm struggling with resolving my logical appreciation of everything Ridgeline versus my emotional reaction. The Ridgeline's comfortable ride, enhanced utility and overall Honda-ness make it the smart choice for a midsize pickup. Edmunds' overall rating for the Ridgeline, which is best-in-class, reflects this. But is it the truck I most desire? Eh, no.

"The Ridgeline's anodyne styling could be a deal-breaker for me, as would the inability to do any significant truck-focused aftermarket mods. I suspect logic would eventually win out, but it wouldn't be an easy choice." — Brent Romans

"Here's one thing I didn't expect: My wife doesn't mind driving our long-term Ridgeline. All of Edmunds' previous long-term trucks, whether they be midsizers or full-size trucks, were met with aversion. They were all some combination of too big, too hard to park, too uncomfortable and generally too truck-y for her. But the Ridgeline? It's actually comfortable, relatively easy to park and not particularly truck-y. It's a Honda Pilot with a pickup bed, and for that she's appreciative." — Brent Romans

Monthly Update for September 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
The month kicked off with yours truly driving our long-term 2017 Honda Ridgeline to Las Vegas for the first look at the new Nissan Leaf. My road trip impressions are below, but in a nutshell, I found myself loving this pickup-lite the more I drove it. I spent a week and a half in the driver's seat and I could've continued forever. It's that comfortable.

But first I had to take it to the dealer, also detailed below. Can't take a 500-mile round trip with the driver information display screaming for an oil change. The Ridgeline's sheet metal barely had time to dry from the post-trip car wash before Dan Edmunds took it out to the Mojave for an overnight camping excursion.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
The Ridgeline traveled just more than 1,800 miles in September. Even though you'd think the multitude of highway-heavy trips would bolster the Ridgeline's overall fuel economy, there was only an uptick of 0.1 mpg in overall fuel economy. More importantly, we set a new best-fill tank. That is to say, I set a new best-fill tank. My straight shot down I-15 netted an average of 26.8 mpg. This beat our previous best by 1 mpg, and the highway estimate by 1.8 mpg.

Average lifetime mpg: 20.2 mpg
EPA mpg rating: 21 mpg combined (18 city/25 highway)
Best fill mpg: 26.8 mpg
Best range: 406.6 miles
Current odometer: 17,355 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
"I began the month with a request to Mike Schmidt, the Keeper of the Keys 'round these parts. I'd need a car to take me through the Labor Day weekend, then on a three-day work trip in Las Vegas starting the following Tuesday and through the next weekend. Of the cars available for a straight week and a half, we agreed that the Ridgeline was the best bet. Optimism turned to apprehension when I climbed into the truck, hit the ignition button and was greeted with a 'Maintenance Due Soon' message in the instrument panel. I pressed on, thinking I might be able to make it to Vegas and back before the truck needed to be taken in for service. My hopes were unfounded — the message turned to 'Maintenance Due Now' as I drove home that Thursday.

"Friday was the only day I could realistically take care of the Ridgeline's maintenance needs (B1 and B6 services, for the record). I called up my local dealer, Ocean Honda of Whittier, and my adviser informed me that these services are performed on a first-come, first-served basis. I arrived bright and early the next morning and was given as estimated completion time of two hours. I opted to wait in the customer lounge.

"The service was complete a few minutes before the two-hour mark. The total was $202.80, split between the oil change (B, $56.90), tire rotation (1, $29.95) and differential fluid service (6, $109), plus $6.95 in tax. The truck was in tip-top shape for a Vegas run." — Cameron Rogers, staff writer

Logbook Highlights
Comfort
"The Honda Ridgeline was absolutely the correct truck for this trip. The ride is cushy and compliant on the open road, the seats remained comfortable for hours, and the powertrain was adept at tackling the uphill Cajon Pass with no jarring downshifts or excessive engine revving. All of these aspects combined to create an overall experience that was a complete 180 from my Vegas trip last December in our long-term Tacoma. Although the Ridgeline manifested a trim piece rattle every now and again, it was nothing compared to the Tacoma's pervasive high-pitched whistle that once threatened my sanity." — Cameron Rogers

Interior
"I drove out to the Mojave Desert for a quick overnight stargazing trip. When it came time to turn in for the night, I was too lazy to set up the Honda's in-bed tent, which is a nightmare to unpack compared to any normal backpacking tent.

"So I slept in the cab on the back seat. I added a couple of cushions and laid out a bedroll to level it out. But this wide cab slept comfortably, especially with the sunroof tilted up and the sliding rear window open a crack. Not something I'd do on a regular basis, but then again it was far more comfortable than sleeping in a sleeping bag on the ground — even with a backpacking cushion." — Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing

Cargo Space
"My daughter moved into an apartment and we gave her an old dining room table to use. The Ridgeline bed's extra width (compared to a Tacoma or Colorado) turned out to be a real boon, and the unique side-opening tailgate made it easier to load and unload this bulky item because we could place it in the bed really close to its final location without having to slide it way in past the 'canyon' that exists between the edge of a regular truck's tailgate and the bed itself." — Dan Edmunds

"I arrived in Vegas around lunchtime. At the recommendation of Matt and Ron, I decided to stop at Florida Cafe for a quick bite. I'd never been, but those guys wouldn't stop regaling me with stories of the delicious Cuban food. I had to stop by. It's in a sketchy part of town, on Las Vegas Boulevard between the Strip and downtown. I was traveling with a suitcase, dress shirts and a jacket, and I didn't feel extraordinarily comfortable leaving them in the cab. Luckily, the Ridgeline has a trunk in the bed. Everything fit perfectly, out of sight and out of mind.

"As for the restaurant? The service could have been better, but the ropa vieja was excellent." — Cameron Rogers

MPG
"Dan Edmunds and Travis always seem to claim fuel economy records on our long-term cars, but the Ridgeline belongs to me! The pickup earned a respectable 24.5 mpg on its way north to Vegas, with a bit of city driving thrown in for good measure. However, it returned 26.8 mpg on the way back, shattering the previous record of 25.8 mpg by a healthy margin. I achieved both numbers with full-blast air conditioning and traveling at a healthy clip. Average fuel economy over 500 miles was 25.5 mpg." — Cameron Rogers

Miscellaneous
"When you're heading north on the desolate I-15, it's tempting to just stay on the highway until you hit Las Vegas. But take the exit in Jean (you can't miss the Gold Strike Hotel and casino sticking out in the middle of nowhere), make a right off the freeway and hang a left onto South Las Vegas Boulevard. Eventually, you'll find several towers of rocks painted in bright neon colors. This is the 'Seven Magic Mountains' installation, by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone. I don't pretend to understand its meaning (my interpretation of the surrounding informational plaques seem to suggest the artist was inspired by the contradictions of the desert's natural beauty and Vegas' brash artifice), but I know it makes for a hell of a selfie. Shame this was as close as I could get the Ridgeline to the formation." — Cameron Rogers

Monthly Update for October 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
After the last few months of high adventure and travel, our 2017 Honda Ridgeline spent October cruising around the city and driving editors to and from work — in other words, commuting duty. But that's the point with the Ridgeline. Everyday isn't the Rubicon, Paris-Dakar or Monster Jam, and the Ridgeline's comfortable and non-trucklike interior helps make the day-to-day slog that much better.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?

Constant stop-and-go city traffic took a toll on our fuel economy this month. We filled up six times in October and drove more than 1,300 miles. With a monthly average of 18.3 mpg, it brought our average lifetime mpg down one-tenth.

Average lifetime mpg: 20.1
EPA mpg rating: 21 combined (18 city/25 highway)
Best-fill mpg: 26.8
Best range: 406.6 miles
Current odometer: 19,099 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights

Performance
"After playing with the Econ button, I'm onboard with Travis Langness' opinion. When it's enabled, you have to use a lot of throttle pedal travel to keep up with traffic. Turn it on when you're out of the city, without the constant pressure to keep up with traffic, as Econ mode can help smooth acceleration. Or, as Travis suggested, just leave it off altogether!" — Calvin Kim, road test editor

Technology-Audio
"Beeps, so many beeps. Our Ridgeline beeps when you get in, when you step out of the car with the ignition on and the parking sensors stay on, even when completely stopped and in Park. The only way to turn them off is by diving deep into the menus. At least the parking sensor warning can be easily turned off." — Calvin Kim

Interior
"I haven't been in the Ridgeline in almost six months, so it was nice to drive it again. The interior feels a lot bigger than I remember, with the rear seats being as functional as a full-size truck's. And I know this is echoing what everyone else says, but you really have to drive it around in varying conditions to appreciate that it's the most comfortable pickup on the market. But that dash is ugly and totally kills what little truck vibe there is." — Calvin Kim

Cargo Space
"There's enough space between the tailgate and the bed so you can open the under-bed cargo space with the tailgate down, making for a large workspace. I couldn't get any pictures of it due to horrible lighting, but even with it being a bit of a reach, that setup made for a great meal prep station at a Halloween carnival." — Calvin Kim

Monthly Update for November 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
Our 2017 Honda Ridgeline crossed the 20,000-mile threshold this month, a distance we try to achieve with each long-term test vehicle. Driving that many miles in a year gives us the chance to experience an aggressive first year of ownership, during which we test the vehicle's behavior in four seasons, visit the dealer a few times, and note any changes in reliability. The Ridgeline hit the number in the hands of Cameron Rogers, who took a trip down to San Diego.

It spent the rest of the month helping people run errands and get to work. I did exactly that, and in the process found it strange how carlike this compact truck behaves. As the owner of an old four-speed, V8 Chevy pickup, I'm used to a bad ride, loud interior and abysmal fuel economy. The Ridgeline has none of those things. It's so quiet and smooth, you might mistake it for a compact SUV or minivan from behind the wheel. This civility is the Ridgeline's appeal.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
Our Ridgeline added 1,423 miles in November, passing the 20,000-mile mark a month before the end of its stay. Its 20.2 mpg average this month falls in line with its lifetime average and the EPA's combined fuel rating. While we weren't able to improve upon our 26.8 mpg best fill or our 406-mile best range, Cameron Rogers got close to the latter by covering 375 miles on a single fill.

Average lifetime mpg: 20.1
EPA mpg rating: 21 combined (18 city/25 highway)
Best-fill mpg: 26.8
Best range: 406.6 miles
Current odometer: 20,248 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights

Performance
"The Ridgeline has a pretty sweet powertrain. It's so good you might even take it for granted. But there's suitable power whether you're accelerating from a stop or stomping on the gas for a pass on the highway. The automatic transmission shifts smoothly and unobtrusively, too." — Brent Romans, senior writer

Comfort
"Temperatures have been dropping where I live. Since I usually park our Ridgeline on my home's driveway overnight, the interior can be chilly in the mornings. It's been a good excuse to test out the heated seats and heated steering wheel. The seats only have two settings, but heating is effective. The steering wheel warms up nicely, too." — Brent Romans

"I could drive our Ridgeline across the country, no problem. The driver seat's is comfortable for hours at a time, levels of wind and road noise are low, and the ride is smooth and composed. There's also lots of small-item storage and a solid-sounding audio system." — Brent Romans

Technology-Audio
"Android Auto takes a little longer to boot up in our Honda versus what I've experienced in a Ford or a Chevy, but it works smoothly most of the time. The other time was this weekend. I left the grocery store after a day of errands, plugged my phone in, turned the car on, and nothing. The entertainment screen said the Bluetooth connection had failed, and I should reconnect. I tried multiple times, even turning my phone's Bluetooth off and on again, but nothing fixed it. Everything worked after letting the Ridgeline sit for a few hours, but these glitches are annoying." — Carlos Lago, senior writer

Miscellaneous
"I honestly wish we could keep our Ridgeline longer. I realize a 2018 Ford F-150 just rolled into our garage with the plastic still on the seats, but I'd rather hang onto the Ridgeline for another year. It's just the right size, the ride and seats are exceptionally comfortable, and its under-bed trunk provides surprisingly useful secured storage. Hopefully, Honda adds a new touchscreen and revises the engine offerings so we can justify another loaner in three years." — Cameron Rogers, staff writer

"Somehow our Ridgeline made it over 20,000 miles with the clingy plastic sheet still attached to the driver side of the center console. I took great pleasure in slowly removing it this morning." — Carlos Lago

Wrap-Up

What We Got

Within the last four years, the midsize truck segment has grown from two to five models. Honda's redesigned, second-generation Ridgeline is a roomier, more comfortable and less trucklike alternative to other midsize pickups such as the Chevrolet Colorado and the Toyota Tacoma. With its carlike unibody platform, the Ridgeline is essentially a crossover SUV with a truck bed.

Honda makes it simple to choose a Ridgeline: It only comes in a crew-cab configuration with a 5-foot-4-inch bed, a six-speed automatic transmission, and a 3.6-liter V6 that puts out 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. A buyer just needs to select a trim level with the desired features.

We chose the RTL-E for its all-wheel drive and bundle of luxury and safety features that includes forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, LED headlights and cargo lights, a sunroof, a heated steering wheel and parking sensors.

The final price for our 2017 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E rang in at $42,270, including the $900 destination charge.

Performance

"This is one smooth-handling and nimble machine. It feels nothing like a truck on the tight winding roads of our local mountains. And the six-speed automatic feels like a willing partner whether I'm cruising, putting the spurs to it or just pulling out to make a pass." — Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing

"First time driving the redesigned Ridgeline. Always amazes me how every Honda seemingly drives like an Accord. That's not a knock. The consistency is impressive." — Dan Frio, staff writer

"The Ridgeline may be based on a crossover SUV, but it's happy to be treated like a truck." — Travis Langness, staff writer

"The Ridgeline has a pretty sweet powertrain. It's so good you might even take it for granted." — Brent Romans, senior writer

"Somehow, this is what we've come to: The biggest surprise a pickup truck has to offer is that it's a truck." — Will Kaufman, associate staff writer

MPG

"With no regard to light-footing it or taking it easy on the Ridgeline, I averaged 23.6 mpg. That's just shy of the EPA's 25 mpg highway rating." — Travis Langness

"Dan Edmunds and Travis always seem to claim fuel economy records on our long-term cars, but the Ridgeline belongs to me! On the way back [from Las Vegas], the Ridgeline returned 26.8 mpg, shattering the previous record of 25.8 mpg by a healthy margin. I achieved both numbers with full-blast air conditioning and traveling at a healthy clip. Average fuel economy over 500 miles was 25.5 mpg." — Cameron Rogers, staff writer

Comfort

"Unlike traditional pickups, the Ridgeline doesn't suffer from a nervous ride quality when the bed is empty. On the highway, headed out to Palm Springs, the Ridgeline unsurprisingly felt much like the Pilot: relatively smooth, quiet and composed." — Mark Takahashi, senior writer

"I was very impressed with this truck over the weekend. It was more comfortable and more refined than our Toyota Tacoma. I'd definitely recommend this truck to someone looking for a light-duty truck for daily driving." — Ron Montoya, senior consumer advice editor

"I marvel at how comfortable the Ridgeline is. It's great as a commuter vehicle and has excellent room for passengers all around. I know other editors have commented on this already, but I'm unaccustomed to driving a truck that is this easy-going on the road. It was a real surprise. The harsh truck ride I expected is not present at all."— Rex Tokeshi-Torres, vehicle testing technician

Cargo Space

"I was all set to transport this 4-by-8 plexi sheet in our long-term Titan XD, but it had already been spoken for. Thankfully, the Ridgeline was available and, as it turns out, better suited for the job. The lack of wheelwells protruding into the bed allowed the sheet to lie flat, and the smart placement of tie-down anchors made the job even easier." — Mark Takahashi

"Love the storage compartment under the cargo bed floor. I put three Trader Joe's bags in there tonight and could have fit six. And the flip-up cover is lightweight and easy to use. You get both a truck and a trunk with the Ridgeline. Pretty cool." — Josh Sadlier, senior manager, content strategy

"The bed trunk/bed well, whatever you want to call it, is money. Like Travis writes, it's a feature that, once you have it, you can't imagine not having it, especially when you're doing outdoors stuff. [We fit] a tent, a pop-up shelter, two sleeping pads, a folding chair, a yoga mat, and a backpacker's rod with no problem. That you can lock it is icing." — Dan Frio

Interior

"This Ridgeline steering wheel is a mess. This is approaching some unnecessary race car level of complexity. There's a button to turn cruise control on and off. This could be relocated to the thumb paddle. You've got a button to turn on and off lane departure warning. You've got three buttons that cycle through various information screens and menus and a reset for various metrics like trip meter. Overfunction overkill." — Dan Frio

"The Ridgeline's small-item storage areas are very useful. The big center console bin is great. You can put all sorts of stuff inside, as expected, but you can also use the sliding top in its closed position as a convenient tray. The Ridgeline also has a small cubby ahead of the gear shifter and big storage pockets in the front doors. It's a Container Store on wheels." — Brent Romans

Audio and Technology

"The virtual volume slider is laggy and awkward to use, and the attention-sucking 'map' and 'source' virtual buttons are too small and close together. Those buttons become moving targets." — Dan Edmunds

"The infotainment screen in our Honda Ridgeline is covered with a plethora of fingerprints. It's almost impossible to see the screen in direct sunlight." — Mike Massey, vehicle testing assistant

"The voice recognition in our Ridgeline is really quite good, and even better if you use Siri through Apple CarPlay. With the Honda system, you have to follow prompts. With Apple CarPlay, you can use normal English. Both methods easily and accurately accepted my voice commands, even when I tried my best (worst) George Takei impression." — Mark Takahashi

"I think I'm becoming entitled, but if I can't have a front-mounted camera, at the very least I want an accurate parking sensor graphic. What constitutes a parking assistance graphic in the Ridgeline isn't very helpful in tight spaces. You get the same three lines no matter how close you are, a lot of beeping, and more than enough apprehension about scratching the paint." — Kurt Niebuhr, photo editor

Maintenance

"Along a 54-mile round trip on remote washboard dirt road, our Ridgeline's right rear shock developed a leak and lost effectiveness. But the other three dampers came through with flying colors, and the wounded shock wasn't completely dead. After looking at the truck, the dealer agreed that the repairs would be covered by warranty." — Dan Edmunds

"Optimism turned to apprehension when I climbed into the truck, hit the ignition button and was greeted with a 'Maintenance Due Soon' message in the instrument panel. I pressed on, thinking I might be able to make it to Vegas and back before the truck needed to be taken in for service. My hopes were unfounded. The message turned to 'Maintenance Due Now' as I drove home that Thursday. I arrived at my local dealer the next morning and was given an estimated completion time of two hours. The total was $202.80, split between the oil change (B, $56.90), tire rotation (1, $29.95) and differential fluid service (6, $109), plus $6.95 in tax." — Cameron Rogers

Miscellaneous

"Somehow our Ridgeline made it over 20,000 miles with the clingy plastic sheet still attached to the driver side of the center console. I took great pleasure in slowly removing it this morning." — Carlos Lago, senior writer

"The Ridgeline's looks might be the one thing that holds it back from greater success. It's a Honda Pilot with the rear chopped off." — Ron Montoya

Maintenance & Repairs

Regular Maintenance:
According to our records, the routine maintenance interval on our 2017 Honda Ridgeline was every 7,500 miles. There was a maintenance minder built into the computer, which signaled when it was time for service and which service was required. The first occurred at 8,500 miles, which included a shock replacement covered under warranty ($90), and the final maintenance took place at a little under 16,000 miles ($203). Both services included an oil change, an oil filter, and tire rotation, while the most recent included a differential service.

Service Campaigns:
None.

Fuel Economy and Resale Value

Observed Fuel Economy:
At the final fill-up, our 2017 Honda Ridgeline tallied 21,713 miles and a lifetime average of 20 miles per gallon. We achieved our best fuel economy on a road trip from Las Vegas to Brea, California, with 26.8 mpg. The worst was a measly 11.9 mpg. The farthest we traveled on a single tank was 406.6 miles.

Resale and Depreciation:
The starting MSRP for our 2017 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E was $42,270. By the end of our 12-month test, this value dipped slightly, by only 16 percent, according to our Edmunds TMV Calculator using the assumption of a private-party sale. But since the Ridgeline was a loan from Honda, we wouldn't be testing the market.

By comparison, this low depreciation lines up with that of our departed 2016 Honda Pilot, which fell by only 17 percent.

Summing Up

Pros:
Comfortable truck with carlike handling. Segment-leading cabin space. RTL-E's advanced safety technologies. Only truck in the class that can hold 4-foot-wide plywood sheets flat in the bed. Best-in-class 0-60 mph acceleration. In-bed lockable trunk. Infotainment system interface. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration.

Cons:
Tow rating of just 5,000 pounds (the front-wheel-drive model handles 3,500 pounds). Hampered off-road capability due to long overhangs and lack of underbody clearance.

Bottom Line:
We're glad Honda has stuck with the Ridgeline. It's a versatile truck that is comfortable and handles like a car. It also has great interior room and materials, an excellent infotainment system and technology integration, and impressive resale value. The Ridgeline is a fine choice for the vast majority of people who want a truck for light pickup-type duties. It's definitely not for serious off-road aficionados or people who need to tow large, heavy objects.

The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.