Gold_Rush

Pretty much. On non-slippery roads it's Fwd i believe, when it senses slip it goes into Awd/4wd, and there's also a button so you can lock 4wd in.

Edmunds did a review on the Ridgeline's 4wd system. System works really well on-road with snow/water, but did poorly off-road. See review below. It explains the VTM-4 4x4 in detail.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...1/pageId=63359

PacerX

Heh.

One guy from New Jersey and another from Missouri talking about winter driving.

Threxx

The interior on the ridgeline blows the Colorado away for sure in terms of materials used - not sure about build quality as I didn't examine that too closely, but given that it's Honda, I doubt the build is too shabby. Definitely not cheap from my short examination at the car show and then a few weeks later at a Honda dealer.

If this truck is entirely unibody, that just seems crazy. Then again I think the VW Taureg (SP?) can tow an obscene amount of weight and off-road like a champ (in terms of chassis dynamics) yet it's fully unibody, right?

I just thought I remembered reading somewhere that Honda had used a unibody structure with a partially traditional body on frame setup integrated. If so then that's an interesting concept.

Anyhow... it sucks that they are only offering a V6, but that's also a pretty powerful V6 for that size of truck, and considering Honda has yet to make a V8, even for the new RL or current NSX... it's not surprising. Isn't this truck roughly in the Colorado/Tacoma/Ranger/etc size class? If so then hardly anyone is offering a V8 at the moment, are they? Except for the Durango of course.

Good Ph.D

+1

I'm sure its a fine vehicle for the crossover SUV crowd... but anyone with any serious work to do... I can't see it. Time will tell.

SSCamaro99_3

We get freezing rain, slush, ice, and snow mixes all the time. Real crap. We usually avoid the huge snows, but get this odd stuff frequently.

I wonder how many of these Honda things will see appear in a picture like this.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...99_3/Buck1.jpg

Threxx

Isn't the standard bed made of a steel-reinforced composite material that is said to be extremely scratch and dent resistant? Similar to the optional composite bed offered in the Silverado trucks, standard in the new Tacoma, etc?

R377

Without even clicking the link, I knew right away that the authors were those Lienert tools. They make Dan Neil look like Charlie Wilson. I can't recall a single time they've panned a Japanese car or applauded a GM vehicle. Without a doubt they are the least-respected "journalists" in my book.

Chris 96 WS6

I have no clue but I am skeptical of the durability of compartments in the bottom of the bed on a truck if it is meant to actually haul stuff.

MissedShift

Hes not saying the honda would scratch... Hes saying the load of bricks would have a real chance of shoving the rear suspension up through its mounts and/or putting a rather large hole in Hondas vaunted unibody where the bed used to be...

WERM

Obviously, if you want a "Real" truck then this isn't your vehicle.

I personally don't lilke the ridgeline (I think its ugly) but I think it actually works well for the ways that most people actually use a truck - driving around with the bed empty most of the time and ocassionally halling sod, stuff from home depot, or appliances....and maybe towing a small boat..

For those people (if they can get over the styling) the Ridgline will work really well...the bed mounted trunk with dual opening tailgate is marvelous. Finally, someone figured out a way to safely store stuff in a truck without some funky get in the way cover. The fact that the inside rear seats also totally fold up out of the way is another really nice touch.

BTW, they say it's a unibody, but I saw one at the New York Auto show (a cut away model) and it sure as hell looked like a frame to me...

Threxx

The steel reinforced composite bed is factually significantly stronger and more rigid than a standard steel bed according to everything I've read and according to good ol' common sense too (why spend more money and R&D on a crappier end result?).

As far as the suspension's handling... what is its payload capacity? What about its suspension setup makes you think it couldn't take that much of a shock? I'm not arguing that point, just wondering if you have any specifics to reach the conclusion?

Personally I think this truck makes sense... even if it is a weak tow/hauler and off-roader, relative to 'real' trucks... it's also more comfortable and practical for daily driving use. And many/most of you probably cringe at the thought of a daily driven truck that will rarely ever see off-road or heavy hauling use... it's a reality that the large majority of trucks purchased these days fit easily within that category.

MOST people I know that buy trucks say they buy them because they like sitting up high, hauling the rare piece of furniture or ATV or whatever, being 'safer' in an accident, and having better control in bad conditions with 4WD/AWD. While a couple of those 'reasons' are arguable or possibly even incorrect... they are the majority of reasons that seem to go through most consumer's minds when buying a 'truck'.

97z28/m6

i guess you haven't read any of the IRSvs LRA debates have you?

Z28Wilson

Ahh, but how much "sense" does it make at $35,000?? For that much smack, I could buy the real deal in terms of pickups and get a fully loaded F150 or Silverado and be able to do a lot more with it. Practicallity is in the eye of the beholder I guess. One has cubby holes for purses and soccer ***** and the other two can pull houses off their foundations with a load of gravel in the bed. You decide.

Threxx

The one I looked at was I think 30k loaded with everything but nav as far as I could tell.

And again, oversimplify/exagerate the differences all you want (cubby hole vs towing a house), but the point remains... a lot of people don't give a damn about their max towing. Most people I know, while they have use for their truck, are more concerned with comfort and such than they are about towing capacity, as they'll never get close to the peak towing capacity.

With all of this said keep in mind that for the money, if I was buying a truck, I would without a doubt buy a 'real' truck, and not this Honda. I'm just trying to explain why this was a good choice of design on Honda's part. It's very marketable.

Threxx

OK... I'll put it this way. If Toyota and GM have already gone to standard or additional cost optional composite beds in some of their trucks, then I doubt Honda is working against itself by heading in that same direction.