To begin with, the Ridgeline is the first mid-sized pickup to employ an independent rear suspension. This suspension has been employed in cars and SUV's for years, and in a light- to medium-duty pickup, it provides several advantages over a live axle. First, ride and handling are superior to what is usually provided by a live axle. Another advantage is that the stationary differential provides enough space under the bed to house an 8.5 cubic foot trunk that is lockable and weather-tight. It even features a drain plug, so you can fill it with ice and use it as a cooler.The Ridgeline's steel-reinforced composite bed is accessed via the pickup truck market's most innovative tailgate. Honda pays homage to station wagons of the 1970's by installing a tailgate that tilts down or swings out. This slick feature allows access to the bed without having to reach over the tailgate. The bed is wide enough to allow 4X8 sheets of plywood to lay flat on the floor; a feat that no other compact or mid-size pickup can accomplish. History
Because the Ridgeline's independent rear suspension takes up far less space than a live axle, Honda was able to add a large compartment under the truck bed, providing a clean and dry home to the spare tire (either the standard mini-spare or available full-size) and, more significant, an 8.5-cubic-foot trunk. At last: secure, weatherproof, outside-the-cab cargo space in a pickup. The volume might not sound like a lot, but the ultra-practical box shape allows it to swallow even a giant-size cooler-or, with its waterproof periphery and built-in drain plug, it can be used as a cooler itself. Cargo beds in 4x4 pickups have gotten pretty high off the ground, and although Honda's underfloor storage doesn't raise the Ridgeline's much farther, owners would need telescoping arms to reach over the dropped-down tailgate to get anything out of that new trunk. Honda's solution, borrowed from station wagons of yore, is a two-way tailgate, which drops down or swings open like a door to allow easier loading of the trunk or of the bed itself. Despite the unconventional hinge arrangement, the lowered tailgate can support 300 pounds when hauling.
Honda wasn't bound by tradition when it assembled a small, tightly-knit group of engineers in Ohio and assigned them to build a pickup. There were cost considerations and the truck had to conform to certain Honda guidelines in safety, performance and durability. But these engineers had an open mind and clean sheet of paper when they decided to design a personal-use pickup with enough truck-like ability to meet the majority of tasks required by families. This isn't a hardcore work truck numbed down with plush leather seats and booming stereos that is marketed to urban warriors. It was designed to first meet the needs of commuters and soccer dads, then toughened up to handle towing and payload demands of mainstream recreational owners. Bottom line: the design and execution works. This truck doesn't “sting” but preliminary indications are it “works” better than promised.