So, I bought the Ridgeline in this thread:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3755790/1
I've driven it a few hundred miles over a few days since Saturday, and I'm quite enjoying it. There are some things about it that I really like, and there are some things that I'd change. These are my thoughts on it so far, with some limited pictures. I'm working on some of the body issues, and will post exterior pictures in time.
Going front to back I suppose...
Headlamps: fantastic. These are probably the best halogen headlamps I've used. Despite being a similar design and nature to the ones on our old CR-V (both use HB2 bulbs with a similar reflector style), the Ridgeline's headlamps cast an extremely wide and consistent beam of light (no bright or dark spots). There's also very nice down-road distance. I'm really quite impressed. OEM bulbs are Japan-made Koito...interesting. Our CR-V had Philips bulbs from the factory.
Engine/powertrain: I love a Honda J-series engine and this one's even better than what's in our MDX. It's a new-for-2009 J35Z5 model, and refinements include larger intake valves, different camshaft profile for better low end torque, and some other sundry items. One of the things I like about it most is the big intake scoop on top of the radiator shroud. Honda tuned it so the driver could hear it (they wanted the "noise experience"), and there are no hidden resonance chambers or silencer boxes. The scoop goes straight to the filter box, and then to the intake tube to the throttle body. When the intake runners switch to short length at about 3,600 RPM, it begins to speak in a real basso profundo pitch, and when the big cams kick in at about 4,800 RPM, it honks a real deep bellow. And with the low speed cam profiles, there's push-and-go power everywhere in the power band. It has quite a different character than our MDX's engine (which feels smoother, perhaps due to the active engine mounting, but is a little lazier around town). The transmission shifts okay -- some of the shifts feel a little notchy. Knowing the previous owners, I'd say that there's a good chance that the fluid is still original (97k miles), and I will be blending new fluid in over time.
Interior: I've long been a critic of the Ridgeline's interior, and still am to some degree. In terms of functionality, I find it to be far more intuitive and useful than it looks. It has some weird shapes to it, and there is indeed lots of hard plastic. I'm not sure it's completely out of character for a truck, though, and the graining and satin finish on the plastics offer a nice impression.
The center console is really cool -- about everything on it slides like an accordion. The top armrest slides fore and aft...the main section with the cupholders slides fore and aft...the lower section cover (under the cupholders) slides fore and aft. It's a real interesting design. The cupholders are super deep, so even the tallest drink will never turn over out of these.
The one component (or pair of components) that really stand out, and in a bad way: the door pull handles. Not the pull levers themselves, and not the pull slots down lower by the arm rest, but the big door pulls at the top front of the doors. These (not my picture):
The fit-and-finish of these is horrible. There's a silver-colored face on them (that you see in this picture) and a black-colored "base". The interface between those two is not good -- there are a number of sharp mold and cut lines on the pull assembly and the execution is just not good at all. They could have really done better, here.
Other dislikes include the mirrors: they're too narrow for the truck. The mirror glass surface needs to be about an inch wider. And the interior review mirror...it has a manual adjustment for day/night (probably not appropriate for a top line leather trim model) and it has a really hokey directional compass that illuminates one or two cardinal directions about a center crosshairs. If you're driving north, you can see the crosshairs and N illuminated. If you turn northeast, the N and E are both lit. If you turn east, the N goes out and the E stays lit. It's pretty silly if you ask me, and it's the only attempt that I know of you make a "graphical" compass in a mirror.
The interplay between the sunroof and power sliding back window is really nice. Open both, and you get a playful breeze through the cabin, but it's super quiet -- you can drive 60 mph with the sunroof and back window open, and hold a normal conversation in the cab. In fact, it's louder if you close the rear window and have just the sunroof open.
Our kids love the opening rear window and their HUGE side windows that retract all the way into the door. The MDX's side windows lower about 3/4 of the way and stop. They love having those windows roll all the way down.
Chassis: I love it. I swear that it corners flatter than our CR-V did (and certainly flatter than our MDX, with 125k mile dampers). It's not as small-car nimble as the CR-V, but it still changes directions like a fly. The steering is quick and very appropriately weighted. I enjoy the steering. Road feel in the steering wheel could be a TICK more pronounced, but steering feel overall is very agreeable to me. The ride is quite firm -- firmer than I expected. It's odd -- it's both firmer and less jarring than the CR-V's ride. I guess that's curb weight for you.
Bed/trunk: I really like this feature. I love the dual action gate -- it lowers or swings, depending on which lever you use. The in-bed trunk is really cool. I have a lot of plans for customizing that for my needs. The spare tire lives in there, and the tray is designed to accommodate a full-sized spare, which is smart. Honda also designed a spare tire mount in the bed so you can locate your spare there in case you have a load in the bed and need your spare tire. It will reduce capacity in the bed, sure. You can't have it all.
They call the bed a "composite" bed, but the only traditional plastic in it are the top rails and blade on top of the tailgate. The actual bed surface and bed sides appear to be a sort of Rhino-lined metal. Bed lighting is remarkable. There are no fewer than four cargo lights, two up in the flying buttresses and two at the rear, which illuminate the back of the bed and the trunk when it's open. This trunk is lit better than any sedan trunk I've had before.
I think it's going to be an impeccable family vehicle for us. Little plusses: the Michelin LTX M/S tires (P245/60R18) are in great shape, with only about 10k miles on them. They'll last a good while still. And the original owner bought a lifetime XM subscription when he first got it, so I'm good to go on that.
The original owner paid $35,5xx out the door new. I bought it from my brother for $9,750 and paid $1,475 total to ship it out here ($225 to the broker plus $1,250 COD for the carrier). My total cost is $11,225 plus $150 NC highway use tax to register it.
Interior: I've long been a critic of the Ridgeline's interior, and still am to some degree. In terms of functionality, I find it to be far more intuitive and useful than it looks. It has some weird shapes to it, and there is indeed lots of hard plastic. I'm not sure it's completely out of character for a truck, though, and the graining and satin finish on the plastics offer a nice impression.
The center console is really cool -- about everything on it slides like an accordion. The top armrest slides fore and aft...the main section with the cupholders slides fore and aft...the lower section cover (under the cupholders) slides fore and aft. It's a real interesting design. The cupholders are super deep, so even the tallest drink will never turn over out of these.
The one component (or pair of components) that really stand out, and in a bad way: the door pull handles. Not the pull levers themselves, and not the pull slots down lower by the arm rest, but the big door pulls at the top front of the doors. These (not my picture):
The fit-and-finish of these is horrible. There's a silver-colored face on them (that you see in this picture) and a black-colored "base". The interface between those two is not good -- there are a number of sharp mold and cut lines on the pull assembly and the execution is just not good at all. They could have really done better, here.
Other dislikes include the mirrors: they're too narrow for the truck. The mirror glass surface needs to be about an inch wider. And the interior review mirror...it has a manual adjustment for day/night (probably not appropriate for a top line leather trim model) and it has a really hokey directional compass that illuminates one or two cardinal directions about a center crosshairs. If you're driving north, you can see the crosshairs and N illuminated. If you turn northeast, the N and E are both lit. If you turn east, the N goes out and the E stays lit. It's pretty silly if you ask me, and it's the only attempt that I know of you make a "graphical" compass in a mirror.
The interplay between the sunroof and power sliding back window is really nice. Open both, and you get a playful breeze through the cabin, but it's super quiet -- you can drive 60 mph with the sunroof and back window open, and hold a normal conversation in the cab. In fact, it's louder if you close the rear window and have just the sunroof open.
Our kids love the opening rear window and their HUGE side windows that retract all the way into the door. The MDX's side windows lower about 3/4 of the way and stop. They love having those windows roll all the way down.
Chassis: I love it. I swear that it corners flatter than our CR-V did (and certainly flatter than our MDX, with 125k mile dampers). It's not as small-car nimble as the CR-V, but it still changes directions like a fly. The steering is quick and very appropriately weighted. I enjoy the steering. Road feel in the steering wheel could be a TICK more pronounced, but steering feel overall is very agreeable to me. The ride is quite firm -- firmer than I expected. It's odd -- it's both firmer and less jarring than the CR-V's ride. I guess that's curb weight for you.
Bed/trunk: I really like this feature. I love the dual action gate -- it lowers or swings, depending on which lever you use. The in-bed trunk is really cool. I have a lot of plans for customizing that for my needs. The spare tire lives in there, and the tray is designed to accommodate a full-sized spare, which is smart. Honda also designed a spare tire mount in the bed so you can locate your spare there in case you have a load in the bed and need your spare tire. It will reduce capacity in the bed, sure. You can't have it all.
They call the bed a "composite" bed, but the only traditional plastic in it are the top rails and blade on top of the tailgate. The actual bed surface and bed sides appear to be a sort of Rhino-lined metal. Bed lighting is remarkable. There are no fewer than four cargo lights, two up in the flying buttresses and two at the rear, which illuminate the back of the bed and the trunk when it's open. This trunk is lit better than any sedan trunk I've had before.
I think it's going to be an impeccable family vehicle for us. Little plusses: the Michelin LTX M/S tires (P245/60R18) are in great shape, with only about 10k miles on them. They'll last a good while still. And the original owner bought a lifetime XM subscription when he first got it, so I'm good to go on that.
The original owner paid $35,5xx out the door new. I bought it from my brother for $9,750 and paid $1,475 total to ship it out here ($225 to the broker plus $1,250 COD for the carrier). My total cost is $11,225 plus $150 NC highway use tax to register it.
The Ridgeline throws that out for a new lateral link design with a coil-over-shock system that integrates the damper and spring into one assembly. The bottom of the coilover bolts to the lateral link and the top rides directly on the frame. Other aspects of the design are similar, though it shares zero parts.
Also visible in the second picture is the drain plug in the trunk of the Ridgeline. It's often noted that you can use the trunk as a large drink cooler or similar -- fill it with ice, do your thing, and just open the drain plug when you're done.
