What exactly is “truckness”? It’s a hard-to-describe quality, but you can tell when a vehicle has it or not. A Ford F-150 of essentially any era? Truckness in spades. An El Camino? Very limited truckness, but that was highly intentional for an era when owning “a truck” was considered a bit declassee and not something cool and hip like it is now.
Indeed, today if you build a pickup truck with limited truckness then you’re likely going to struggle to sell it. The Hyundai Santa Fe, for example, will never be more than a niche player. Honda too has been in that position for a long time with their Ridgeline. As a unibody pickup that’s all the rage now it should be moving out of dealers like nobody’s business, but it doesn’t. Can we make add more “truckness” to give this excellent product more of the consideration that it deserves?
No, I Wanted A Real Pickup
I’m not sure why I tend to write about the Ford Maverick seemingly every five minutes, but it’s certainly a vehicle that every car maker needs to pay attention to. In this world of poor EV and sedan sales combined with a saturated market of seemingly identical crossovers, any standout that outperforms expectations has to be a target for all other brands.
The Maverick is certainly a good design and a great value, but why has it succeeded in the market? I’d venture to guess that it’s this little Ford has ample amount of “truckness”. Today, the stigma of driving a tradesman’s vehicle is long gone; anyone and everyone seems to want the abilities and, more importantly, the I-build-stuff-or-do-outdoorsy-things image of a full-sized Ford or Chevy pickup as a substitute for their old family sedan. It’s no surprise that these vehicles are still far and away some of the top sellers of anything with four wheels in America.
However, what if you realized something like that is too damn big for the garage, or you simply can’t afford the $50,000 plus often needed to acquire a reasonably equipped example? Enter the Maverick; an F-150 that went into the dryer and someone forgot to turn the heat level down from “high”.
However, before the Maverick’s 2022 debut, the words “unibody four door pickup” would make most people imagine one vehicle: the Honda Ridgeline. This ambitious project was based on the idea that buyers wanted to move from sedans, SUVs and minivans to a soft of “halfway house” pickup that was quite car-like and didn’t care that it was incapable of carrying insane payloads or had multi-ton towing capabilities of a typical truck.
The test mule for the Ridgeline was an MDX with a competitor’s bed placed on back, and the production truck featured a V6 similar to that Acura. Despite this, the Ridgeline was not just an MDX or Odyssey minivan “El Camino”. When it debuted for the 2005 model year, the first-generation Ridgeline had a unique, beefed-up structure that reportedly only shared 7 percent of its components with other Honda products.
Sadly, Honda seemed to forget one thing about what was important to sell a product: image. The Ridgeline didn’t have traditional “truckness” and, contrary to what they thought, people moving into a truck actually wanted that part of the experience. The front end of the Ridgeline resembled the somewhat controversial Element, and the massive sail panels behind the cab further distanced the look from what people expected a pickup truck to be.
Sales for the first year were a rather healthy 60,679, dropping to around 55,000 by 2007. However, like the AMC Pacer, it seems like everyone that wanted one by then had gotten one and the bottom fell out. By 2008, Honda moved less than half of that number, with sales below 20,000 until Honda finally pulled the plug in 2014.
After a hiatus, Honda came back for 2017 with the second-generation Ridgeline; this time it was heavily based on Honda’s current Pilot and shared around 73 percent of its components (but was still stronger and sturdier than the earlier model).
As with the first-generation version, the Ridgeline offered a two-way tailgate like on an old American station wagon, and the big party trick was the weather-sealed trunk under the back section of the bed.
This Ridgeline did have more “truckness,” at least sort of. The profile was more of a traditional “three box” form without funky sail panels or a rather bizarre face. Unfortunately, the crossover-like angled-back nose and detailing made it look a bit too much like a CRV-Camino. Sales grew to a peak in 2023 with 52,001 leaving dealers, but since then, the numbers have once again declined. Who’s eating Honda’s lunch? Ford, that’s who, with sales nearly triple the Ridgeline’s numbers last year.
Honda’s research about a market for a “starter truck” twenty years ago has proved to be true, but sadly Ford is the one that’s reaping the benefits. The Ridgeline should have been the Accord of unibody trucks, but it’s always been the Insight. Could we change that?
My Truck Looks Bigger Than A Honda, Yeah Bigger Than A Subaru
I’ve heard some say that the Ridgeline’s higher price is what’s killing its chances in the market, but when the second-generation Odyssey appeared in 1999, it also cost more than most competitors, yet still sold in healthy numbers. No, I think it’s a lack of “truckness” that’s keeping customers away.
In some ways, it’s easier to determine what isn’t truckness as opposed to what it is. Looking at the latest Ridgeline, we can break down where it’s missing the boat, or the truck in this case.
In a nutshell, the latest Ridgeline bears a lot of the design language of Honda’s crossover products. The swept-back nose with wraparound light clusters sit above a bumper with all of the fussy detailing associated with light-duty soft-roaders. On the sides, sweeping character lines combine with very subtle wheel arches. Even the door handles, which are a minor but highly tactile detail, seem very dainty and car-like.
Here’s my first pass of added truckness. I’ve kept the entire upper cab (greenhouse), basic profile and even the wheels the same to show the changes.
One thing that all of this simplification seems to do is make the Ridgeline transcend being a certain size; in a vacuum (metaphorical, of course), it’s hard to tell that it’s a little truck. For the Maverick, Ford was sure to keep the overall aesthetic akin to the big F-150. The Ridgeline in its current state seems to reference CR-Vs and HR-Vs; you immediately think “small SUV” when you see that face, and that’s not doing it any favors in terms of truckness.
Here’s the animation:
You could say these changes make the Ridgeline look even remotely retro or dated, as it really harkens back to a time, maybe twenty years ago, before trucks had absurdly fussy and massive-looking front ends and needless styling details. It’s a throwback to when trucks looked like functional work machines that were ready for you to add your own touches, or just leave bone stock.
That’s something some truck fans seem to be looking for. I could be wrong, but the sales figures prove that they aren’t looking at the Ridgeline, and they should.
Ford Knew A Good Idea When They Saw It
You have to feel for Honda; they saw an opportunity and went for it. It wasn’t like Ford that created the initial minivan concept and then sat on it (since the man whose last name was on the cars really hated the people who came up with the idea and fired them). No, Honda had the right idea, acted on it, and has persevered for decades with the unibody truck idea – but never connected with the buyers who were there all along.
When Honda replaced the rather odd, small first-generation Odyssey with the far more typical second-generation model, sales increased substantially; I think the same thing might be the case here. It certainly wouldn’t hurt for Honda to try something more traditional-looking. The next-generation Ridgeline is just around the corner, and one would Honda has learned from the past.
If the Toyota Tundra taught us anything, it’s that the Japanese brands might not meet the American buyers on the first try, but they eventually get there.
Agree 100%.
Hell, just re-hashing the new Passport’s nose on the current truck would work wonders for its sale-ability.
It won’t fix the problem of bottom-of-class EPA and real-world fuel economy which is what I hear from anyone shopping for one that doesn’t care about the looks. Why get a soft ‘truck’ when the full-sizers request very little if any compromise on economy and much more space and capability.
I am probably in the minority, but I prefer the 1st gen Ridgeline. The sail panels don’t bother me except that they make reaching into the bed more difficult. The 2nd gen Ridgeline always looked like one team was responsible for designing everything cab forward, and another team handled the bed.
I know most people don’t agree with me, but the bed-cab transition is killing it’s truckness for me. And guess what, the maverick too. Granted, it’s a ton better than the first ridgeline. And yes, it looks better with it’s fake space separating them, but the part where there’s overhang gives it away to me. Make it a straight up vertical gap. I know that if you look back there it connects, so it’s fake, but we’re talking about looks here. Trucks have cabs and beds. If you can’t make it, fake it.
I think one of the main things that kills the gen 2 Ridgeline looks-wise is the greenhouse. That really raked windshield from the last gen Pilot just looks way too minivan on a truck, and I think that’s why your render still isn’t enough. Give it a much more upright windshield and I think it would make a world of difference! (sadly Honda already had one to share in the MDX, but didn’t want that for the Pilot or Ridgeline)
I was looking at the render and wondered what was missing. I think you nailed it. I think the current Ridgeline is pretty good looking not being too trucky, but I also have weird, very non-American taste in cars.
It doesn’t look any different to my eyes.
Sorry.
The Ridgeline is a passenger car disguised as a truck and that is it’s strength.
For a lot of people it’s all the truck they need.
So happy I don’t own any cars with wimpy door handles, that would be bad for my masculinity… 😀
I loved my 2012 Ridgeline, it was comfortable to drive, really eating up the highway miles. But it also drank like a sailor on leave, I could only coax 17 city and low 20’s on the road. What made me sell it was the garage at my condo, it was just too tight of a fit! I drove a little Toyota for a few years, but it was too small for my toad tripping lifestyle. The Maverick Hybrid is the perfect size truck for me and I have been happily driving it for 3+ years.
I might consider moving up again, if they put a hybrid in the next Ridgeline.
Those simple changes really do make a world of difference to me, bravo! Extra props for demonstrating that simple square-er shapes can improve “truckishness” without having to resort to fender flares and aggro try-hard overstyling. That would contend for best-looking truck on the market (especially after the maverick refresh took a step back).
The weird little cut-out under the rear glass so the box seems a liiiiiiittle bit bigger is what messes up the design for me. The whole thing is a little too relaxed for me. Move the passenger compartment forward six inches but keep the A-pillar where it is and make up the difference in box, and it looks much more traditional. And I doubt most owners would notice the “comfort” difference.
I think that Honda should have gone in the opposite direction with the second gen Ridgeline and made it sportier. You’re never going to win over the “it’s not a real truck” crowd.
The first gen they got most of it right but totally biffed on the sail panel bed side thing (I don’t mind it but I’m not a target truck customer). Then for the second gen they over corrected and spent the whole styling budget on making the bed look like a “real” truck with the totally unnecessary cab/bed split thing, but left the rest of it, front and interior, looking like any crossover. They just need to make all of it look trucky at the same time, and given how overpriced everything is these days dropping the price would certainly not hurt, but they positioned it as a Ranger competitor, not a Maverick one, but people still crossshop both.
I see a lot of base Mavericks. Its marketed as low frills get the job done your way. The Honda is marketed as “it’s a truck too!” The chunky door handles help a lot though.
i get the premise but you didn’t really change ENOUGH for people to notice.
back in the early 2000s midsize trucks were rather shit and not fuel efficient at all. now mid size trucks are just as comfortable if not more so than they are capable.
Now the honda ridgeline has to compete with a ranger raptor or a jeep gladiator or a zr2 colorado it absolutely does not stand out at all. I’m not hating on the ridge line i think for its performance envelope its quite capable but also its 40 grand and other trucks offer more capability for less money or even more capability for more money its just in a weird spot for the market right now.
I had a 2008 Ridgeline and now have a 2023. It is the perfect truck for my use. Looks had nearly 0% to do with my choice (especially with the ’08. I considered it somewhat ugly). We have an acreage, and haul dirty and\or smelly stuff fairly often. The ride is good. Whichever of us gets a new vehicle, that one becomes the primary transportation for long trips. It’s fine to drive a few thousand miles, as we’ll do again next week.
The 5K tow rating is sufficient. Our utility trailer gets used often for bulk material (mulch, gravel, dirt, sand, branches, limbs, firewood etc.) but the bed is ok for small lumber loads or a pile of 4×8 sheets of whatever.
Most of all, it satisfied our most important criteria; it fits in our garage! The only F-150 that would fit was a standard cab with the shortest bed. Try finding one of those on a dealer lot. I really wanted to try a Maverick, but could not even find one to drive at the time.
I’m probably the customer Honda had in mind when they created this thing. I’m glad they did.
if you sit down and really think about what you will use actually use a truck for it satisfies the majority of people’s use cases. Unfortunately people DO NOT shop that way they shop with their ego or they are convinced that one day they will have a 30 ft boat or horses or something silly or they just WANT more truck than they ever could need.
Agree 100%. I did consider my use case, and so I bought one.
Another comment…I live in the Midwest, in the farmiest of farm country. Pickups dominate here. F-150’s, Silverado’s, and RAM’s dominate, but recently I have been surprised by the many, many Ridgelines I’ve seen on the road. These are likely not doing farm work, but people here are buying them.
Why not just use the front sheetmetal and doors from the new Passport?
Because that’s all they did for the Ridgeline.
I considered a ridgeline before I bought a pilot and it compromises a lot for the bed, the back seat legroom is too short if you have a tall drive, it is like 4″ less than a pilot and the bed is too short to be very useful for anything long. I decided the suv made more sense and bought a pilot but a crew cab 6′ bed f150 was in the running as well for a bigger cab and bed, I just couldn’t justify the higher running costs.
I have since sold the pilot and have an electric and an avalanche which is far more useful than a ridgeline that was cheap but only makes sense as a third car based on the mpgs
I imagine at the refresh they will go with the styling cues of the new Passport as that looks more beefy/truck-like. The current Passport has the attributes you mentioned the Ridgeline should have. Upright front end, bigger/not body colored doorhandles, more truck-ish wheel arches.
The Odyssey/Pilot platform was at least 2 sizes too big a starting point. A 3rd generation Fit base with a foot extra wheelbase and another foot of rear overhang would’ve been almost as useful, much more nimble and out the door for under 20 grand pre covid.
I liked the first gen Ridgeline as well as the second. I also came from owning many Hondas. But the price plus not really a noticeable fuel economy difference kept me from pulling the trigger. I have a hybrid Maverick . It does suburbanite truck things quite well but also returns excellent fuel economy (42mpg lifetime at around 60k miles so far) . I don’t need to tow. I need a place in the back for dirty stuff. I need a quiet and efficient commuter for my soulless commute. The truck does both well
The inside needs more of a redesign than the out! The Ford Mavericks’ interior is genius! The Ridgelines looks like just another crossover inside!
I like your rework a lot, but not because it’s “truckier” somehow, but because it’s *simpler*. Nearly all vehicles today are comically and aggressively overstyled.
But I don’t think it would make a hill of beans difference in sales of these things. They are all the truck the average suburbanite might need, but reality is damned few of them need a truck at all. They just WANT one, and Honda is never going to make a Ridgeline that lets you cosplay as the Marlboro Man – you can buy a REAL MAN’S truck for the same price. The Maverick does the same thing cheaper and more efficiently, and unlike the Hyundai Brat, is on the right side of useful. The Maverick is good enough that *I* actually considered buying a base hybrid one recently, until I came to my senses and ordered a (very) shiny new galvanized utility trailer to tow behind my BMW occasionally for 1/15th the price. And about $1000/yr less in insurance, registration, and maintenance costs.
And in the current times, I will raise my usual question when it’s reported that sales of a given model have fallen. Did they fall because fewer people are buying them, in which case I assume we would see Ridgelines stacked up on dealer lots with cash on the hood, or has Honda just not bothered to build as many so they can build more of the other vehicles on the same platform, and sell the ones they do bother to make at full MSRP and then some? I expect the latter, not the former.
What was it that the CEO of Ferrari said? Oh yeah – “the right number of a car to build is rather fewer than you can sell”. Probably applies to girly pickup trucks too.
I think if they just gave this thing the new Passport front end, some more aggressive taillights, and update the old ass interior they’d have a perfect Ute/Mid-size truck.
Exactly this. The new Passport has the right look for the adventure segment.
100%. Honda nailed the Passport, just copy/paste that front onto the Ridgeline and job done.
The Ridgeline is remarkably capable offroad, with its electronic differential doing a great emulation of a rear locker when needed. My parents have taken their 1st-generation Ridgeline on some trails that made me pucker in my Jeep.
It has zilch to do with the styling or side sail and everything to do with the wheel size. You know truck buyers worship big wheels. Slap some ginormous, idiotic 22″ donk wheels on there and all is good.
Charge extra for the Kumho off-road tires we’ve all read about…
I gave great consideration to buying a Ridgeline back when the 2017 model change started showing up on dealer lots. There is a lot to like about it, but the price was the killer more than the looks. Perhaps a more truck-like appearance would help sell more of them, but I can’t help but feel like the Ridgeline is a niche vehicle almost by design – folks I know with one have often had more than one of them. They don’t sell in high numbers, but what they do sell has a cult-like following.
I remember Honda stated when the Ridgeline debuted that one of their goals was to keep Honda owners from going to other brands for a pickup truck.
It almost worked for me, a multi-time (and current) Honda owner. Had they priced it more reasonably it would have, but instead I ended up with something from the Big 3.