I haven’t driven a truck since I was 15.
Growing up on a cattle farm in southwestern Ontario, pickup trucks were a common sight. My memories feature me behind the wheel of a battered old Ford, ambling slowly through the hay field while my father and uncle hurriedly threw the last few bales into the back before it started to rain (I usually drove a tractor, but the wagons were all filled up).
Since moving to Toronto, I’d never really considered buying a pickup truck. It didn’t seem like the right fit for this urban family of four which did the occasional road trip. Mind you, the kind of pickups I had in mind look nothing like the 2017 Honda Ridgeline Touring.
The marketing for the Ridgeline touts its versatility: It’s a vehicle that can take you on a fishing trip or shuttle the kids to soccer, a tailgate party or a night at the opera. It supposedly combines the upscale amenities we’ve come to expect from minivans or SUVs with the convenience of a truck bed.
So we decided to take the Ridgeline on a five-day trip to Montreal to see whether this thoroughly modern pickup works for a city-dwelling family.
First impressions were, frankly, great. The Ridgeline had previously been criticized for not looking enough like a truck and sporting an almost El Camino-type vibe. But this truck looks like a truck. The soft lines are gone and the overall look is sturdy, modern and sleek. It’s a good-looking rig for the $36,590 base price tag. too.
Packing for the trip
First things first – the cab is shockingly spacious. There’s seating for up to five, and the kids were pleased to find that the back seat was as roomy for them as the five-door wagon we usually drive.
We didn’t have a tonneau cover (though it is an option), which meant we had to fit all our luggage in the cab and the in-bed trunk. Turns out that’s not a problem. The lockable trunk is sizable and easily accessible, especially because the Ridgeline’s tailgate opens both down and from the side – handy when loading and unloading. We took advantage of the extra storage space under the rear seats – which can also be folded up if you don’t have back seat passengers, for groceries or bikes or whatever.
The truck bed has cool, unique features that didn’t get much use this trip. For example, there’s a drain plug in the trunk so you can safely fill it with ice, and the trunk-bed audio system can pump out sound through the bed walls. There’s also a 400-watt outlet in the truck bed that can be used for a TV. It’s a bit of a portable party if tailgating is your thing.
Hitting the highway
I expected driving a truck to be more cumbersome than driving our regular car, but the Ridgeline went out of its way to make things easy. For one, it’s plenty powerful, with a 280-horsepower, 3.5-litre V-6 engine. The Ridgeline also has a push-button start, a nifty power back window and driver’s seat memory settings.
The journey from Toronto to Montreal can be a tad monotonous, especially if you take Highway 401, as we did. Fortunately, the truck had Apple CarPlay and the all-important Sirius XM Radio. The power moonroof was also a hit, but a tad blustery at 110 clicks.
I learned to appreciate the Ridgeline’s safety features. When cars got too close – on the side, in front or behind – the Ridgeline’s Blind Spot Information (BSI) system let me know with a flashing indicator. At first, this feature seemed more amusing than useful, but I grew accustomed to it and missed it once I went back to driving my own, BSI-less vehicle.
On the other hand, the Lane Departure Warning seemed a bit aggressive. When I strayed even close to the line, the steering wheel would jiggle, which was more irritating than helpful.
Dans la ville
Our stylish boutique hotel was nestled along a cobblestone street in Old Montreal, which made me sweat when I thought about exploring it by truck. How would this (relatively) big vehicle work when navigating side streets? But the Ridgeline handled well on the narrowest of streets, and the rear camera came in handy for parking in tight spots.
Much of our old city touring was on foot, but we did head across town in the Ridgeline to check out the Cosmodome space centre followed by a quest for a St-Hubert. The “Montreal Complétement Cirque” festival was in full swing, so we also swung over to Tohu theatre to see the jaw-drapping acrobats of Flip Fabrique.
The Ridgeline’s GPS system directed us to our destinations efficiently, and I particularly liked the four-inch multi-information display above the steering wheel, which allowed me to check our progress without looking at the main eight-inch touchscreen.
Back to the Big Smoke
There’s one place you’ll notice a difference with a pickup truck – the gas gauge. Though the Ridgleline’s gas efficiency is marketed as “best in class” at 11.3 litres/100 km, in comparison to the smaller vehicle I normally drive, it went through fuel a lot quicker. If our family was to opt for a truck, that would be a sacrifice we would have to consider.
In the end, however, the Honda Ridgeline successfully pulled off that combination of amenity-laden family car with the rugged good looks and versatile storage capacity of a pickup truck. Back in Toronto, we easily fit one adult bike and two kids’ bikes in the bed for a jaunt to the Leslie Street Spit. For anyone who regularly hauls bikes or drywall or furniture – or hay bales, for that matter – the Ridgeline will get ’er done and still look swanky on date night.
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