This was Honda's first crack at building a truck for the US market. My opinion after nearly a year of ownership...it absolutely blows away the competition.

We have to travel about an hour to the nearest Costco. While there, we often go to other stores in the city. We now can buy what we need at Costco (thanks to the in-bed trunk and 60-40 split rear seat) and still have room to put large items in the bed afterward without having to worry about things sitting in the bed being stolen or food spoiling (even in the ice chest) in the summer heat while in town. The trunk holds our 100 qt ice chest with room to spare. Our daughter can sit in her car seat and with the rest of the seat folded up, we can load up the rest of the space with copious quantities of groceries. Plus there is not the usual hump in the middle of the floor from the driveline - it's a flat floor from side to side.

Not long after we purchased our Ridgeline, my in-laws came to visit. They have owned Honda Accords, Acura TL's, and they've never owned a truck as long as I've known them (~18 years). They were so impressed with the ride and the comfort of not only the front seats, but the back one as well (they compared the comfort to that of their Accord), they looked into buying one once they got home.

Honda even thought of little things that make you say "Why didn't someone think of this before?". For example, there is an amber LED light that is mounted in the center by the map lights that remains illuminated when the headlights are on. It provides enough light down on the center console so that you can see items there without turning on the bright map lights but not being so bright as to be distracting.

I could go on and on about the good (and great) things about the Ridgeline, but you have to own one to really appreciate what I'm talking about. Check out Consumer Reports' evaluation of the Ridgeline (June '05). I had bought mine only a week or so before their article came out and they shared my opinion of it...Honda has raised the bar.

I've hauled trailers, groceries, lumber, hay for cattle, traveled in ice and snow, and I have no regrets about making this purchase.