When I hear the name Ridgeline, as in Honda's truck, I can't help but think of the African dog called the Rhodesian ridgeback.
The dog, not the truck, has a ridge of fur running the opposite direction to the rest of the fur down the middle of its back. The dog was used to hunt lions in Africa and was able to hold a lion at bay until a hunter could kill it, and it also apparently has the ability to kill a baboon.
Personally I tend to stay away from lions, filthy creatures, and frankly the baboon's rather large and pointy teeth and its even larger red bum tend to scare me.
Anyway, the ridgeback would appear to be quite useful as is the Ridgeline truck. Instead of a ridge of fur down its back, the Ridgeline has something way more useful than some directionally-challenged fur. It has an under-the-bed, lockable storage compartment that is big enough to hold several deceased,
red-bottomed baboons.
The compartment is also water tight so you don't have to worry about leaving a trail of blood for those pesky hyenas to follow.
If deceased baboons aren't your thing, then the space could easily be used to store work clothes, tools, spears, water for a trip across the African desert, a half dozen pygmy tribesmen, or a couple of million kruggerand. The spare tire is also located here so it is always dry and clean.
There is no need to get under the truck to look for the spare and get your new camouflage
khakis all dirty.
The Ridgeline is a quiet truck, especially at rest, but even on the road it is a pleasantly quiet vehicle. However, give it some welly and it comes to raucous life with enough roar to frighten off even the most ardent of hungry
hyenas.
The 3.5-litre V6 puts out 250 horsepower and is capable of towing 5,000 pounds, or a small elephant.
The Ridgeline also came wired for a seven-pin trailer connection plus a trailer brake
controller and a tow/haul button on the shifter drops a gear to provide the Ridgeline with more immediate power for hauling up hills or for when you need a little extra umph for passing.
The Ridgeline came with full-length side running boards, so if you are on the hunt for lions your pygmy hunter friends can easily get into the back seats or just stand six to a side on the running boards ready to attack any stray baboon.
These seats lift up and lock in place for more interior storage space and to help prevent the seating material from getting wrecked, after all, a good hunting spear can easily put a big gash in the seats.
The Ridgeline has something else other trucks don't have. It has a unibody construction, which means the main part of the truck is one single piece.
Other trucks are body on frame, meaning there are two main parts with the body being bolted or welded to the frame.
The unibody is how a car is built and is why you get some shudder and shake in some trucks, a little like the legs of a nervous, young Maasai tribesman on his first lion hunt.
The Ridgeline has no shake and provides a very comfortable ride. Inside there are large grab handles on the doors and the dials are also large and knobby.
There are several storage compartments and the centre console has a hidden compartment at the bottom.
The armrest slides, which helps if you have to move your seat back after the little lady has been driving it, and all the power options have been provided.
The Ridgeline also came with four wheel drive - handy for desert situations - with a locking differential for when some real grip is needed. The ABS, vehicle stability assist and tire pressure monitoring system may also come in handy at some point.
The brake assist is quite handy for when that pesky water buffalo decides to stop in the middle of the dirt road and refuses to move. Stopping in a hurry would be a good thing.
So when you are thinking about going on your next safari or baboon and lion hunt, remember it is the Ridgeline not ridgeback that will best suit your needs. After all you don't have to carry any doggie bags to clean up after the Ridgeline.
