2012 Honda Ridgeline review

Four-wheel drive is standard. The lone cab configuration has four real doors. Passenger space both up front and in back in generous. The cargo bed is only five feet long but it's more than four feet wide, so building materials can lie flat. The towing capacity of 5000 pounds can't approach the max capacities of full-size pickups (which are constantly one-upping each other) but is sufficient for most recreational towing.

Honda also added a few clever touches. The most significant is a standard, lockable, under-floor trunk below the cargo bed, providing a secure, outside-the-cab place to stow luggage. And there's a two-way tailgate that drops down like a conventional tailgate or can swing open like a door, providing closer reach-in access to whatever's in the bed and making it easier to hose out debris.

Tech specs Model 2012 Honda Ridgeline Trim Sport Power train 3.5-liter V-6 engine, five-speed automatic transmission EPA fuel economy 15 mpg city/21 mpg highway Observed fuel economy 18.6 mpg Navigation None Bluetooth phone support None Digital audio sources Auxiliary input Audio system 100-watt six-speaker system Driver aids None Base price $30,095 Price as tested $30,925