2014 Honda Ridgeline Returns with New Range-topping Model

Okay, maybe the 2014 Honda Ridgeline isn’t the best-selling pickup on the market, but guess what? It’s having the best year, growth-wise. Ridgeline sales were up 89.1 percent in August, and have climbed 35.3 percent through the first eight months of the year; no other pickup of any size has seen that kind of demand in 2013, and now Honda is looking to boost sales even further by going the ol’ “addition by subtraction” route. That is, the automaker is looking to add customers by subtracting $705 from the MSRP of the 2014 Honda Ridgeline (as compared to last year). The new starting point will be $29,575.

And while the entry-level 2014 Honda Ridgeline RT carries over unchanged—as does the rest of the lineup—that lineup does add a new player: the 2014 Honda Ridgeline Special Edition. Designated as “a new, top-of-the-line” entry, the Ridgeline Special Edition is priced at $37,505, but customers should be aware that its position atop the trim levels may be a bit subjective.

That’s because the 2014 Honda Ridgeline Special Edition offers all the same hardware as the Ridgeline RTL with leather and navigation, which shares the same MSRP as well. The differentiators between the two are the design of their 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, the addition of “Special Edition” badging and the latter’s black trim package, itself borrowed from the 2014 Honda Ridgeline Sport.

Still, in either case owners will enjoy features like:

• Honda’s “Satellite-Linked Navigation System”
• Leather-appointed seating with a heated front row
• A seven-speaker, 160-watt audio system with subwoofer, steering-wheel-mounted controls and an auxiliary input jack
• BlueTooth HandsFreeLink
• A powered moonroof
• Three exterior colors—Taffeta White, Crystal Black and Alabaster Silver

All 2014 Honda Ridgeline models are powered by a 3.5-liter V6 engine that delivers 250 hp, 247 lb.-ft. of torque, a max towing rating of 5,000 lbs., and EPA grades of 15 mpg city/21 mpg highway/17 mpg combined, with a five-speed automatic transmission routing power to all four wheels via the automaker’s Variable Torque Management system.

The 2014 Honda Ridgeline family is on sale now, with the Special Edition due in November.