2008 Honda Ridgeline Review: Interior

Anyone who has owned a late-model Honda, or even spent timing sitting in the Pilot or Element SUVs, will feel familiar with the layout inside the Ridgeline. We mean things such as nice, even seams throughout, good quality soft plastics, convenient switch placement and large, easily readable instrument graphics. All models feature an illuminated vanity mirror for the driver. The big, raised pull rings around Ridgeline's door-release levers are one of a kind and kind of cool. They're certainly effective for hefting the doors shut.

Honda's optional navigation system, with its DVD data base and eight-inch screen, is a paradigm for size, brightness, contrast and overall ease of use. The voice commands work well; alternately, the menus are simple, effective and easy to master. Yet in the Ridgeline, one of our few gripes applies to the screen's placement. It's off center a bit toward the front passenger, and flat, so in certain light in can be difficult for the driver to read. He or she has to almost lean sideways toward the center of the vehicle for a better look.