Inside, the Ridgeline offers as much comfort, space and convenience as any half-ton pickup available. Bucket seats come standard in front with a center console. We found the driver and front passenger seats to be roomy, comfortable and supportive, with plenty of adjustment range for rake and travel.

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. 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.

Although the Ridgeline's rear doors are shorter than the fronts, standard practice in this segment, there's no problem getting in or out, and the rear seat is nearly as roomy and versatile as those in front. It's actually comfortable for two adults, with a 24-degree backrest angle, more like a front seat. A six-foot male driver would be able to fit behind himself in the back seat with reasonable leg room and knee room.

The rear seat splits and folds, 60/40, to stash fairly large pieces of cargo in the cab. The under-seat storage space, something like an airliner's, is great for backpacks or briefcases.

The Ridgeline's unusual exterior design reduces outward visibility. The buttresses where the cargo box create a blind spot for glancing over the shoulder.