[OwnerCS]

Agreed the mileage bites compared to our other Honda cars. I sometimes wish Honda had implemented the fuel management system used on the Odyssey (and now big GM trucks) to boost mileage. Maybe the Odyssey fuel management system will be an enhancement for 2009 Ridge. I purchased my 2006 Ridge five weeks ago at $15,000 less than today's prices for a 2008 model. Ok so I dove a hard bargain with the dealer. This Ridge was extra clean -- with 41,000 miles. It came with the Honda Care 100,000 mile warranty, DVD, chrome wheels, and the Honda running board. I also have an 04 Civic -- my first Honda. I have found Honda dealers incredibly easy to deal with on trades. This particular Ridge would have been out of my financial range had it not been available at the $20,000 price point.

Once you drive a Ridge, you become hooked on the feel, and everything else seems like a lesser alternative. Early on I decided that the best LUXURY car that Honda has ever built, happens to be a Ridgeline truck. In my search for another car, I test drove and compared the Ridge to a Cadillac SRX, Lincoln MKX, and the Volvo XC90 AWD SUV. The Ridge drove like an expensive European all wheel drive sport SUV -- more like a comparably equipped $40,000 AWD Volvo XC90 than any other car that I tested. Compare Ridgeline mileage to the Volvo XC09's 14 city and 20 hwy.

Once you compare the Ridgeline to other AWD luxury/performance vehicles its mileage is really in same MPG range. Who would have thought a mid-size truck would handle and drive better than a European AWD sport SUV costing $10,000 to 20,000 more?

Also I noticed the Volvo XC90 follows about the same depreciation percentage as the Ridgeline. As a side note, I bought a new Mercedes 190 sedan in 1987 that lost over 1/3 of its value after two years – then it leveled off and depreciation slowed for the next two years to a 50% reduction at the four-year mark. Yes it was a clean Mercedes. Today I feel lucky to be a Ridgeline owner.